Hi everyone, this is my first post and I'm really happy to be logged on and part of this community after lurking around for the last 6 months. I am currently sailing a taipan 4.9 and have recently had the good fortune of acquiring a AHPC MK 4 A class with a big head main. I was hoping if the A class sailors on this forum could help me answer the following questions.
1. All the information I have read about the A class states that when going upwind, I should keep the traveller centered. However, if i was racing in 25+ knots of breeze, maxed out on my downhaul, centered my rotation, should I drop my traveller at this point or just keep easing main? or should I do a mixture of both?
2. In really light winds where i cannot go wild, how far out should I let my traveller?
3. Has sitting to leeward to induce the wild thing in lighter winds paid off?
4. does the amount of sidestay tension make any difference to the performance?
Any information would be great, thanks in advance.
Welcome to the A Class!! I'm no expert but will give you my two cents worth to get you going.
1) Yes. After all else start lowering the traveler. I would keep the main sheet tight as long as possible to keep the sail as flat as possible. Sometimes if the boat feels bound up, it pays to ease the sheet just a bit to let the top vent so you can bear off a little and go.
2) The further you let the traveler out the deeper you can go but slower. With the traveler up at the inside of the hull or at the foot strap you can heat the boat up and play the stall to get low. Its hard to tell how well things are working without another boat to sail against. Hopefully your Taipan is still close by and you can sail against it. Light air downwind on the uni-rig is an art that only comes with an investment in time.
3) Yes. In marginal wild thing conditions he who can get a hull up scoots and sitting on the low side to do so is nothing to be ashamed of. Again a lot of practice is needed here. In marginal wild thing conditions I will not attemp it in a race because I'm not good enough to make it pay as opposed to sailing flat and smooth.
4) I'm in the dark here. All I can say is that my side stay is in the third hole from the top on the standard factory fitting. I'm lucky in that I can copy the fast guys setup but don't always know why something works.
Hopefully some of the guys with the right answers will chime in and help us both out.
Ed
OK..Im not the best...but here goes. Having just come back from getting schooled in the US Nats...NONE of those guys travel down in big air. Lots O' downhaul, under rotation are the key....do NOT use the jaws, and play the main.
I cant tell you about downwind, as I got creamed all day long!
As for shroud tension, AHPC says about 120lbs of tension (15 on the loos gauge) Keep in mind, this is on the side stay and not the forestay, and to adjust the tension, you must adjust the kitty corner forestay. (starboard shroud is adjusted by port forstay.)
Hope this helps. Also, for peak performance, you must tune your mast sail combo. Play with spreader rake, lenght, and diaomd tension.
Michael
AHPC Flyer, USA 187
Hi everyone,
thanks so much for all the advice. Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, since there's only one other A class in my fleet, so there not a lot to go by. Here's a couple more
1. Are you using a centre sheeting system? I see many of the top guys like Glenn Ashby using a centre sheeting system, so i guess they have no cleats on the main, is that right? It seems like not having cleats is the way to go, but what is your opinion?
2. does mast rake make much of a difference? It didn't seems to do too much on the Taipan unless it was really really blowing and then I'd drop it back one hole on the forestay. Does it matter on the A since the forestay is simply tied off and doesn't seem all that precise to begin with?
Again - I'm no expert but here's my take.
The center sheeting is a personal preference. I grew up on cats and the main blocks were always on the back of the boat, and thats where they'll stay for me. People who have more time on dhingys tend to prefer the center sheeting. Whether one is faster in tacking or provides better leverage is a good question. Cleating is again a personal preference. I am currently without a cleat and definately don't miss it on the bouys courses but it is good to have on the distance races or when cruising.
I have the AHPC Flyer and mast rake has never really had the level of impact that it would on other boats i.e. H-20 etc. Its like a Popeel Roticery Oven, set it, and forget it.
Sounds like you've got great taste in boats. All you need locally now is a Capricorn to have the entire AHPC line. F-16, F-18 and A Class. They build great boats don't they?
Ed
Hi Crew Dog, thanks for the advice. Hehe, thanks but no, i don't really have good taste, there's only one cat dealer here in Singapore and thankfully, they have good taste and good sense as to what is the latest greatest fleets. Right now, they are dealers for AHPC so all we get are AHPC boats, which I really have no complaints at all. But because there is only one dealer, the great thing is cat racing here is one or two design most of the time.
Seems pretty lucky to me.
On the AHPC Flyer, Boyer suggests 20mm aft of the rear beam. If you do the traditional trap wire measurment, it should end up around the center of the inspection hatch. As far as the 'set it, forget it' notion. Yes, once you find the amount of rake, that is true. But keep in mind, if you seet your tension on the stays, after a day a racing, some stretch in the line may occur.
After a couple of sails....the stectch should be gone, but you can always re-tension.
Michael
Hi Michael, thanks for the tip. I'm a little confused though, what do i use to measure the 20mm against? Using a halyard? the trapeze line? What is the traditional method of measuring? I've always used tape measure. Sorry, if you could explain it a little more, I would be really grateful
it is usually this :
1, attach line to the trap wire so it can hang down enough to reach the point where the bridal attaches to the hull (remove the shock cord first); swing the line forward
2, Hold you finger at the point the line hits the hull (or some other "class agreed point")
3, swing your hand back untill the "mark / finger" bisects the hull aft; measure this relative to some fixed oiunt (rear beam; transoms etc). This gives you a "rake measurement" which can then be compared.
Sorry for assuming...you know what they say!
Take your trap wire and add a bit of line to it. Then swing it forward until the line hits the base of the thimble (forestay). Keep that point as a ref. point, then take that to the back of the boat. Measure where that point hits. It should hit around 20mm aft of the beam for all conditions. Keep in mind, this works for the ahpc flyer. Anybody know about the Mk series?
Hope this helps,
Michael
Take your trap wire and add a bit of line to it. Then swing it forward until the line hits the base of the thimble (forestay). Keep that point as a ref. point, then take that to the back of the boat. Measure where that point hits. It should hit around 20mm aft of the beam for all conditions. Keep in mind, this works for the ahpc flyer. Anybody know about the Mk series?
Hope this helps,
Michael
I think I said that above 
Simon...yep..you did....I was just bored...not sailing today, so killing time here.
LOL......
No sailing for me today; Buying flippin furniture. Grrrrrr.....