When you guys were sailing Nacra 5.7s, how much mast rake did you use?
I realize that at the racing levels this may be a variable target, what would you recommend for a relative beginner who never races, & won't go out in howling gales?
I would like to set it at an "average" position, if such a thing exists & leave it, as it appears I will be doing quite a bit of solo sailing.
I currently have a bit of lee helm, sail solo without the jib, & am considering using more rake.
Thanks

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Ed,
Why do you want to sail uni (without the jib)? The balance of the boat is set up to rig slope. FYI, you want a slight weather helm, lee helm not good.

As for mast rake, and to answer you question preferenced with "for a relative beginner who never races" I would set it and forget it and spend time on the water. I would concentrate more on getting the boat to sail with some weather helm.

I'm surprised that the boat has lee helm when uni. I would have guessed that the boat would have weather helm.

--
Philip
--

My buddy, more of a newbie than me, had to fly most of the next 12 days. The wind was pretty strong for my comfort level, so I left the jib off, thinking it would make life simpler. Also I have to return to fairly cramped quarters,& thought having only the main would simplify my life as I came in, spun about, dumped all power, with jumping off to hand steer it into parking spot as my ace in the hole. If the wind is up it would be easy to bang into a rock wall,boat lift etc.
As soon as I discovered it had lee helm, I became very cautious, & didn't leave my home bay,(about 4 miles x 2 miles)I was concerned that if I fell off,(and I was consistently flying a hull on each reach) the boat would sail 30 miles to the far shore. I thought removing the jib should move the center of effort rearward, behind the CLR. Currently it will maintain course on one tack, & head up slightly on the other in 12mph wind. It was quite a difference from the Invitation, that will instantly head up if I release the tiller.
I wondered how much rake you guys were using, & considered raking more, as that should move CE aft.
As I got looking at pictures in Narita yesterday, I came up with two other possibilities.
A) the hulls are not parallel, the bows are wider than the sterns, possibly causing it to want to "pull" towards the hull that is lower in the water.
B) the little rudder rake screws are not set the same, one is way out, the other screwed in tight.
I can't remember which tack pulled harder. I'm going up tomorrow, the boat is on the lawn with rudders hanging over breakwall, so I can triangulate & see if one rudder is raked further forward. By raking them back a bit, I should increase weather helm.
C) the mount for the tiller is not centered on the tiller tie bar. This may be due to the former owner cutting the tie bar down in order to add the fitting to make it adjustable.
Thanks for the input. I would also appreciate your comments on my post further down regarding diamond & rigging tension. I don't know how hard I should have to push to get the wires to touch at 12-20"
Thanks

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Sail the boat. Two people two sails. I never sailed a 5.7. I owned a 5.5 SL and have sailed 5.8 and 6.0?s, boomless board boats, never a skeg boat.

Assuming you have the original Dacron sails, and going by the manual, with the diamonds set at 12? to 20? you would be pushing as hard as you can. I would use my palms. Set it and leave it. This is considered loose and a loose gauge would do you no good.

Set your rake so that you have a slight weather helm, this will change with wind and weight placement. If you sail uni it will have an effect. Uni with two people should really load up the rudders.

When I step the mast my starboard shroud pin is at the top, Port is in the hole I sail at and the forestay gets pined in the hole I want. Then when I set my rig tension, I set it with my wife on the trap wire or a friend pulling on the trap wire and they normally have to give it a bounce for me to get the pin in on the starboard shroud adjuster. The mast rotates and the shrouds are very tight but when under sail, the leeward shroud is loose.

Hope this helps.

--
Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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OK, thanks. The book never made any mention of how hard you push, & their rigging picture doesn't look like he is exerting much force to get them to touch.
From your description I think I'll slightly tighten my shrouds too.



edited by: Edchris177, Jun 25, 2010 - 07:38 AM

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--