NJK MRC J/80 CREW HANDBOOK

ContentsForeword

Boat preparation

General checks for the helmsman

Preparing the headsail

Preparing the mainsail

Hoisting and lowering the mainsail

Preparing the spinnaker

Race preparations

Near the race course

Pre-start

Maneuvers

Upwind leg

Tack

Windward mark rounding (approaching on port tack)

Windward mark rounding (approaching on starboard tack)

Leeward leg

Gybe

Leeward mark rounding (on starboard gybe)

Leeward mark rounding (on port gybe)

Returning the boat to the dock

Boat speed

Basic tuning

Mainsail trim

Jib trim

Genoa trim

Symmetric spinnaker trim

ForewordThis document is intended to help memorizing and mastering the details of good boat handling off NEC MRC J/80 boats. The handbook is mostly based on materials in Finnish written by Eero Palomäki and translated into English by Manne Miettinen. The text on J/80 boatspeed is quoted from the J/80 tuning and sailing guide by Ultimate Sails (http://www.ultimatesails.co.uk/). The text on symmetric spinnaker handling is quoted from TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SPINNAKER HANDLING by Kame Richards. All the NJK MRC sailors are invited to improve and modify this document. Have fun and fair sailing!

Boat preparation

General checks for the helmsman● Check that there is no water in the boat (bilge and stowage in the forepeak and stern). Dry the

boat using the bilge pump and a sponge.● Check that the boat has a protest flag, a yellow flag, a blue flag, an ‘L’ flag, a bucket, a paddle,

and sponge.● Check that the crew has sufficiently start watches, tape, tools (Leatherman), snack, drinking

water, extra clothing, but nothing extra. Place the stuff above the keel. In light air also the forepeak stowage can be used.

● Check the weather forecast before a race.● Agree about the training subject with other teams and coordinate the taking of the buoys● Check the shroud tensions by hand and check the spreader angles (?)● Double check all the preparations and go through the plan with crew to leave the dock.

Preparing the headsail (trimmer)● Prepare the headsail before the spinnaker. Leave the prepared headsail on the deck on the port

side so that the sheets are close to the mast on the port side.● Attach the headsail sheets to the clew of the headsail with tight bowlines. You can tape the

knots to avoid the knots getting tangled in the shrouds in tacks ● Attach the headsail halyard to the top of the headsail with a tight bowline. Lead the loose

headsail halyard end to the cabin outside the lower shrouds (D1). This allows the trimmer to easily uncleat the halyard from the cockpit after the spinnaker is hoisted

● In light air loosen the leech line (“snörppi”) of the headsail at the dock and adjust on water● When using the jib it is a good idea to lead the jib sheet through the genoa lead block to the

winch. This prevents sheet overrides on the winch when tacking● When using the genoa the team should have two bungee cords (with a diameter of max 4 mm)

that are attached in front of the winches. The genoa sheets should be lead underneath the bungee cords to prevent overrides

● Check that spinnaker sheets and barbers are lead correctly underneath the headsail sheets

● Check that the lowest 7 headsail clips are taped so that they will not rip the spinnaker when the headsail is lowered after spinnaker hoist

● On the water set the right headsail twist by adjusting the genoa or jib lead position: set your lead position by luffing up slowly and watching your telltales. The windward telltales should "break" evenly from top to bottom at the same time. If the top telltales flutter before the bottom, the sail is twisted too much. Move the lead forward to pull down on the clew, increase leech tension and reduce twist. If the bottom telltales luff first (or the top ones stall), the sail needs more twist. Move the lead aft to relax leech tension.

● On the water set the headsail draft position by adjusting the headsail halyard tension mark the desired draft position with a tape on the halyard and on the mast

● On the water mark the trim reference points (the acceleration mark and the full-speed mark roughly 5 cm apart) on the headsail sheets with tape in front of the block on the genoa/jib lead

● On the water mark the lazy sheet with the slack mark when the active sheet is trimmed to the full-speed mark. Make a 5-7 cm wide taping on the sheet just in front of the winch

Preparing the mainsail (tactician)● Lift the boom to get the lowest two sail slides (“ratsastaja”) in to the mast slot ● Use a coin or a screwdriver to fasten the lock plate of the mast slot so that the sail slides cannot

slip out of the slot in any condition● Attach the mainsail halyard to the head of the mainsail with a bowline using a tight loop. It is

important to hoist the main all the way up to the black tape at the tip of the mast. If you use the

cunningham to tighten the luff of the mainsail so that the bottom part of the mainsail is folded you lose sail area which is bad especially in light air. A mainsail hoisted high may cause the uppermost batten to get stuck in the backstay in tacks, you need to remember to shake the backstay after a tack to detach the batten

● Some teams alter the mainsail sheet tackle in the trainings to have less tackle in light air. This allows for faster handling of the mainsail. NB NJK MRC Center Cup Sailing Instructions do not allow changing the mainsail sheet tackle in the Cup matches

● The fixed point (bowline) in the mainsail sheet tackle should be in the block attached to the boom not in the block attached to the cockpit floor

● Set the mainsheet ratchet block (“räikkäploki”) in the desired position (ratchet on or off)● In light air check that leech line (“snörppi”) is not too tight. Loosen it on the dock and adjust it

on the water

Hoisting and lowering the mainsail● Before hoisting the mainsail be sure to check that

○ the boom vang is not tightened○ the mainsheet is uncleated and can run freely○ the outhaul is not tightened ○ the cunningham is not tightened

● Lift the boom end before hoisting the mainsail so that the boom is perpendicular to the mast. and not pointing down. This way the mainsail can easily go all the way up when hoisting.

● Tie a figure eight knot in the main halyard to prevent a match loss due to an accidental tangle or mess down in the cabin

● Tie a figure eight knot in the mainsail sheet to prevent the boom hitting the shrouds in a slam gybe

● Mark the trim reference points in the mainsail halyard, the mainsail sheet and the backstay (?) with tape

● Always loosen the main outhaul all the way when taking the mainsail down - otherwise you risk tearing the mainsail

Preparing the spinnaker (bowman)● Check on the shore that the spinnaker does not have rips. This will save you from a nasty

surprise on the water. The easiest way to do this is to fetch your spinnaker from the sail drying container where the spinnakers are hanging open

● Rig the spinnaker for leeward hoist on the starboard. In match racing you leave the marks to the starboard, so you want to rig the spinnaker so that it can be hoisted from the starboard behind the headsail. When rigging the spinnaker it is a good idea to leave the headsail lying on the port side on the deck and have the headsail sheets close to the mast on the port, so that the the spinnaker sheets and halyard go naturally “underneath” the headsail on the starboard

● Lead the port spinnaker sheet from the cockpit under the headsail sheet through the ratchet block (be sure to check the correct direction of rotation), then to the block at the stern of the boat and forward through the barber, outside of the shrouds and around the headstay to the port clew of the spinnaker in the hatch. It is a good idea to pull a meter or two of extra of the

port spinnaker sheet into the hatch so that the sheet runs smoothly when the bowman attaches the spinnaker pole to the mast

● The starboard spinnaker clew should be just inside the hatch. Lead the starboard spinnaker sheet outside the shrouds through the barber to the block at the stern of the boat. Then lead it back forward through the ratchet block. Check that the spinnaker sheet runs underneath the headsail sheet and goes through the ratchet block in the right direction. Tighten the sheet so that there is no unnecessary slack. Mark this setting in the starboard spinnaker sheet with a tape and cleat the port spinnaker sheet.

● Leave the head of the spinnaker just inside the hatch, tape the spinnaker halyard in the bow pulpit with 2–3 layers of tape. In the first hoist you will need to pull a bit harder. Remember to tape again between matches. The taping is to prevent the spinnaker slipping out of the hatch in the pre-start if the headsail is pushing the spinnaker halyard.

● Check that the spinnaker pole and the pole topping lift (“ylägaija”) lines are not tangled (lift the pole from the pole topping lift line with your hand)

● When using the genoa the spinnaker pole is placed on the deck outside the shrouds so that the head of the pole (pointing to the bow) is resting under the genoa sheet. The genoa sheet can rest on the top of the pole when the pole is set for hoisting. You can drop the genoa sheet in the first gybe.

● When using a jib the spinnaker pole is placed on the deck between the shrouds and the jib lead (“fokan skuuttikisko”) outside the jib sheet

● Check the condition of the tennis ball half and the knot inside the ball in the spinnaker halyard. If either of them is not in shape there is a risk of the spinnaker going through the ring in the mast top and preventing the spinnaker takedown which can be very dangerous in heavy air.

● In light and heavy air the head of the spinnaker should tied close to the ball. In moderate winds the spinnaker head can be 20-30 cm below the max up position.

● Rig the spinnaker so that the red leech is the port leech and the blue/green leech is the starboard leech.

● You can attach the spinnaker sheet by leading the sheet through the clew O ring and tying a figure eight knot on the outside of the sail (if the clew O rings are small, for bigger rings tie a clove hitch and secure it with another knot). Having the knot on the outside This way the spinnaker sheet knots will not interfere with the spinnaker pole jaws and/or the forestay.

● Lead the loose spinnaker halyard end to the cabin around the lower shrouds (D1), this allows the trimmer to easily uncleat the halyard from the cockpit when taking the kite down

● Tie the spinnaker barbers together● Tie number eight knots in the spinnaker sheets. Throw the loose ends of the spinnaker sheets

inside the cabin away from the cockpit

● Tape the spinnaker pole ring from both sides to prevent the spinnaker halyard getting stuck in it in tacks

● Check that the there is a tape between D2 and V1 shrouds above the first spreader to prevent the spinnaker from the getting stuck in there when taking the kite down. Yap, someone must climb…

Race preparations

Near the race courseHELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Define the favoured side of the race course.

Measure the starting line in seconds.

Define and communicate the laylines to the boat end and to the pin end

Define the favoured side of the race course.

Measure the starting line in seconds.

Plan the strategy for the start

Mark the spinnaker pole topping lift position with tape. In light air and at the hoist the pole can point down a bit.

Define the favoured side of the race course.

Define landmarks for the starting line and the laylines.

Read the wind

In fig.1 below the right side is favoured because of stronger wind and current. The red boat is staying on the right, but avoiding the layline corners.

Pre-start

HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Drive

Execute the tactics

Communicate intentions to the crew (“heading up”,“bearing off”, “tacking”, “circling” “gybing”, etc).

Plan the tactics

Give pre-processed information to the helm (“head to the line after this circle”)

Read the time to the start with 30 second intervals from 4 minutes to 1 minute, then 10 second intervals and last 10 seconds with 1 second intervals

Trim the main

Trim the headsail In light air keeps the weight by the shrouds

Communicate the position and the movements of the opponent

Estimate the time in seconds to the line

Estimate the own position with reference to the laylines

Read the wind

Tail the headsail

In final approach sights the line and estimates boatlenghts to the line

Boat handling

Upwind legHELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Drive and read the telltales

Plan the tactics near term

Judge the distance to the layline

Communicate about the feel of the boat to the trimmers (“Now there’s too much weather helm”)

Trim the main with the sheet and backstay

Keep a constant heel with backstay and mainsail sheet. Trim the backstay before the puff hits; ease the mainsail sheet in big puffs and sheet in just before the puff ends

Plan the longer term tactics considering other boats and the windward mark rounding

Plan the wind tactics

Observe and communicate the compass heading wrt the average heading (“headed 5”, “lifted 10”)

Trim the headsail

Balance the boat with weight placement. The trimmer is the first to go to leeward

Check that the spinnaker barbers are correctly set for spinnaker hoist (open on leeward SB and cleated on windward P)

Help the bow in the housekeeping

Communicate the position of the windward mark

Read the pressure and waves ahead. If possible try to judge whether the puff is a lift or a header. “Big lift in 3-2-1-now”

Look for more wind upwind

Observe the movements of the opponent

Do housekeeping: clear lines etc. If the spinnaker needs to be sorted out goes into the cabin to do it

Check that the spinnaker pole topping lift and spinnaker halyard and sheets are running correctly

Help judging the laylines

Tacking the genoaHELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW“Prepare to tack”

Keep the weight to the windward

Keep the weight to the windward

Tighten the main to help the boat to turn head-to-wind

Prepare to release the sheet from the winch.

Prepare to tail the new sheet.

“3-2-1-tacking”Turn the helm first slowly, then faster

Ease the main sheet 10 cm after passing head-to-wind

Release the old sheed when the bow is passing head-to-wind.

Tail the new sheet

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Time and communicate the pump “3-2-1-and up”

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”

When up-to-speed trim the main tight

When up-to-speed trim the headsail tight

If needed help the trimmer by tailing the headsail sheet

Anticipate puffs by taking in some backstay and uncleating the main sheet

Look for wind

Check the compass heading

Prepare the lazy sheet on the winch for the next tack

Tacking the jib

HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

“Prepare to tack”

Keep the weight to the windward

Keep the weight to the windward

Tighten the main to help the boat to turn head-to-wind

Prepare the winch handle to the new windward winch

“3-2-1-tacking”

Turn the helm first slowly, then faster

Ease the main sheet 10 cm after passing head-to-wind

Uncleat the old sheed when the bow is passing head-to-wind and simultaneously trim in the new sheet

Grind the winch

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Time and communicate the pump “3-2-1-and up”

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”. If light go back to leeward after the pump.

Stay on the leeward until the boat is well heeled

Weight to windward when tactician says “up”

When up-to-speed trim the main tight

When up-to-speed trim the headsail tight

If needed go to leeward and help trimming

Anticipate puffs by taking in some backstay and uncleating the main sheet

Look for wind

Check the compass heading

Prepare the lazy sheet on the winch for the next tack

Windward mark rounding (approaching on port tack)HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Hoist the spinnaker pole from the pole topping lift

Attach the spinnaker port sheet in the jaws of the spinnaker pole

Attach the spinnaker pole to the mast

Take main sheet in hand when the trimmer prepares for the spinnaker hoist

Grab the spinnaker sheets

Check that leeward (SB) spi sheet is cleated and leeward (SB) barber open and windward (P) barber cleated

Help the tactician and bowman to get the left corner of the spinnaker to the headstay

Take the spinnaker corners out of the hatch and pre-feed them under (leeward) the headsail

Weight to windward when rounding the mark

Let the main all the way out

Open the backstay

Weight to windward when rounding the mark

Weight to windward Hoist the spinnaker when the bow has passed the mark

Yell “made” when the spinnaker is hoisted all the way up

Bear off dead downwind: DON’T HIT THE MARK

When the bowman yells “made” pull the left spi sheet so that the pole goes aft and is perpendicular to the windex. Cleat the left spi sheet and uncleat the right. Start trimming with the right

When the spi is filled pull the foot of the headsail tight with the sheet so that the sail won’t end up in the sea and uncleat the headsail halyard

Pull down the headsail and store in the front of the bow

When the spi is filled find the optimal angle. Trim the

Trim the spinnaker. Communicate about the pressure

Check that the boom vang, pole and barbers are correctly trimmed

Check that the spi is ok (no hourglass)

Clean up the headsail

main accordingly

on the foredeck

Put the headsail sheet on the port side

Check that there is enought of slack in the headsail sheets

Loosen main cunningham and outhaul

Clean up the spinnaker halyard into the cabin

- "siivoa" ylämerkin jälkeen: vedä genoa eteen, koilaa löysä falli vantin takaa kiertäen taakse, jos trimmeri ei sitä ole vielä ehtinyt tehdä

Look for puffs from behind (the direction the windex points)

Communicate what the opponent is doing

Windward mark rounding (approaching on starboard tack)HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

TODO TODO TODO TODO

Leeward legHELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOWBear off in puffs head up in lulls

Follow rule 17Keep the crew informed about approaching luffs

Weight to windward in a luff

Plan tactics

Anticipate the gybing angles

Trim the spinnaker and communicate about the pressure to the helm “you can head up 10 degrees”, “bear off 20 degrees”

Ask the trimmer to adjust the spinnaker pole and barbers - it is important for spinnaker trim especially in light air

In heavy air ask for trimmer’s help with the sheet well in advance

Weight forward in light air and weight back in heavy air

Look for puffs from behind, plan wind tactics

Follow rule 17Communicate your observations to the helm

Define the laylines to the leeward mark with the helm

Weight forward in light air (in front of the mast?) and weight back in heavy air

Clean up lines and prepare the kite takedown and headsail hoist at the leeward mark

Help the tactician to trim the spinnaker in tight reach or in a luffing battle

Weight to windward when reaching

Stay near the mast usually on leeward side

Weight trim

Look forward and observe the opponent and winds

Be prepared to gybe

Gybe

HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

“Prepare to gybe”

Weight to windward to make the boat bear off

Drive a smooth turn

“3-2-1-gybing”

Pull the main over “watch the heads”

Check the mainsail trim

Weight to windward to make the boat bear off

Use the sheet and guy and help the bowman to rotate the spinnaker to the other side of the mast

Find the winds, plan tactics

Weight to windward

Grasp the barbers

When the gybe starts, uncleat the windward barber

Pull the (old) leeward barber smoothly to the deck and cleat it

In heavy air pull the old leeward barber first to the deck and after the gybe is over slowly loosen the new leeward barber

Weight to windward.

Detach the pole from the mast (outer arm), then detach the old guy, attach the new guy (inner arm) and attach the pole to the mast

If the genoa sheet is on the top of the pole, drop it

Look for puffs

Leeward mark rounding (on starboard gybe)

HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Plan the tactics for the mark rounding

Inform the crew if there’s going to be a tack right after the mark rounding

Check if there’s an overlap

Inform the crew about the leeward mark

Check if there’s an overlap when entering the zone

Make sure the helm is aware of the the overlap and rights when rounding

Estimate the distance to the mark

Check that the headsail is on the correct side of the boat wrt the planned marked rounding

Trim the main outhaul before the mark rounding

Make the calls concerning headsail hoist and stowing the

pole

Clean up the headsail halyard as the bow hoists it

Uncleat the topping lift but don’t let it drop on the deck

Hoist the headsail

Loosen the windward barber ca. 40 cm

Place the pole on the deck. When using the genoa the head of the pole goes under the genoa sheets, when using the jib the pole is placed on the outside of the sheets

Detach the pole from the mast and hand it over to the trimmer

If you have time help the trimmer in the placing of the pole on the deck

Ask for wind information for the beat

Grasp the main sheet

Try to keep the spinnaker flying. You can move on the windward side to try keep it flying as long as possible by holding the sheet out

When the spinnaker is no longer flying tell the bow

Check the wind for the beat

Check that the spinnaker halyard goes around the inner shroud (D1) and can be opened from the cockpit

Check that the headsail sheet in on the winch

If you have time, hold the windward sheet out as a human boom

Grasp the windward sheet and go near the hatch

Drive a “wide in, close out” leeward mark rounding

Don’t hit the mark

Sheet in the main as the boat turns or hand it over to the tactician if

Keep the weight on the left (leeward) during the rounding

At bow’s yell uncleat the spinnaker halyard check that it runs smoothly but doesn’t run too fast so that the spinnaker ends up in the water

Check that the (left)

Gather the spinnaker foot

Yell “falli auki” and take the spinnaker down

Check that headsail sheets are ready for a tack

he’s free spinnaker sheet runs when the bow is taking the kite down

Cleat the left barber for the next rounding

Make the decision about the next tack

Sheet in the main as the boat turns (in heavy air be careful more slowly)

Communicate the weight placement “3-2-1-and up”

Check the compass course

Get ready to trim the headsail

Trim in the headsail when the boat is passing the mark

Weight to the windward at tactician’s “up”

Look for wind tell where the opponent is

Weight to the windward at tactician’s “up”

Leeward mark rounding (on port gybe)HELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Prepare the headsail on the starboard side

Penalty turn 270°

Returning the boat to the dockHELM TACTICIAN TRIMMER BOW

Check in the boat

Check the mainsail for cuts or rips

Check the headsail and coil the headsail sheets

Check the spinnaker for rips

Coil the spinnaker sheets

Boat speedThis is quoted from Ultimate sails tuning and sailing guide for J/80. This does not apply 100 % to NJK MRC boats as they are modified for match racing and deviate in some respects from the One-Design J/80 boats described in the guide. The most remarkable changes are the use of overlapping genoa and lack of traveler in MRC boats. Also the mast is different so the shroud tension indications listed below do not apply.

Basic tuningThe base setting of NJK MRC boats is fixed and should not be altered by sailors. The shroud tensions (as measured with LOOS B tension gauge) are 30 for the uppers (V1) and lowers (D1) and 15 for the intermediates (D2).

Mainsail trimWhen you get started what you are aiming for is to power the main up sufficiently that you have a decent amount of weather helm, but not so much that the boat cannot accelerate when a gust hits. The principle tools you will use to do this are the mainsheet, traveller, backstay, vang and outhaul;The outhaul should be set in light winds with a 100mm gap between the foot of the sail and the boom and gradually tightened so that in a breeze it should be so tight that there is distortion in the foot of the sail. The Cunningham should be left slack until you are intermittently overpowered, then it should be progressively tightened to remove the wrinkles from the luff, but not pulled so hard that it distorts the sail.

In light airs, the backstay and vang will be loose and you have complete control of the sail shape with the mainsheet and traveller. In this case you should trim the main until the top tell-tale is flying about 50 - 70 percent of the time with the boom held in the middle by pulling the traveller up to windward. Once the breeze is up to the point where the boat is fully powered up and it is necessary to ease the traveller, then you must also use the backstay and vang to help control the mainsail shape. From this point on it is impossible to stop all the tell-tales flying, so we must use the balance and feel of the helm to help us trim the mainsail instead.

The principle of sailing the J80 in fully powered conditions is to have the mainsheet locked off and play the traveller through the gusts. You then use the vang and backstay to control the drive and power in the main to balance the helm properly. When everything is set up perfectly the boat will have a reasonable amount of weather helm. When a gust hits and you ease the traveller the boat should accelerate easily and smoothly and the helm will feel light and sensitive almost to the point where it is neutral - with neither weather nor lee helm.

If you have pulled on the backstay and vang too tight, then you will have neutral helm before any gust hits and the boat will not point. Apart from feeling wrong so that you will have to push the rudder around a lot to make the boat steer, you will notice your lack of pointing ability very quickly compared to the boats around you. If you have not pulled on the backstay and vang enough to de-power the mainsail, then the helm will not go neutral before the mainsail starts flogging in a gust. So you must learn to judge from the feel of the helm, and the way the boat accelerates in a gust, whether or not the mainsail needs more or less power. Remember that you pull the vang and backstay on to de-power, and ease them to power up.

This leaves us with the crucial question of how much of each you should pull on to de-power the mainsail efficiently. Generally the vang will de-power the lower third of the mainsail and the backstay the top two thirds. You shouldn’t pull the vang on so much that you create luff starvation creases. This distortion will

consist of vertical creases running from the mast towards the clew, and it will be particularly severe around the track feed on the mast three or four feet above the gooseneck. If you see these luff starvation creases, ease the vang and pull on more backstay. If you have too much backstay and not enough vang, then you will find that the sail starts to backwind low down the moment you ease the traveller in a gust. This is because with not enough vang, the bottom of the mainsail is too full, and when you ease it, it falls straight into the jib exhaust and backwinds.

The mainsail trim is straightforward for downwind sailing. Ease the vang and the backstay as you round the mark, not before - otherwise you will power the mainsail up at exactly the moment you don't want to, when you are trying to bear away. The cunningham should go off completely and the outhaul be eased until there is about a hand's width gap between the foot of the sail and the boom. Once you are sailing downwind with the asymmetric hoisted, trim the vang so that the back of the top batten is parallel to the boom. Keep an eye on the top batten which has a tendency to invert which is slow! Ease the backstay again until it has just got some load on it. Ensure that there is sufficient backstay tension to keep the mast straight and stop it inverting.

Genoa trimThe right genoa trim of NJK MRC J80’s is quite straight forward. The genoa has the right trim when the leech of the sail touches the tip of the upper spreader. For acceleration or very light air ease the sheet so that the leech is 2 cm outboard of the tip of the upper spreader.

Jib trimThe J80 Jib design is sensitive to sheeting in light winds but the speed gains are significant if the trimmer is constantly adjusting the trim. You will find that you need to set the leech line tighter as the wind increases, to stop the leech vibrating or 'motoring'. Always pull it on the minimum amount that stops the vibration because excessive tension will distort and hook the leech. As the sail gets older you will eventually find it impossible to stop the motoring without tightening the leech line to the point where it distorts the leech shape - this is the time to start thinking about ordering a new sail!

Symmetric spinnaker trimThe spinnaker is properly trimmed if the wind is flowing just tangent to the leading edge of the sail. Don't think of the spinnaker as a bucket which "catches the wind." Just like a main or a jib, it is a foil which bends the wind, and just like a main or a jib, the spinnaker pulls the hardest when the wind is traveling smoothly across the spinnaker's OUTSIDE surface.

● The sheet side:○ The luff should fold in every once in a while. This is the best way to tell that the wind is

flowing tangent to the spinnakers' leading edge.○ The boat is SLOW if the luff doesn't fold in every once in awhile.○ Anticipate acceleration: When the boat speeds up, as in surging down a wave, the

apparent wind will increase and swing forward. Start trimming in the spinnaker sheet as soon as the boat starts to speed up. Be sure you ease it back out as the boat slows back

to its original speed.○ The driver should not steer to correct for these small spinnaker luffs. If you are the

trimmer, be sure you talk with the driver so you understand the drivers anxieties about how the spinnaker is being trimmed

● The guy side○ A good basic rule is to keep the pole perpendicular to the apparent wind angle, which is

indicated by the wind indicator at the top of the mast.○ The pole height is determined by where (in terms of up and down the leading edge) the

spinnaker first folds when it luffs. The pole is too low if the luff occurs high up near the head. If the sail is luffing relatively low, like half way down or more, the pole is to high.

○ Be sure that you trim the sheet much more often than the pole. Although you can fix a collapse by easing the pole, this should be the last resort. The boat seems to lose its punch when the leading edge of the spinnaker is being constantly moved backwards and forwards.

● Halyard○ It is best to keep the spinnaker halyard all the way up. It keeps the sail from moving

around too much.