Ive just bought my first Solo and I find i struggle to get under the boom when tacking. Now I know I need to work on my technique but there is only so much this body of mine can do. :)
As I just want to social sail for a year to begin with what alterations can I do to the Solo to bring the boom higher? My thoughts are move the mast foot further aft and put both chocks aft of the mast also.
Any advice or thoughts would be welcome.
Max rake is fast upwind but reduces the speed downwind- so don't write yourself off totally with a tighter forestay- the Superstars want maximum speed upwind to get out of the pack on the beat and then use tactical skills offwind
Put a reference mark or bit of tape on the kicker when it's just tight when close hauled. This allows you to ease the kicker a little when tacking to give you more headroom and then get everything set quickly on the other tack.
A rule change last summer now allows ‘a flattener or reefing point’ to be added. this makes the boom higher which would help you. If you look in past SoloInteractive magazines and on this site there are articles that explains it in detail.
Hi Martin - welcome to the forum. If you are not racing (at least at first) I would make the shrouds a bit looser and the forestay a bit tighter. The chocks won't really help as they only affect the way the mast bends rather than the angle of the boom to the deck. Ditto the foot of the mast - I would leave it where it is for now. When you start racing the experienced racers on here will give you advice on setting up the mast for more boat speed, though a lot of that depends on things like your weight and the type of mast/sail you have. Good luck!