Hi at roughly 82kg and sailing mainly inland which mast would suit me best
Thanks
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National Solo Class Association
Go Faster tips and questions.
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Tell tales on a P4 North sail
I'm struggling to get the lower 2 tell tales to fly in 5-10 kts. I tried easing the outhaul which works but then it's crazyerly deep. The rest of them are flying ok. Boom in line with the quarter, traveller middle ish to allow for a bit of twist in the chop. Thoughts and comment appreciated.
Spod
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Weather helm
Afternoon, as soon as the wind picks up i have loads of weather helm off the wind. How do i bring some balance back to the helm please?
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Softer centreboards
Has anyone (around 80kgs) played around with softer centreboards?
Thanks
Spod
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Charlie Tolcher
Sep 25, 2025
Hi Spod, I make my own blades for all my Solos and sometimes others. I normally have a flexi centreboard as the board is big for this size of dinghy. The back edge of my boards bend of along with the tip.
My boards are made from different timbers, which are coated with epoxy resin, not glass coated. As I believe the Gudgeon brothers book mentions that the resin encapsulates the cells of the wood, especially western red cedar. This makes the wood stable and structurally strong.
I sail at Teign at Coombe Cellars not far from you.
Hope that helps, Charlie
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Ensure rudder is fully down
Sail flat
Spill wind/feather/flatten sail
Drop the traveler slightly, so boom over corner of transom
Lift centreboard until helm is light (mark leading edge vertical, trailing edge vertical)
Too much kicker will induce weather helm
Experiment with using heel to steer the boat, with very light touch on tiller (or none) must noticeable on a run, where windward heel should allow you to sail with no contact with the tiller