Hi David,
A great account of your first few sails in your National 12, an excellent read!
A few pointers:
Would try cleaning the mast track and spraying some mclube or similar first. Masts are expensive - but can be purchased from Super Spars or Selden.
I find kicker tension is vital off-wind, letting it off is an accelerator until you are past the point of no return (when the leech is too open and goes past the mast) - similar to a Laser. I play with the kicker a lot on a run.
Also, when it is time to gybe, it is vital (for me at least) that the crew grabs the kicker strop and physically pulls the boom across - telling the helm when it is about to go - or if it won't go (too much power in the sail/rig).
Then, the crew should follow the boom across the boat unless it is fairly windy and they're best stopping in the middle to stabilize it - normally depends how well the steering has gone! It is something fine tuned over lots of practice.
These are just my views and I hope others will share their thoughts! Keep going though, the N12 is a delightful dinghy, especially if you're lucky enough to sail with your wife as I am too.
A great account of your first few sails in your National 12, an excellent read!
A few pointers:
Would try cleaning the mast track and spraying some mclube or similar first. Masts are expensive - but can be purchased from Super Spars or Selden.
I find kicker tension is vital off-wind, letting it off is an accelerator until you are past the point of no return (when the leech is too open and goes past the mast) - similar to a Laser. I play with the kicker a lot on a run.
Also, when it is time to gybe, it is vital (for me at least) that the crew grabs the kicker strop and physically pulls the boom across - telling the helm when it is about to go - or if it won't go (too much power in the sail/rig).
Then, the crew should follow the boom across the boat unless it is fairly windy and they're best stopping in the middle to stabilize it - normally depends how well the steering has gone! It is something fine tuned over lots of practice.
These are just my views and I hope others will share their thoughts! Keep going though, the N12 is a delightful dinghy, especially if you're lucky enough to sail with your wife as I am too.
