ask an aussie

[David Chapman]

Hi Guys

a few of you asked me many questions about how we sail the GBR 123.
it would have been hard to understand me at 2am in the sandbar!!!
so thought I would start this thread

firstly thank you to everyone for the kind words, I have had heaps
of questions from aussies about wtf is a viper...

the biggest difference from last year, is that we have a full size kite!
I think the Hyde kite has a poor shape and you need to have a North,
Dolye, Ullman, Quantum etc

I think the new upwind Hydes that Tony Chapman had in Sarnia were fast.
Brad goes alright too ;)

but right now Dolye and North has the edge!

I think we (Ian & Glyn not me) hike the hardest over the whole race.
this is the biggest factor.

1st day, we were just smooth as we were the ONLY boat to train the day before.
i think we also sailed a bit higher downwind to really crank her up then were
able to move the apparent forward to get lower!
this is hard with the North kite as it really likes depth!
this high mode we will call the 'danger zone'
the viper has a small rudder and wipes out easy, so have vang/kicker in hand!

thats all I can think of now, but any questions please ask

[Joe Healey]

Hi Dave,

I also have North sails and love them.  We had no issues down wind, I felt we were as fast as you guys were. Up wind we were not pointing and did not have speed in the breeze on Thursday. My rig tension was at 32 on the loose gage which I think was too low in the 20 to 25 KTS on Thursday. How was your rig set up with the uppers, lowers and blocks and were you playing the main as well as the jib in the puffs? On Saturday in the moderate stuff we had great speed and point and tied with you for the day.

Thanks,
Viper 121
Joe

[Dan Tucker]

Looking at photos from Miami, it's clear that the boys on 123 do indeed hike harder than everyone else. http://www.imagesbymarco.com/f841275570

Though Chappy weighs about 98 pounds soaking wet, so he's often excused from hiking apparently.  ;-P

They also have the most annoying habits of consistently starting well and consistently putting the boat in the correct part of the racecourse.

What crew weight are you guys sailing at? (kilos or pounds, any measure other than stones please!)

[David Chapman]

we AVG about 90kg each, could be wrong.
so about the same as an etchells

but i think we ideal would be 80kg each.

we are too heavy in under 8 knots, I always try and keep us
in breeze downwind (even if i'm out of phase)

If you have good rig setup and hike you can get away with being light!

in the windy day and every day, I do my own mainsheet, and Ian(if he remembers)
will play the jib but not that much.

we went off the north guide and I wasn't happy with our rig.
everything takes time.
we don't have chocks... they will be in for next regatta.

Ian is our rig man, i'll get him to give some feedback

i'm not a fan of sag when windy...
but the Lastcall boys seem to be making it work but I think
they lacked height!

off the top of my head
headstay 26
caps 35

i think.... :S

maybe ched will be at the next regatta... to help us with the rig

[Brad Boston]

Nice work with the write up... It really helps everyone out when the top boats talk about their setups.
See you in Charleston!!!

Brad Boston

[Dan Tucker]

we AVG about 90kg each, could be wrong.
so about the same as an etchells

but i think we ideal would be 80kg each.

So in American, 90kg avg => 595 pounds, which seems too heavy for you three.

80 kg avg => 528 pounds.

[Justin Scott]

Maybe 90kg is the median average?

95
90
55.

Also 530lbs.

[Matt Sole]

Last call definitely sailed low, but they had a heavy crew so low even in the breeze seemed to make them fast uphill. Even with my older sails I could out point them off the line but their vmg uphill was good. I wonder if thats why they always seemed to sail away from the fleet for clear air???

Ched Proctor reminded me of getting good headstay tension in the breeze.

[Jon Stubbs]

David,
If you ask a west ausssie sailor you'll find a few know WTF a Viper 640 is. We just need to get the message to the east coast.
Great that you're sharing your knowledge with the class. One more thing that makes the viper a great class.
Couple of questions...as we are looking at attending the NA Viper champs.
From the pictures, you used Hyde sails for main and jib? We are currently using them... How did you find them?

What did the first three boats use for sails? (upwind and down)

[Jeff Jones]

http://www.onedesign.com/One%20Design%20NA/tabid/23032/Default.aspx?news_id=3156

Great report from the west coast north guys who sailed the Rondar factory boat at last weeks San Diego nood.

Some really great tips in here about trimming spreaders down to make up for the wide variance mast geometry.

[Jay Harrell]

That article talks about shortened spreaders and revised spreader angles ...  any official class comment on that?  What are the current specs and tolerances?  Should the rest of us be cutting down our spreaders and adjusting the angles to match new factory boats?  What's going on?

[Craig Wilusz]

Yeah, I'm with Jay on this one.  The article and data provided is really good.  Howver trimming down spreaders on a brand new boat is kinda questionable  "4.5 Spreaders-  Spreaders, as supplied by class approved builder".
  Be curious to see if the author of the article will measure adn provide the rake measurement: 

4.5  Spreaders- Spreaders, as supplied by a class approved builder, after assembly on the mast must be rigidly attached.  The length and sweep of the spreaders on carbon masts shall be measured by attaching a line between the upper shrouds at the bearing point with the spreaders. The distance between this line and the aft most point of the track on the mast, measured perpendicular to the mast shall be no less than 280mm. The length and sweep of the spreaders may not be adjusted in any way once a regatta has commenced.

[David Chapman]

Jon,

we used Hydes on day 1 as we saw 16kts to about 24kts.

they are 2008 sails I think.

we used our new North sails for the rest of the regatta.
they are not the current design though.

we used the North kite every day, this kite got us out of trouble a few times.

personally I think the new Hyde upwind sails are good, then you need a Doyle or North Kite.

top 3 was,
Hyde/North
North
Ullman

our rig setup was off the old North guide

our North sails were bought in the UK, our sails have no blue strands/yarns in them
like the North american ones... I have no idea why and it makes no difference.

[Justin Scott]

That article talks about cutting down spreaders and revised spreader angles ...  any official class comment on that?  What are the current specs and tolerances?  Should the rest of us be cutting down our spreaders and adjusting the angles to match new factory boats?  What's going on?

Actually, I would have thought that cutting spreaders would be prohibited under "Fundamental Rule" 1.6 without a formal rules modification, not just a tech committee ruling.

Seriously???

Garth adjusted the spreader length from max length (2 holes showing) to minimum length (0 holes showing). No hacksaws involved, just use the cotter pin. Anyone can do this.
His spreader angle is max aft. So this combination has a sweep which is well within the clearly defined rule minimum.

[Justin Scott]

FWIW.

I have my spreader length in the mid position. My sweep measurement is about 310mm by my recollection (which is a bit fuzzy). I will measure at CRW and post.