Dry land trapeze practice
Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:56 am
As a new Musto Skiff sailor I definitely need to work on trapeze work and footwork on the boat. Since the local breeze has been shut off due to a big high pressure sitting over North Carolina, I am using the 4th of July holiday to work on land.
I have the boat on the dolly with a 10 foot 4"x4" pressure treated pine beam lashed to the dolly. This allows me to leave the dolly wheels on and use the 4x4 for stability. To keep the bow down, I have a 14" 'ground screw' in the earth and lash the front of the dolly to the ground screw. The boat and dolly move a little bit, but I can go horizontal on the wire and the system stays relatively stable. Just hope I don't pop a dolly tire. They are getting quite a load.
I have elected to use this configuration to work on footwork and boat handling. I realize that this removes the boats natural motion, but in 0-3 knots of breeze on the lake, I will not get much chance to work on the trapeze.
Since much of the summer sailing will be light air, I have rigged the Swiss version of trapeze connections (forward on the wing). As I have not been on the water with this configuration, can someone tell me if spinnaker sheets need to go outboard or inboard of the trapeze lines when they are in the forward position.
Footwork is my main objective! On my other dinghy (Thistle) we are passionate about boat handling and using repeatable footwork for all maneuvers. I am trying to carry this (Bethwaite-esque) religion to the skiff. For tacking, I have found that I come off the rack with my forward foot first, stepping on the outer edge of the windward side, unhook, first big step is with aft foot and it is places about a foot to windward of the centerline and well aft of the mainsheet. The next step is with the forward foot and it is a big lunge step across the centerline and forward towards the spin sheet block. This step puts my aft knee on the deck (knee pads are a must). As the boom crosses, I stand, switch hands and pivot to face the main with what had been my aft foot now on the rack. I hook up and push out on my front foot first and then follow with my aft foot.
On a stable platform, this approach allows me to go from standing to windward to a lunge and end up standing on the new weather side without having to sit on the rack. These steps seem to work on dry land. I will see how they work on the water (if only I can get 8-10 knots of breeze).
Any and all comments are welcome.
Thanks
I have the boat on the dolly with a 10 foot 4"x4" pressure treated pine beam lashed to the dolly. This allows me to leave the dolly wheels on and use the 4x4 for stability. To keep the bow down, I have a 14" 'ground screw' in the earth and lash the front of the dolly to the ground screw. The boat and dolly move a little bit, but I can go horizontal on the wire and the system stays relatively stable. Just hope I don't pop a dolly tire. They are getting quite a load.
I have elected to use this configuration to work on footwork and boat handling. I realize that this removes the boats natural motion, but in 0-3 knots of breeze on the lake, I will not get much chance to work on the trapeze.
Since much of the summer sailing will be light air, I have rigged the Swiss version of trapeze connections (forward on the wing). As I have not been on the water with this configuration, can someone tell me if spinnaker sheets need to go outboard or inboard of the trapeze lines when they are in the forward position.
Footwork is my main objective! On my other dinghy (Thistle) we are passionate about boat handling and using repeatable footwork for all maneuvers. I am trying to carry this (Bethwaite-esque) religion to the skiff. For tacking, I have found that I come off the rack with my forward foot first, stepping on the outer edge of the windward side, unhook, first big step is with aft foot and it is places about a foot to windward of the centerline and well aft of the mainsheet. The next step is with the forward foot and it is a big lunge step across the centerline and forward towards the spin sheet block. This step puts my aft knee on the deck (knee pads are a must). As the boom crosses, I stand, switch hands and pivot to face the main with what had been my aft foot now on the rack. I hook up and push out on my front foot first and then follow with my aft foot.
On a stable platform, this approach allows me to go from standing to windward to a lunge and end up standing on the new weather side without having to sit on the rack. These steps seem to work on dry land. I will see how they work on the water (if only I can get 8-10 knots of breeze).
Any and all comments are welcome.
Thanks