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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

Hi John

On shore practise is an excellent way to learn. My suggestion would be to concentrate on learning a technique that you can do consistently. The most frequent cause of a capsize is rushing a manouvre and doing something different.

as a very simple dry land set up I can recommend (for demonstrating things ashore):
-take off the standard air filled trolley wheels
-stack them on top of each other
-put them under the back of the boat
-that way you can walk around in the boat, hoist, drop etc, only trapezing and rack work wouldn't work

do you have a photo of your dry land set up so its easier to picture?

on footwork there is more here:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2837&p=17364&hilit=gybing&sid=ee50177b19e62d98bcbd9530c82d7f2d#p17364

Ger,
I will snap some pictures tomorrow. The only challenge I face is that to tie the bow to my ground screw, my boat is in a nose down attitude (20-25 degrees) which accentuates the vector throwing me forward when on the trapeze. I think taking the wheels off the dolly will help a bit but I will also jack up the front of the dolly before I tie down to the ground screw.

The ground screw set into the ground and securing the dolly to the ground screw eliminates the worry about the boat landing on the stern as I move aft.

I have to agree that using the same footwork, all the time, has been critical in many boats I have sailed. I had a pretty good idea about footwork, but getting the specific length of the strides is crucial. I cannot help but believe that the dry practice will really help on the water. If I can get the footwork down solid on a stable platform, it will certainly give me a better chance of repeating them on the water.

Thanks,

I have some photos to add but I am not sure of the mechanics for adding photos. Can someone educate me.

Thanks,

Photos show the rig used for land practice

Photo shows Musto Skiff rigged in my driveway with the 10 ft long 4x4 lashed to the dolly.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2qkvT ... sp=sharing


Photo shows 10 foot 4x4 pressure treated pine lashed to dolly. The 4x4 is actually a fore-aft beam used for a dolly for my other boat, hence the wheels on the 4x4.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2qkvT ... sp=sharing

Shows securing dolly to 4x4 beam and securing rack to 4x4 just for good measure
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2qkvT ... sp=sharing

Shows how bow is secured to dolly. Line runs under spinnaker chute and secures on port side trolly.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2qkvT ... sp=sharing


Shows ground screw (RED) with line securing front of dolly to the ground screw. Two sections of 4x4 were placed under the front of the trolly to level the boat. The ground screw prevents the boat from pitching backwards on the dolly axle as I move aft to simulate tacking.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2qkvT ... sp=sharing

Using the land rig shown in the prior post I have been able to get my footwork down. A 45 minute workout of simulated tacks and extensions on the trapeze and then into another simulated tack, and I was whipped. 60+ simulated tacks in 45 minutes really helped with footwork consistency. Now I need to get out on the water with some wind to practice.