Last season one of our most experienced land sailors gave a presentation before the start of each race day, the aim was to assist new sailors to under stand how to set up there yachts and how to and what to look for while sailing. I was impressed by the presentation and feed back so I asked Graeme If it was OK to share it on here and he was more that happy to help.
The tutorial went over several meetings so I will post a bit at a time as I think it would be to much to observe at one time.

By Graeme Chandler – AUS20’

Enjoying the Challenge by Graeme Chandler AUS20

Chapter 1

I gave up motor racing to join this club in February 1987, Yes that is 27 years… that made me member No 74 since the clubs founding in 1969 as the Safety Bay Yacht Club. Renamed the Sandgropers in March 82. Landsailing should be an enjoyable challenge, the biggest thing in getting to the enjoyable part is to reduce the frustrations the challenge will always be there.

First is the dependence on the wind
we have no control over the wind and we need to accept that and learn to use what we get. To use the wind you need to be aware of the direction and strength at all times AT ALL TIMES That means not only when you are racing, but when you are in the pit area and rigging your yacht.

How long do you take to rig your yacht? Is it hard work? If it is, look at another way. Think about how to use the wind to help rig your sail. If you tip your mast down wind BEING AWARE OF THE WIND DIRECTION stand at the head of the mast and flip the sail out away from you so that when you slide it on to the mast it will not fold back over the mast head. When you take your sail off tip the mast into the wind, pull the sail off and roll it from the head down. Now with the sail on and the yacht laying down – think about whether you fit your sheet now, or stand the yacht up. If you lay the mast directly down wind and fit the sheet, when you stand it up it will be square to the wind and likely to power up the sail. If you can’t turn the yacht head to wind, then don’t fit the sheet, but when you do stand it up DON’T WALK AWAY. Un-maned yachts sail very well.

Still on parking the yacht-, when you come in after a race, or a sail, finish up heading into the wind and not just front on to the car park if you leave the yacht standing disconnect the sheet. And we’re not even out of the parking area yet.

Now the matter of equipment,
Reliability and performance. RELIABILITY for me there is only one rule do all the maintenance before coming to the lake. Then, come early enough to do what you missed or forgot. Wind powered equipment works best with the least DRAG; The tyres being the point of contact contribute a large portion of the drag in the form of ROLLING RESISTANCE what water sailors call FORM RESISTANCE CLUB 88 sailors inherit the 400-8 TYRE -- the rib pattern works better than the diamond or road pattern -- remember these tyres are rated to 220 KG @ 30KPH and NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE. That is a third of the speeds we run them at, and about the same load, and in tyre terms, CONTINUOUS or HIGHWAY USE. From the ground up Tyres are the items requiring most frequent inspection, and attention Are they FLAT? what PRESSURE should they be? is there CANVAS SHOWING? (or close too), do you have a SPARE ready? The 400-8 tyres have a maximum of 42 PSI (3 bar for the metric folk)...I run 30 psi in the rear and 2O psi in the front. (THAT’S A TIP) Although secondary to the tyres the bearings are very important, they need to carry the load with the least resistance. There is a choice of bearings for the ‘88’ wheels; UNGROUND (cheap) wheelbarrow type or DEEP GROOVE BALL The DEEP GROOVE BALL bearings can be SHIELDED or SEALED. SHIELDED is a non-contact steel shield, and SEALED is a rubber contact seal. If you use the SEALED type remove the inner seal, and lubricate with LIGHT OIL, NOT GREASE. What do I use DEEP GROOVE BALL. Moving right along; AXLES;…are your axles straight? The CLUB 88 has no provision for adjustment so straight axles are essential. STEERING; is the cable tension correct? Have you greased the king pin? Is the front wheel vertical when you are running straight? If not you will be better on one tack than the other.

Part One.