3 pages and I still don't think anyone has answered the original question ..Is the 1/3rd measured along the boom or straight line between mast & clew..? ( I think that was the question..? ) I'd like to know too as I'm not sure..

If you are going upwind move the lines back.
if you want to go fast off the wind move the lines forward so you don't oversheet in the lulls.

Its measured from the clew to the front of the mast, directly. I use a elastic rope with a loop that I put on around the end of the boom, and I store it in my harness.

Really helpful when you using rented equipment, or were on water adjustments are not easy to make. I just use it as a reference.

nick0 said...

also i think sailing with a back hand weight and no front hand weight transfers down and onto your back leg .....SPINOUT..... nueatral does it for me thou

Thanks mate, thats what I do heaps and now know why :)

Cheers GT

Reflex Films said...

waaaaaaaaay too much analysis going on.

I would toss cribby's tips in the bin...thats going to have you off the water in under an hour with cramp.

Its so simple - if you can sail hands off then your harness lines are correct.

There should be equal balance through each attachment point.

If you are loading up one hand more than the other then you are going to be knackered in record time.

If your front foot is coming out of the front strap - and the board feels like it wants to fly - your boom is too high.

If your front leg and knee are getting loaded up - and the rail is getting driven into the water- then you have your boom too low.

Get the lines and the boom height right and you have equal balance and force going through your whole body- especially both legs
which lets you concentrate on going fast. (tip: speed comes from your core )

I agree with Reflex's comments. I've never even heard of the 1/3 rule, windsurfing should follow "if it feels good do it" As Barn mentioned leave your velcro loose a bit so you can adjust on the fly. If your front arm is getting sore move the frontline or both slightly in that direction. Likewise for back arm.

The width you choose to have your lines apart is likely to depend on the style of sailing you do or what feels right. Wave/Freestyle, tend to have them narrow set to allow more room to move hands along boom freely. Speed/Slalom, I have mine around armpit width apart, long enough to have my arms comfortably outstretched whilst maximising leverage over the rig and unweighting the board. This also allows me to slide along the harness line more so than if I had my lines closer together to asist with going upwind. Also it helps with stability/control of the rig especially when your doing around 90kph

In general I think too many have their lines too short regardless of their stature/size. I use waist and seat harness's and adjust my lines accordingly when I use either by around 2" in length. Every time I sail and depending what sail I have up and what board/fin, how the sail is set usually requires an adjustment of my harness lines to get things feeling right.
ie more time Rigging/tweaking less time Friggin"

i spoke to the pros last night they said if it feels good do it

windsufering said...

i spoke to the pros last night they said if it feels good do it

How a you brucie? still trolling a ya my friend? it's your full time job now i sposeelmo says hi by the way.. How is the trolling going in iwindsurf?? all the boys know you to well over there dont they?

I used cribbs 1/3 rule on an "old" X3 160-210 boom and it worked a treat. Then tried it on a "new" x3 140-190 boom and it doesn't work by a long way.

All the 1/3 distances are at least 5cm too long going to the 140-190 boom.

In the end I just worked out where the lines sat best for each of my sails (on the water, not holding the rig on dry land) and marked the boom with a paint pen.

Minor adjustments then made on the water, based on the days conditions.

I use the 1/3 rule on my RS Slaloms. Its definately biased towards the backhand. My front arm quite often gets a workout, however when max powered to overpowered its great. I end up sheeting out with my harness, ie bend back leg in, then when powered, straightening again. The rig tends to be more upright and sheeted in more often. This setup is faster on a reach, however needs to be tweaked when going upwind, downwind or in marginal conditions.

KenHo said...

How can that be ?
Did the clew length change by 15cm because you used a different boom ?
FWIW, it was an X3 160-210 boom I used today.
I'd be interested to try this out with someone who uses the 1/3 rule.
Do people really move their harness lines inches when they change sails ?

Rox said...

I used cribbs 1/3 rule on an "old" X3 160-210 boom and it worked a treat. Then tried it on a "new" x3 140-190 boom and it doesn't work by a long way.

All the 1/3 distances are at least 5cm too long going to the 140-190 boom.

In the end I just worked out where the lines sat best for each of my sails (on the water, not holding the rig on dry land) and marked the boom with a paint pen.

Minor adjustments then made on the water, based on the days conditions.

Boom flex and tail width of boom can change where you need to place lines.

Reflex Films said...

waaaaaaaaay too much analysis going on.

I would toss cribby's tips in the bin...thats going to have you off the water in under an hour with cramp.

Its so simple - if you can sail hands off then your harness lines are correct.

There should be equal balance through each attachment point.

If you are loading up one hand more than the other then you are going to be knackered in record time.

If your front foot is coming out of the front strap - and the board feels like it wants to fly - your boom is too high.

If your front leg and knee are getting loaded up - and the rail is getting driven into the water- then you have your boom too low.

Get the lines and the boom height right and you have equal balance and force going through your whole body- especially both legs
which lets you concentrate on going fast. (tip: speed comes from your core )

body parts will go dead and you will have to pull up.

sboardcrazy said...


Whats wrong with sailing like a girl!

Right on sista Grrlpower!

aaahh - at last some common sense on this thread from some sailors (Spotty and Chris) that have their gear tweaked and tuned to 99.9999 % perfection.

slowboat said...

"1/3 rule" is not a bad starting point when you have new gear and have no idea where the COP is going to be. But it doesnt make any sense to adapt to that as "the setting it has to be at".

Variables for harness line placement:
1) sail design- thats a huge variable.
2) body weight and height - lighter riders on the same rig need their lines forward. So dont copy the settings of the pros unless you are as strong and heavy as them.
3) wind character and sailing angles

Set them so you are comfortable most of the time.

The only time a less comfy setting is better is if you are chasing top speed, and your sail has the COP wandering back a lot in the gusts (mine dont but there are a lot of race sails out there that do). Then having the lines set back can be faster in the gusts, but in the lulls you will burn the front arm quickly.

these are very interesting comments from one of the best..
i can vouch for point 2- when i jump on Chris's gear i recon his harness lines are at least 4 inches further aft than where i would have them set(not to mention there prob 8 inches longer as well!)..i am guessing i am 15odd kgs shy of the slow one as well.. food for thought!

Boom, sail and mast flex less. Less flex= draft and center of effort stays in place.