Sailing the RS800 - The 2006 National Champion´s Hints and Tips

By Ben McGrane

Having spoken to some of the Nationals fleet after the last days racing, it was suggested to me that I should take the time to put together some information that can be of use to anyone in the RS800 fleet. So this is what I have done, based on what we learnt during the 16 races of the national championships.

Boat Set Up

The RS800 set up we used for the week was relatively basic, our standing rigging remained unchanged for the week except for the caps. It could be argued that there wasn't much need to change the set up as we had breeze all week, but there were certainly days when we raced in 25knots and there were others when there was as little as 12knots. Below is a basic table of the tensions we were running during the week.

All of the tensions below were measured using a Loos Gauge, its well worth buying one of these, as without it you will struggle to set your rig correctly. You will also find that over time and in different conditions your mast tensions will read differently so it's important to continually check them.

This is very basic, the shrouds, lowers and forestay all remained in the same holes for the entire week, changes in tension on these wires were all a result of the caps being changed. Our rake was ½ a hole down on the shroud from the fleet standard. The tension on the lowers was just tight (just off the bottom of loos gauge scale) which as far as we could make out was the setting most boats are using.

Why change the caps?

The caps control the power at the top of the rig and can make a significant difference to how the boat behaves, different gears of sailing (pointing or bow down) and different conditions (gusts, steady breeze) require different characteristics from the rig. If you consider that most of the sailing we did during the nationals was in breeze blowing off the land, we tried to set the boat up so that it responded well to changes in pressure and was easy to sail. As the breeze increased the cap tensions were reduced so that the top of the mainsail was less static sailing into gusts and the leech was allowed to open keeping the boat driving forward. Having not had masses of time to play around with measuring the rig, I would be interested to see how much rig bend is increased by more shroud tension. We looked at it at the beginning of last season on Ian's old boat; increasing the tension didn't seem to induce much bend, if this is the case then perhaps running more rig tension to reduce forestay sag and help pointing isn't a crazy idea. I will leave it with you guys to try!

Boat Preparation

Part of a successful event comes from having a boat that you know is prepared to a level as good as, if not better than any other team on the race course. Removing the chance of having equipment failure can make the different between getting the results you need and spending the day on the shore fixing what should have been taken care of before going to the event. While it may take some time, we did the following basic job to our boat in order to be satisfied that we would have minimum gear failure but also the boat would perform as well;

• All ropes were new, every line was replaced. It's not unrealistic to expect ropes to only last a week especially when it is windy and 16 races are completed.
• Checking the boat does not leak, water in the hull can have a dramatic effect on speed and also make manoeuvres difficult as it changes the balance with the weight moving from side to side.
• Making sure there are no dings or scratch on the hull or foils, it doesn't take much to learn how to make these repairs and isn't as time consuming as it is often perceived.
• Using good condition sails, making a significant difference to speed. New sails have less chance of failure. We also find that a decent spinnaker can make drops, hoists and gybing a lot easier as the spinnaker does not stick and friction is reduced.
• All fittings were checked and replaced where necessary. Block failure is common and can normally be identified before it happens.

I am not saying our boat was perfect, and we did have equipment failure which I put down to our lack of knowledge of what can break on an RS800, but we only missed one race! I think the point is it doesn't take much time or effort to have a boat that is well maintained and not going to let you down.

Day to day maintenance

We found the RS800 was a boat with a lot of day to day maintenance, worse that what we are used to in the 49er. This was perhaps because we don't know the boat that well, but all the same we found something worn or broken at the end of each day. It takes a very small amount of time to check over a boat and can make the difference between finishing races or not.

We made sure before going to the event that all the fittings were in working order and that all the systems worked properly. All ropes were new, in a week long event its easy for sheets and halyards to become tired particularly when racing 16 races in strong breeze. If you go to an event with a boat you know is in good working order, the amount of time you spend worrying about breakage's and fixing the boat is greatly reduced making your week far more enjoyable.

At the end of each day take 10-15 minutes to look around the boat, both of you check everything so its been done twice. It's not silly to tip the boat over and check the mast, most of the breakage's at the nationals were up the mast! Remember the bar will still be there 15 minutes later!!

Basic Controls

Once on the water there are very few strings to pull in order to change the boat setup.

Kicker

We tried to get kicker tension as early as possible, this was basically to make the boat easy for Ian to sail, when using mainsheet tension to tighten the leach it is very hard to adjust the mainsail, particularly when the conditions are gusty. In the windy races we used as much kicker as I could pull on to flatten the mainsail and reduce power. In the races with less wind the amount of kicker used was based on how the boat felt and how the sail looked, I realise this is pretty vague. As a basic guide I pulled as much as possible without removing all the power, (i.e. once the leach was as straight as it could be - then increasing kicker tension would only decrease the sails cord depth - and so reduces power). We were always looking for just enough power to support us flat wiring. Try to not pull on so much kicker that you get really bad starvation creases down the front of the lower battens, this only seemed to be a problem in the conditions when cunningham wasn't being used as well. As the crew, make it your job to release the kicker in lulls.

Downwind was a case of setting it to what looked right, we spent the first few days with me asking Ian if he was happy with how the mainsail looked before I got used to what we felt was best. Calibration is helpful to get the same setting each time, but be aware that the conditions aren't always the same and in a 4 lap race the kicker may need to be set differently each time.

Cunningham

This seemed to be the 'go button' upwind when it was breezy. If Ian felt he couldn't get the boat in the grove, pulling this seemed to make the difference. We used the cunningham to depower once the kicker had been pulled to its maximum. Downwind the cunningham was released as far out as I could get it to go, it wouldn't be a bad idea to add an elastic to help it to ease.

Outhaul

We never moved the outhaul during a race but did set it differently to suit the conditions. On the windy days, we pulled it as tight as possible without getting the large horizontal crease at the foot of the mainsail. When the breeze was light enough to be looking for power, we eased 2-3 inches to create more depth in the foot of the sail.

Jib

The crew has to be careful to not over sheet the jib, and if the boat is stalled or lacking pace then it can often be the reason. Making a reference mark on the clew line that can be related to the block nearest the clew board is an easy way of replicating settings.

From what I saw our jib set up was massively different from anyone else in the fleet. We had the 'tack' one hole from the bottom of the adjuster to give us a flat foot to the sail and to open the leech. The clew was on the middle hole and we used track holes 3-5, moving outboard progressively when we found the jib was eased to keep the slot open.

The jib luff tension was as tight as we could pull it as soon as we were fully powered up. I don't think you can pull this hard enough, the stitching at the head and tack of our jib was pulling apart after 2 days racing and it was brand new! When there was less breeze we used just enough tension to remove any sag between the jib hanks to give the sail greater depth. The jib set up in general is very much down to how the boat feels on the helm, our general system seems to be that Ian will tell me how the boat feels and then we try to find a solution between us if he doesn't think its quite right. Replace the clam-cleats on the mast for halyards so that it is easy to adjust the jib luff tension and set it where you want it.

Sailing for Height

This is a necessary tool when slightly low of the windward mark layline or coming off the start line in a pack of boats.

• Move the weight forward and get the bow in the water if really height searching.
• Jib sheeted harder, be careful to not over sheet.
• Less mainsheet movement, use gusts to take height.
• Less kicker and cunningham if lacking power.
• Crew doing all the weight movement, spotting gusts/lulls, chop and explaining what the surrounding boats are doing.
• Helm focusing on sailing the boat and calling required changes.
• Make sure your strops are the right length so you can get leech tension as without it this gear isn't possible.

Sailing for height, if used correctly we can slow down competitors to gain a tactical advantage and put boats between us and them. The jib is sheeted hard and weight is forward. Ian's focus is on sailing the boat while I feed information from outside the boat.

Bow Off

During the nationals we were generally the boat sailing in the most 'bow off' gear upwind and trying to generate speed rather than height, if the boat is going fast, pointing usually becomes a very welcome side effect. Creating this gear;

• Weight back in the boat; the rs800 planes to windward so getting the bow out of the water, reducing drag and the effect of chop all helps the speed. We were standing with Ian's front foot in line with the control lines, this gave us around 12" of bow from the knuckle out of the water.
• Maximising leverage; getting the crews weight out as far as possible, hands above their head and standing on tip toe, it all makes a massive difference.
• Sheet movement; Once the boat is in the grove the amount of sheet movement required is very small. Try to move the jib with the mainsail as entering gusts, avoid the mainsail turning inside out, the more accurate you are with jib sheet movements the easier the helms life will be. Recognise when the helm is sailing high or low and set the jib to reflect this. Communication is key!
• To make this gear as easy as possible we have tapered jib and main sheets so that friction is reduced and therefore sheeting loads are reduced, it just makes it easy to be accurate and make small adjustments.
• We also made sure that both jib and main cleats were set at the correct height to allow for easy cleating and releasing of the sheets. It makes sense to have the systems work as best possible, it means your focus is on sailing the boat and racing.

Sailing in a bow off gear, weight is back in the boat to reduce drag. Both of us are working the sheets to maximise speed and avoid staggering and heel. Crew's looking for the next gust or chop and feeding this information back to the helm.

Downwind

Getting the helm set in a position where he can concentrate on steering the boat and looking around while the crew does weight movement seems to work for us. I think the most noticeable difference between us and every other boat at the nationals was how far back in the boat we were. As soon as it felt comfortable we were both in foot loops, this is mainly because the hull drag is reduced and the bow is kept clear of the water so steering is not effected dramatically by waves and the boat is more responsive. It is also much easier to stand on the side of the boat with a foot loop stopping you being thrown around. We use SHOCK foot loops produced by 49er Olympic medallist Simon Hiscock, we have found them to be lightweight and easy to get your foot into and out of, they also hold their shape well. Crews be careful to not lean on the helm as nudge them too hard and they have a tendency to disappear around the back!

Back of the bus! Twin loops as far back as possible, focus on keeping the boat flat. Wiring fairly low, the RS800 is an apparent wind boat.

We have also found having a tiller extension that does not bend can make a difference to how easy it is to steer the boat, we have tried a variety of manufacturers but currently we are using rooster carbon extension, we have found they do not bend but are also light weight and to our knowledge indestructible.

Downwind we use a system of Ian looking behind, spotting gusts, watching the fleet. He also calls the leeward gate layline. My focus is on making sure the spinnaker is working at its maximum and also calling gusts hitting us from the side. As a crew who has previously helmed high performace boats it took me a long time to get used to keeping my head in the boat. The best solution seems to be asking the helm questions to get yourself information, it makes them look around more and allows you to spend more time looking at the spinnaker and the waves ahead.

Boat Handling

Boat Handling is now a major part of modern racing, not only staying upright but also as a tool for overtaking and gaining distance. Spending time in training to make sure you can complete all the manoeuvres required around the course makes the difference where you finish in the racing. The RS800 design doesn't make it easy as there are a lot of objects (kick bars, kicker, mainsheet, etc) to get caught up on and trip over. We wear rash vests over all our other clothing to reduce the chance of getting caught in the boat, its just one less thing to worry about. Having boots that you are comfortable with good grip make walking across the boat and staying on the side a lot less stressful. We use Rooster boots because they have excellent grip on the sole and hold your foot well preventing it going in one direction while the boot tries to go another.

I feel that our communication is the biggest strength to our boat handling, we have set calls for each manoeuvre to help us understand what is happening and to make sure there is no confusion. In boats like the RS800 everything happens quickly, try to discuss everything so that at least one of you is thinking ahead and both of you know what is happening.

Rate of Turn

Spend time learning how fast you can turn corners, try to find a speed at which you can both complete the manoeuvre repeatedly. This can be quite a fun exercise for the helm, and a relatively painful one for the crew, all of our manoeuvres are based around how quickly I can cross the boat and do all the jobs required on the way. It is a compromise, I'm not going at the same speed every time, its down to Ian to adapt to my speed and me to adapt if he steers slightly quicker or slower than normal. Generally you will find that doing a manoeuvre at a speed you are comfortable with will be more effective and removes the risk of mistakes. I always find in pressure situations it is hard to not get aggressive, but it is really important to try to always do your manoeuvres as you would normally.

Starting

This is now 70% of the race in fast boats, more often than not the boat that gets out the startline 1st, will be the boat in the lead at the 1st mark. Spend time learning slow speed manoeuvres and how to hold the boat in a stationary position. This will mean you can put the boat where you want on the line, sit there longer than anyone else and get out of trouble if necessary. Starting is a major part of today's racing, a good start with room to get the boat up to speed puts you straight into the driving seat and presents far greater options.

• Helm; focus on keeping the boat stationary, avoid sideways slip and forward motion. We sat Ian on the side in the RS800 and he communicates what he requires from me while I do my best to do everything before he asks.
• Crew; Balance the boat and keep the bow below head to wind. I spent most of my time standing or on one knee just to leeward of the centreline. It is my job to keep the boat heel where Ian feels is correct. Use the jib to avoid going head to wind. Communicate to the helm distance to the line, pressure coming down the course, position of other boats.
• Crew; thinking about the shift, tack to be on off the line, where the breeze is. I spend as much of the pre-start as possible trying to make sure that we have a strategy coming off the line. Aim to put your helm in the best position coming off the line and get on the right shift ASAP with a good lane.
• 30 seconds to go, Ian stands and I sit to prepare the kicker and cunningham, set as best possible so it is right for the beginning of the beat. The boat will be going slow if you have to move back in to adjust it and can mean loosing your lane.
• Last 15-20 seconds, Ian sat back down and hooked in ready to trigger, I stood jib in back hand and trapeze handle in the other.
• Crew; has to watch boats and distance to the line. I try to give Ian as much information as I can, distance to the line, if boats look like there about to accelerate and where his bow is in relation to boats around him. From this he calls when to trigger.
• In breeze at the nationals we were hitting the wires at the same time on the trigger, in less breeze we were getting Ian out and then I would apply the necessary amount of weight to match the power of the rig.
• Focus on getting the boat up to speed, this might seem obvious but practising acceleration can make that ½ a length difference that separates a good start or eating dirt.
• Crew; looking upwind and straight into tactics, explaining if boats are sailing high or low, give the helm the information they need to maintain the lane.
• Helm; focus on sailing the boat fast, ask questions if you don't feel you are being told what you need to know.

Tacking

Tacking in the RS800 is a difficult process for the helm and easy for the crew as proved the helm does his job correctly all you have to do is run.

Tack at a speed you are comfortable with and try to make each tack the same.

Gybing

Gybing the RS800 is easy proved you go into it at speed with commitment and thinking it will be fine. We identified that the most important thing was making sure the boom goes across, provided this happens and you are quick on your feet the boat should still be upright when the gybe is finished.

• To enter the gybe we either sent me in just ahead of Ian so I was standing on the side of the boat as he was standing on the wing. This basically gives me slightly more time to gybe the spinnaker. The other option when it got extremely windy was to move Ian in so he was sat on the wing and then do a single wire gybe from this position, we only did this when it was very windy.
• Gybing the spinnaker, I took a small pull on the old sheet just to control the leech and prevent the leech twisting, then pulling the spinnaker around as quickly as possible as moving across the boat. We have a spliced loop on the spinnaker sheets so that the clew of the spinnaker does not catch on the jib or forestay.
• To make sure the boom went across Ian was grabbing the bulk of the mainsheet and then putting the boom across as soon as it would go rather than waiting for it to happen.
• On the exit, helms focus on steering to the power while getting weight out quickly. If it is breezy then the crew can bring there weight up quickly and go out on the handle if necessary.

For the helm, steer to how quickly the crew is moving, if they are slow then slow the entry down, if they move quickly then speed it up. It is important for both the helm and crew to adapt and except that either one of you can make a mistake, recognise something isn't right and make it your priority to fix it.

Windward Mark

• Plan your approach as to avoid infringing other boats!
• Crew's prepare the kicker and cunningham so that they are eased for the bear away.
• On the spacer leg, crew's expect to have to move in and out as it is difficult to play a mainsail on a trapeze wire with only one hand.
• If it is breezy then helm's get back in the foot loop to help keep the bow up but also so you don't have to worry about sliding down the wing.
• Crew's make sure you don't over-sheet the jib as this can result in the boat not wanting to bear away and the bow going down.
• Once you have rounded the spacer buoy then the crew's job is very simple, pull the spinnaker up and get it pulling as quickly as you can. The helm can make this easy or hard, try to steer the boat so the crew has a stable platform. Communicate everything, boats to avoid on the beat, gybe or straight set, bad waves, weight up after the hoist or stay in. The more information you feed the crew the easier it is for them to keep their head down and pull harder.
• I found standing on the spinnaker sheet helped the spinnaker to set quickly and avoided the aggravation of the spinnaker twist.
• Once the spinnaker is up then get back out on the wire quickly if it is breezy and get the boat up to speed.
• After the set and once the boat is going again, set the kicker to the correct amount for the conditions and ease as much cunningham as you can to avoid compression breaking the mast.

A stable platform while hoisting or dropping makes it much easier for the crew to focus and stay on their feet.

Leeward Mark

• Try to have a clear plan of which mark you intend to round as early as possible, also the type of drop (straight, gybe drop etc) and try to plan where you will be in relation to the boats around you.
• Some crew's might find it better to give the spinnaker sheet to the helm although I avoid this as it means it is increasingly difficult for the helm to move if they have to, and they already have a lot to do. I take the sheet with me and hold it so it is pulling until I start the drop. If we are on a low drop I will stand on the sheet so that it is pulling for as long as possible.
• Before releasing the spinnaker halyard take the slack out of the spinnaker downhaul to avoid the spinnaker hitting the water before it reaches the shoot mouth.
• Once the spinnaker is down, tidy the spinnaker sheets if there is time.
• I find it very useful if Ian communicates everything that is happening, much the same as the windward mark it just means I can get on with the job at hand. Most importantly Ian tells me lengths to the mark and when he is going to round the boat onto the breeze so I have time to prepare myself and therefore don't got thrown off balance.
• Once round the mark get the jib so it is set correctly for the conditions then prepare the kicker and cunningham.
• Try to think tactically as soon as there is time. When approaching the leeward mark, knowing your downwind compass numbers can be a big help in rounding the leeward mark and getting onto the best tack quickly.

Leeward marks are now one of the best places to pass on a windward/leeward course, learning the manoeuvres and having confidence in your boat handling at this point of the course can really help you gain places.

Roles in the Boat

If you consider the workload in an RS800 going upwind there is relatively little for the crew to do in comparison to the helm. The helm has to steer and play the mainsail making it difficult for them to move in and out and also making it hard for them to look around. My focus as the crew was to make the Ian's life as easy as possible. Tactical decision making can often be done as a partnership, proved both of you know what is going on. There are times when making a call to tack doesn't require a discussion and other times decisions may take both heads. In both situations I try to feed information to Ian so he doesn't have to look around and when I make tactical decisions he knows enough of what is going on to not have to ask questions. This doesn't always happen and Ian will often ask me questions in order to gain a better perspective, but it highlights the importance of recognising who has which responsibilities and making sure that communicating is seen as the most important aspect in making the boat go fast.

Crewing Upwind

• Maintaining maximum leverage/moving in out with gust lulls as required.
• Calling gusts/lulls
• Long tack/short tack
• Layline calls
• Boat calls; port/starboard, pinching boats/footing boats, where the fleet are going
• Jib trim
• Control line adjustment
• Side of course favoured
• Telling the helm what is going on
• Saying when the boat feels fast or slow, constructive criticism/pat on the back when the boat feels good!

Helming Upwind

• Mainsheet
• Steering
• Maximising leverage
• Calling when more or less weight is required
• Asking the crew questions
• Calling control line changes

I think that without question the helms job is the hardest thing in the world, to keep the boat going at 100% all the way around the course without any loss of speed is 30-45 minutes of total concentration, anything the crew can do to help is a must!!

So that's about it, an overview of what we learnt about RS800 during the nationals, much of it is a direct cross over from how we sail the 49er. The ideas and above information are by no means set in stone and always evolve, but hopefully it will give you some ideas and help to progress your sailing. Good Luck!

Footnote by Steve Cockerill

Ben McGrane is certainly the consumate professional. I have enjoyed working closely with him. Rooster Sailing has developed a new layered system to suit trapezers.

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