Optimist Rigging Guide and Olimpic Sails Tuning Guide
Prepared by Clay Johnson, Colie Sails Introduction To the new Optimist sailor, rigging your boat can be overwhelming. For a relatively simple one-‐design boat, there are surprisingly many options available to you. This Rigging Guide is meant to help simplify things and hopefully answer some questions. If you’ve chosen to use an Olimpic race sail, you’re on the right path. Olimpic sails have won more regattas—both nationally and internationally—than any other Optimist sail. The sail makers at Olimpic are constantly researching, photographing, measuring, consulting, and tweaking to make sure they get every ounce of speed out of their sails; their sails are the best in the world, and you are going to be faster because you use one. This tuning guide is a work in progress. It is a collection of tips, instructions, measurements, and advice accumulated from years of sailing, coaching, and sail development. While I am confident in what is included in this tuning guide, sails and sail shape are always evolving and are subject to change. Take this tuning guide into consideration, but ultimately, how you set up your sail is up to you. Sail fast! Clay Johnson Colie Sails
Here’s an overview of an Optimist sail with the correct terms. These will be referred to throughout this rigging and tuning guide.
General Sail Setup Before you begin, it’s important to make sure you have the right equipment. In addition to your sail, you will need spars and sail ties to correctly tie on your sail. Spars: There are four types of spars out there: 1) Club Spars -‐Intended for beginner sailors, these spars require that the sail be permanently tied on at all times. De-‐rigging is simple as sailors can merely fold their sail and roll it around the spars for storage. All blocks and eyestraps are permanently attached. 2) QuickSilver Spars -‐QuickSilver spars are meant for intermediate sailors. Priced between club spars and racing spars, QuickSilver spars are made of the same aluminum as club spars yet have removable fittings to allow for the sail to be slid on and off. 3) Black Gold Spars -‐Black Gold Spars are the most common racing spars. The sprit can be either 27 mm or 29 mm (thicker and stiffer for bigger sailors), the mast is a stiff, anodized black aluminum with removable fittings that allow the sailor to slide his or her sail off and on. Booms come in four different sizes: 32mm: Also known as a “bendy” boom, this boom bends easily to allow smaller sailors to depower. Ideal for sailors up to 75 lbs. 40mm: Most common, middle of the road boom. Best for sailors up to 105 lbs. 45mm: Slight thicker boom holds power in the sail because it doesn’t bend as much in breeze. Best for sailors 105-‐130 lbs. 55mm: The biggest boom on the market. This thing is huge. In my opinion, if you need this boom, you should be in a Laser…. 4) M-‐IV Spars -‐MIV spars (pronounced Mach 4) are also high end racing spars. They are made by OptiParts (same company that makes the other spars) as an alternative to the Black Gold Spars. These spars are slightly gold/bronze in color which might be easier to touch on a hot, sunny day. Their appeal was that the sprit adjustment handle was placed higher on the mast to allow for easier adjustments to the sprit, but recently Black Gold spars moved their sprit adjustment handle higher too. One downside is that these spars do not come with a thick delrin mast plug (like the Black Gold mast) causing the mast to sit lower in the boat and wear more during use. The boom comes in one size and is most comparable to the 45mm Black Gold boom.
If you are serious about racing, I think the Black Gold Spars are the way to go. Match up your weight to the correct boom , use the smaller, thinner sprit, and sail fast. Sail Ties: Without a doubt, Black Gold Vectran sail ties are the best out there. The sail ties are 1.2mm thick and the corner ties are 3mm thick. They come long enough to wrap around the mast and boom twice each. The vectran core allows for zero stretch and their 16 plait polyester cover prevents knots from easily coming out. These are the sail ties of choice for most sailors.
These are the Black Gold Sail Ties. The Corner ties are 3 mm and are on the left. The regular Sail Ties are 1.2 mm and are on the right. Rigging Tips: 1) Despite the fact that the racing spars allow the sailor to slip his or her sail off and on each day, I would recommend re-‐tying—or at least checking over and tweaking—all sail ties before use. 2) The spars come with two mast pins. These are cylindrical in shape and slip into the holes at the top of the mast. They are intended to hold your wind indicator in place and facilitate quicker rigging and de-‐rigging. I would recommend that you do not use these as you will likely be adjusting the top sail ties daily before use. I would say a very small percentage of sailors actually use these.
These are the mast pins that are rarely used.
3) All sail ties should be tied with a simple square not. I would recommend adding one more knot on top of the sail tie to prevent your knot from coming out. **If you are having trouble untying your square knot, use one of two methods: either push on it or pull on it. Pushing on it means taking the tails from both sides and pushing into the knot to loosen it up. If the knot is too tight, pull on it. This is when you take one of the tails and pull it hard towards the knot. This will turn the knot into a series of half-‐hitches making it easier to untie. 4) It’s smart practice to have a few sail ties and corner ties in your boat in case one is lost during sailing. Most sailors tie them around an air bag strap in the back of the boat. Starting at the top of the mast: Using a 3mm “corner tie,” the top sail tie should go around the mast and through the grommet of the sail twice. Tie this sail tie snugly to the mast. You should not be able to see any light between the sail and the mast (or very little day-‐light).
Notice how the top tie is parallel to the top of the mast and the preventer is snug and holding the top tie in place. The next sail tie down is called the preventer. This runs diagonally from the top grommet at the throat to the bottom of two holes at the top of the mast (or bottom
most eyestrap for club spars). Using a corner tie, go around only once before tying a square knot. It’s important to get the tension on this sail tie correct. If it’s too loose, your top sail tie might be able to slip over the top of the mast. If it’s too tight, an ugly wrinkle can form because of tightness at the throat. Generally speaking, you want to tie the preventer snugly so that the top sail tie is parallel to the top of the mast (running horizontally). This will also ensure that your mast band starts within the correct tolerance on the mast. Moving down the mast, there are 6 mast ties that need to be tied. You should use 1.2 mm “sail ties” for these and go around twice for each one. Generally speaking, you want to just be able to see a little bit of light between the sail and the mast when tying your sail on. The reason you should go around twice is to prevent the tie from stretching and loosening up. As the wind increases, and to account for the increasing bend in your mast, you’ll have to tighten the top sail ties a little at first and slightly loosen the middle ties.
On the mast, sail ties should go around twice and be tied with a square knot. You should just be able to see light between the sail and the mast. The last tie on the mast is through the grommet at the tack of the sail and around the mast. Use a corner tie and go around twice. This sail tie should be relatively snug, yet still allow the sail to go to either side during tacks. It is ok for this sail tie to be a little looser in light air to facilitate tacking of the sail.
Notice how the tack of the sail is close to the corner, but the sail ties are loose enough to allow for the sail to switch sides during tacks. Starting at the boom and going out, the first tie should be a corner tie and go through the same grommet as the last tie on the mast. This sail tie should go around twice and be snug to the boom. Again, don’t make this sail tie too tight because it will prevent the sail from crossing the boom during tacks. The next 6 sail ties on the boom should be tied on with sail ties. Beginner sailors should go around two times with their sail ties, but more experienced sailors should only go around once. The reason you only want to go around once is because there is little pressure on the sail at the foot and the sail ties don’t tend to stretch as much. By going around only once, you allow the sail to flop from tack to tack more easily. Most sailors know the “pinky” rule for tying on these sail ties. That is, when tied, you should be able to fit your pinky in between the grommet and the boom. More specifically, aim to tie these ties with approximately 5 mm of space between the sail and the boom.
Sail ties on the boom should be 3-‐5 mm loose (enough so your pinky can just fit through) and should go around just once. Finally, the last tie that you should tie on is a corner tie at the end of the boom. This tie should go around twice, but unlike the other corner ties, I would recommend that this tie have about 3-‐5 mm of space between the sail and the boom. This will allow for more accurate leech tension (will help to not close the leech when trimmed in tightly) and will facilitate the sail during tacking.
Notice how the corner tie at the end of the boom is a little loose to allow for proper leech tension.
Other Controls: With all controls, the general rule of thumb is that as the breezes picks up, you should tighten all of your controls proportionally! Outhaul – The outhaul controls the foot of the sail and allows the sail to be powered up or flattened. Generally speaking, a looser outhaul should be used in light air and chop to help the sailor power up, while the outhaul should be tightened as the breeze increases. When rigging the outhaul, there are two holes at the back of the boom. Looking at the end of the boom from the back of the boat, tie a stopper knot in the end of your outhaul and go through the left (port) hole. Go through the grommet at the end of the sail and back towards the end of the boom. Take the outhaul and go OVER the end of the boom and through the hole TOWARDS THE FRONT of the boat. Pass the outhaul line between the sail and your corner tie on the way to the outhaul cleat. After you pass through the cleat, tie a stopper knot in the outhaul so that it doesn’t accidentally come out.
Here’s a view of how the outhaul is rigged inside over the top and inside the corner tie. The reason you should rig the outhaul like this is so that it interferes with the sail ties at the back of the boom as little as possible. Your corner tie should be slightly off the boom, so there should be room to pass between it and the boom. Your outhaul should ride right along the boom on its way to the cleat. Now when you tack, your sail should switch sides smoothly.
If you are in the situation where your corner tie is too tight to the boom that there isn’t enough room for the outhaul to fit between the boom and the sail, then just rig the outhaul on the outside of the sail tie. One trick for smaller sailors is to grab the back of the sail and pull it towards the back of the boom with your hand while tightening the outhaul with your other hand. This will help to pull your outhaul on in breezy conditions. Vang -‐ Your vang controls the leech of the sail. As your vang gets tighter, so too does the leech of your sail. By tightening the leech of the sail, you close off the top of the sail, depowering the boat. In light air, many sailors sail without any vang on. This is a mistake. Even in the lightest conditions, you should have the slack removed from your vang. I’m not saying to pull vang on, I am saying that you need to take the slack out of your vang so that your vang isn’t drooping. When you tack in light air, sometimes your mast does not rotate with the boat and you come out on the new tack with a twisted mast. One way to fix this is to slowly ease the sail, and because there is a little bit of tension on the vang, it will twist the mast straight when you ease. You should only start to really pull on vang when the breeze picks up and you are starting to hike. One trick to help you pull on your vang is to over trim your mainsheet and lean forward to pull the vang on. When your vang is on, slowly ease the mainsheet to lock your vang in place. You should note that it’s easier to pull your sprit on first and then your vang in breezy conditions. It’s much harder to pull the sprit on in breeze when vang is on, and you have the mechanical advantage of the mainsheet, so you might as well save the vang for last.
This sailor has over-‐trimmed his mainsheet and is tightening his vang. While holding the vang in the cleat, he will ease his mainsheet slowly to ensure the vang stays tight. Sprit -‐ -‐Like the other controls, you should be pulling your sprit on proportionally to how hard you are hiking and how windy it is. You want your sail to look as smooth and wrinkle free as possible. If there are vertical wrinkles along the mast, that means that your sprit is on too tightly. If there are more horizontal wrinkles off the throat, that means that you need more sprit. Try to set your sprit to minimize wrinkles.
Notice how smooth and perfect this sailor’s sail looks! Minimizing wrinkles is fast! I’m of the opinion that if you have to be either slightly tight on the sprit or slightly loose, you should set up to be slightly LOOSE. These very small wrinkles are dubbed “speed wrinkles” and are quite fast in light to medium breeze.
Notice the sprit is slightly loose here demonstrating “speed wrinkles.”
Downwind, the sailor should loosen his or her sprit to remove the vertical wrinkles. If possible, the sailor should re-‐tighten the sprit before the leeward mark; however, if that’s not possible, it’s ok to quickly do it after rounding the leeward mark.
This sailor is tightening his sprit quickly after the leeward mark. Boom Preventer -‐ Your preventer is the fourth control that you can use to adjust your sail shape. The preventer should be tied to either side of your boom jaw and rests on a small nub coming out of the front of the mast. This can be adjusted by adding “twists” to the line before putting it on the nub. The more twists you add, the higher the boom will sit and the looser your luff will be. The fewer twists that are on, the lower the boom can go and the tighter your luff is. Again, set your preventer proportionally to how windy it is. The preventer can also be used as an effective tool to make sure that your mast band is within the range. You should check the front of your leech to make sure that it’s not too tight. Sometimes when sailing in medium to breezy conditions, you will see small wrinkles coming off the eyelets of your sail. This is pretty common with all sails. This might mean two things. First, you may need to slightly loosen your middle sail ties on the mast. The mast is bending at the top which distorts the middle of the sail. It might also mean that you need to take a twist or two off of your preventer and lower the boom. This should remove some of the wrinkles.
This sailor needs to slightly loosen some of her middle/lower mast sail ties and take a twist off of her preventer. Bridle – The class rules state that your bridle must be no more than 100 mm off the boom. This is so that the triangle formed between the bridle and the boom does not become too large and dangerous while sailing. Because there is always a lot of pressure on your bridle from the mainsheet, I recommend that you tie your bridle to your boom as tightly as possible. Ideally, your bridle is spliced on at the front plastic eyestrap. If not, tie a secure and small bowline around the boom and through the eyestrap. Next, going through your mainsheet rings, go back towards the aft plastic eyestrap. Before you get there, tie a small loop in the bridle. Then pass through the eyestrap and go back to the loop. Pull tight and with your leverage, tie a half hitch around the loop. Next, tie half hitches around BOTH sides of bridle as it goes from the loop to the eyestrap. This will tighten the bridle even further. Most sailors use one mainsheet ring on their bridle. For racers, I recommend using a second mainsheet ring to have one for light air and one for heavy air. The light air one should be further forward. Look at your centerboard well. There should be a small hole towards the back of the well (this is a breather hole for use during production). Line up your forward-‐most ring directly over this hole. Your second ring should be approximately 60 mm behind the first ring. In light air, you can have
your mainsheet further forward so you don’t have to slide back during tacks. Because the wind is light, the pressure on your mainsheet should be light. When the breeze picks up, you can clip your mainsheet on to the ring that is further back. You will now have more leverage on the boom and be able to trim easier, and since it is windier, sliding back during your tacks won’t be as costly.
By adding half-‐hitches around BOTH parts of the bridle, the bridle becomes extra tight. Finally, you should take a corner tie and tie a loop between your mainsheet rings and the bridle. Though not mandated in the rule, these loops are a good idea for two reasons: first it prevents the bridle from ever coming below 100 mm and secondly if your bridle should break, you will still be able to finish the race successfully. Mainsheet – Being able to trim the mainsheet in enough is a big problem with some smaller sailors in breeze. Typically speaking, sailors want to trim their mainsheet so it’s in line with the back corner of their boat. In choppy and puffy conditions, small mainsheet adjustments are necessary to keep the boat powered up and moving well. If a sailor is too small, these movements are nearly impossible.
Notice how the sailor is trimmed in so the edge of her boom is right over the corner. One way to solve this problem is to use a 4:1 mainsheet. This double block mainsheet system allows for an extra purchase in your mainsheet system, making it easier to trim your mainsheet in. For the most part, you can use all of the same components from your normal 3:1 mainsheet to convert to the 4:1. You will need a soft-‐shackle to attach to the block in the bottom of the boat, an extra Harken 29c block, a connecting line to attach the two blocks, and an 8.55 meter (28 foot) mainsheet with a snap-‐shackle attached to the end. The other great feature about this mainsheet is that in light air you can still switch back to 3:1 so there’s less mainsheet to trim in.
This is the 4:1 Opti Mainsheet. You can see that with the extra block you get added purchase making it easier to trim. In light winds, just unclip the clip at the bottom to make it a normal 3:1 mainsheet. Mast Rake-‐ You can adjust your mast rake by spinning the dial in front of the mast cup under your thwart. By moving the cup aft, the top of your mast moves forward which powers up the boat. By moving the cup forward, the top of your mast moves back which depowers your boat. Typically speaking, mast rake should range between 270 cm – 290 cm (106”-‐114”). Those numbers are the extremes, though, with most sailors setting it between 277 cm – 282 cm (109”-‐111”). Generally, smaller sailors rake their mast further back and have a small measurement while larger sailors keep their mast raked more forward and have a larger number. Mast rake is something that each sailor should experiment with himself. Your sailor’s weight and the breeze strength are two large components of the mast rake
number, but so too are the water conditions (you want to power up through the chop, for example, so you might have your mast a little further forward). If you feel fast during practice or racing, make a note of your mast rake for future settings. When measuring, attach the end of a tape measure to the top of your mast. Measure the distance from the top of the mast to the rounded corner of the top rail directly in the back center of the boat. Some people measure all the way to the bottom of the rail, but these numbers are based off the rounded edge of the rail. Also, make sure to be pushing back on your mast while measuring for a more accurate reading. You should check your mast rake often, especially after traveling because the dial and cup can loosen up and change.
Olimpic Sails For those who don’t know, there are two types of sails: cross cut sails and radial cut sails. The difference between the two types of sails is how they are constructed. A sail is not just one piece of material, but rather a series of panels that are cut out and glued then sewed together. A cross cut sail has horizontally assembled panels while a radial cut sail has panels that “radiate” out of the clew of the sail. Generally speaking, a cross cut sail tends to be easier to sail with. What happens when you are sailing is you encounter small, subtle changes in the wind. With a cross cut sail, your sail will “breathe” and make very small auto-‐adjustments to change to the wind. With a radial cut sail, the sailor must be more precise with his trim. When trimmed and sailed correctly, a radial cut sail can point very high yet still maintain power. That said, for most Opti sailors, the crosscut sails allow the best combination of speed, power, and pointing. Olimpic has six different sails because each sailor in the Optimist is a different size, strength, and has a different technique. While other sailmakers only offer one or two models, Olimpic realizes that from the age of 5-‐15, sailor’s bodies are all very different and they want to offer the best sail for each sailor. Here is a simple chart to explain the sails and weight ranges: < 80 lbs 75 – 90 lbs 85 – 100 lbs > 100 lbs Olimpic Cross Cut Red Happy Gold Platinum Olimpic Radial Cut
Radial Medium
Radial Medium
Radial Ray
Olimpic Red The Olimpic Red is tried and true. It has had so much success that there have been essentially no changes to the sail in over 20 years. This sail is widely known as the perfect first racing sail for a sailor under 80 lbs. It is a cross cut sail that breathes well, holds its shape, and lasts for a long time. Mast rake for the Olimpic Red should be about 109-‐110 inches for most conditions.
Olimpic Happy Designed in consultation with arguably the best Optimist coach on the planet, Happy from Singapore, this sail is the newest model by Olimpic. Designed to be slightly more powerful than the Olimpic Red, this sail is the perfect sail to transition into once a sailor gets close to 80 lbs. Mast rake for the Happy sail should be around 111 inches for most conditions.
Olimpic Gold The Olimpic Gold is a cross cut sail for sailors between 85-‐100 lbs. The draft on the Gold is slightly higher than the Happy and Red sails making this sail very powerful. At the same time, a flatter entry allows for excellent pointing, making this sail dangerous. Mast rake for the Gold sail should be around 111 for most conditions.
Olimpic Platinum World Champion in 2013, the Olimpic Platinum is their cross-‐cut sail for sailors weighing over 100 lbs. This sail has the deepest draft and biggest pocket to allow for the most power. Like the gold, a flatter entry allows for increased pointing. Mast rake for the Olimpic Platinum should be about 111-‐111.5 for most conditions.
Olimpic Radial Medium Arguably the best Radial cut sail on the market, the Olimpic Radial Medium is best for sailors in the 75-‐95 lb range. This sail can point incredibly high without sacrificing speed and is really fast on the downwinds. More precision with sail trim is required, but if your sailor can account for small wind changes and conditions, this is a very fast sail!
Olimpic Radial Ray The big brother to the Radial Medium, the Radial Ray is a cross cut sail designed for sailors over 100 pounds. Its radial design allows for more pointing, but its full shape makes it powerful enough for heavier sailors. Again, precise trimming is important with this sail. **In 2014, Olimpic discontinued this sail to concentrate on the Platinum for sailors over 100 lbs. That said, some are still available. Though there is no tuning chart, you can keep in mind the chart for the Radial Medium when tuning your sail. General Olimpic Sails Tuning Tricks 1) For the deeper sails (Gold, Platinum, Radial Ray) it is advised to sail with a slightly tighter outhaul. 2) Luff control is crucial in the Optimist. This is maintained by adding twists to the boom preventer and raising the boom. 3) Sprit tension is also very important, and it should be noted that it’s better to have the sprit slightly looser than tighter. Even in windy conditions, having a slightly looser sprit, in addition to a loose luff, can help with speed and height. 4) The most important sail ties to check and tie are the ones at the top of the mast. Make sure that the top most one is parallel to the top of the mat and the preventer is snug. This is difficult to adjust on the water, and if you don’t have a coach boat, you may need to drop your mast to adjust.
About Clay Johnson
Clay Johnson grew up sailing Optimists in Toms River, NJ. Clay had a very successful Optimist career, winning the Valentine’s Day Intl. Regatta, qualifying for two South American Teams, making one World Team, and winning the US Team Trials at 143 lbs in light conditions before declining his 2nd World’s berth—all while using an Olimpic sail. Clay continued to sail in high school and college, where he was a 4-‐time All-‐ American at Harvard. Clay has since moved into the Laser class where he is a multi-‐ National Champion, North American Champion, Pan-‐American Team representative, and nominee for US Sailing’s Yachtsman of the Year Award. In April, 2012, Clay bought Colie Sails with the intention of staying local and supporting sailing on Barnegat Bay. To learn more about Clay, please visit his website: www.claysails.com www.coliesails.com
About Olimpic Sails Olimpic Sails began in 1980 and are made in Trieste, Italy, at the Olimpic Sails factory. In addition to making the best Optimist sails in the world, Olimpic also makes sails for International 420s, 4702, Snipes, 2.4 meter, Stars, and many other boats. Their company employs sailors and coaches who all have extensive sail-‐ making experience. No two sails are ever the same, but Olimpic has the same person do each task for every sail to ensure the most consistency from sail to sail. Once made, they are carefully shipped from Italy to Colie Sails in Point Pleasant, NJ, where they are meticulously rolled and stored inside long sail boxes awaiting their new owner!
