114 AUGUST 2019
TECHNIQUE
MOVE ON UP
With Jem Hall // Photos Nicolas Jones.RIG
TUNING
BASICS
In keeping with summer, the high season for newcomers
to windsurfing, we go back to basics this month and look
at the fundamentals of rig tuning. Getting your rig to its
optimal state is all about finding a base to work from and
then tune, experiment and reflect from there. This piece
is not going to disappear off in a haze of luff curve, flex
response time and other fancy jargon, but rather provide
you with the basics that I have seen benefit hundreds of
people I have coached. The main areas we will cover are:
harness line length, spread and position, boom height and
the main trimming variables of both outhaul and downhaul.3 CORNERS AND 3 SIDES
When I am coaching, I love to ask my people questions, engage them and help
them become better at self coaching, so they can continue to ask themselves
questions and the progression continues. One of my favourite questions is
what are the names of the 3 corners and 3 sides of the sail?
For corners, the bottom corner is called the tack, the top corner is called the
head and the back corner (where you look mid gybe) is called the clew.
For sides, the bottom side is called the foot. A freeride sail has a low foot
to help keep power down low for blasting, whilst a wave sail will have a higher
foot for manoeuvrability. The leading edge of a sail is called the luff, with the
mast going in the ‘luff tube’. To luff can also mean head upwind or sheet out.
Opposite the luff, is the trailing edge, known as the leech.
“ TUNE, EXPERIMENT
AND REFLECT.”