Keep flipping sunfish..what am I doing wrong?

D

Domromer

Member
We had a decent wind here today at 15-20 mph. Normally I sail a hobie wave but today I tried a sunfish. All was going well for a while then I tried to tack...bam I was in the water. After righting the boat I was off again. A few more minutes of good sailing then I tried to Jibe...bam in the water again. I'm not sure if I had too much or too little sail out. Also I keep thinking the boom is going to take my head off. Is there a trick for getting the boom a little higher? Can I sail seated in the cockpit with my legs out?

Dom
 
The upper boom should be all the way to the top of the mast. You do have a daggerboard in, right? If you do have a daggerboard, then you need to let out on the halyard. Sailing a sunfish in those winds can be fairly difficult.
 
dator643 said:
The upper boom should be all the way to the top of the mast. You do have a daggerboard in, right? If you do have a daggerboard, then you need to let out on the halyard. Sailing a sunfish in those winds can be fairly difficult.
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do you mean let out the mainsheet? this will spill wind from the sail.
 
Domromer said:
We had a decent wind here today at 15-20 mph. Normally I sail a hobie wave but today I tried a sunfish. All was going well for a while then I tried to tack...bam I was in the water. After righting the boat I was off again. A few more minutes of good sailing then I tried to Jibe...bam in the water again. I'm not sure if I had too much or too little sail out. Also I keep thinking the boom is going to take my head off. Is there a trick for getting the boom a little higher? Can I sail seated in the cockpit with my legs out?

Dom
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No, you cannot be seated in the cockpit with your legs out under those conditions (15-20 mph). :eek:
You need to get up on the side, preferably close to the daggerboard slot. Moreover, you need to keep your head down while tacking and jibing. Unless you put the rig up real high (by adjusting the position of the halyard on the upper spar), which isn't optimal for top-level sailing.
 
also, if the boom is too low and you want to adjust it higher, this can be accomplished 2 ways.

the simplest way is to just move the halyard position on the upper boom (before you raise the sail). move the clove hitch knot lower (towards the tack of the sail) on the upper spar will raise your sail.
basic-rigging.jpg

the other way is to adjust the gooseneck setting (preferably with a quick adjust). this effects the angle of the sail, and would raise the back end of the sail (near your head) if you slide the gooseneck forward some.
img0213_025-gooseneck-area.jpg


I don't think sitting in the cockpit with your legs out will help any with your capsizing problem!
 
The daggerboard in the diagram is the old wood Barrington board and it is in the correct way. The new plastic board would go in long edge forward.
 
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beldar boathead said:
The daggerboard in the diagram is the old wood Barrington board and it is in the correct way. The new plastic board would go in long edge forward.
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Uh oh, I am now officially confused. I just bought an older Sunfish with a wooden daggerboard and was told by seller to put it in with the straight edge forward and the curve aft. This is wrong? Will it make a difference?
 
Your weight becomes a greater factor in high wind conditions so the heavier you are the easier it will be to keep the boat upright. Release the main sheet from the cleat when tacking and jibing is a no no in hi wind conditions. It is common practice to grab the boom and physically push and lift it to the other side when tacking.
Proper body position in high winds is key and a good universal tiller extension will help to achieve this so if you have a old style tiller extension it needs to be updated to a longer one with a universal joint.
Tell us more about your boat set up, Racing sail? Cleat for main sheet? Tiller extension? Adjustable goose neck?

Minas man
 
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Stephen Chase said:
Uh oh, I am now officially confused. I just bought an older Sunfish with a wooden daggerboard and was told by seller to put it in with the straight edge forward and the curve aft. This is wrong? Will it make a difference?
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The old wooden ones with a rounded tip do in fact go in long edge forward. It probably does not make much difference, but the long (straight) edge does go forward.
 
Is there a "rule" about which side the daggerboard's spring-clip should appear?

My Porpoise II had a daggerboard with a rounded tip, and an arrow to point "forward"
 
Light and Variable Winds said:
Is there a "rule" about which side the daggerboard's spring-clip should appear?"
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Hi Light and Variable, I'd bring up this spring thing to AQ Bill. He has taken quite an interest in how the rig ended up on the port side of the mast, and he might want to explore how the spring came to be where it is. I have no idea which side it belongs on, I have had a racing board for about 20 years, and it has no spring! Here is AQ Bill's thread on rig location - http://sailingforums.com/threads/a-theological-question-regarding-sunfish-rigging.30686/
 
I have my own "rule". Sail to port, spring to starboard (at least I think that's how it goes). But, I have a Viking, so I don't know if I'm correct or not.
 
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