Light air tips - older J24

I'm seeking some light air performance tips.

I've sailed on CAN2947 for the past five seasons. After many many regattas I
have concluded that we are competitive with the top half of the fleet when
there is 8+ knots of wind. However, when the wind drops we fall way behind.
To fix this problem we did the following to the boat:

New Quantum sails
Tuned the rig properly (max J, mast butt max foreward, max forestay, max
spreader deflection, etc)
Starting trimming the sails in accordance with the Quantum tuning guide

This has given us a huge improvement this season. However, we still fall
behind in really light conditions (just not as much now) so I'm looking for
some tips from some of you rockstars out there. Here are some details...

**Our most significant problem seems to be light air going into waves where
we just can't get the boat underway after a tack or rounding
**Our keel is not max forward but about 10-15mm (almost 1") back
**We haven't checked our keel or rudder against a template
**We have an older mast which I believe is heavier than some of the top
boats
**Our hull may not be as stiff as some of the newer boats
**Our rig tension may be too tight given the problem with waves (Lake
Ontario)
**Our sails are not BRAND new compared to these top boat, ours have about 6
regattas on them
**We haven't done much to the hull in the way of wet sanding or waxing etc.
**We aren't roll tacking or roll gybing at all
**We have our genoa track max forward in the light light conditions
**Genoa is eased to the lifelines, boat is footed to try and get it going
**We are keeping the mainsail leach open to help establish airflow
**Our crew weight and overall weight are within a reasonable range
**Our pit person (me) weighs about 235 pounds so we have considerable weight
aft

Can you give us some tips? I'm dumbfounded by the fact that there is so much
separation between the top boats and the bulk of the fleet in light light
conditions but that the separation seems to diminish as the wind picks up.
Is it unrealistic to think that a 20+ year old J24 can compete in the top 10
in light light conditions? I know our boathandling/trim can improve but is
it just us or is it partly the older boat/setup?

Thanks,
Tim

"Tim Gale" <tim.gale.TakeThisOut@powerusers.ca> wrote in message
news:VxrOa.9011$Tx.362441@news20.bellglobal.com...
 > I'm seeking some light air performance tips.
 >
 > I've sailed on CAN2947 for the past five seasons. After many many regattas
I
 > have concluded that we are competitive with the top half of the fleet when
 > there is 8+ knots of wind. However, when the wind drops we fall way
behind.
 > To fix this problem we did the following to the boat:
 >
 > New Quantum sails
 > Tuned the rig properly (max J, mast butt max foreward, max forestay, max
 > spreader deflection, etc)
 > Starting trimming the sails in accordance with the Quantum tuning guide
 >
 > This has given us a huge improvement this season. However, we still fall
 > behind in really light conditions (just not as much now) so I'm looking
for
 > some tips from some of you rockstars out there. Here are some details...
 >
 > **Our most significant problem seems to be light air going into waves
where
 > we just can't get the boat underway after a tack or rounding
 > **Our keel is not max forward but about 10-15mm (almost 1") back
 > **We haven't checked our keel or rudder against a template
 > **We have an older mast which I believe is heavier than some of the top
 > boats
 > **Our hull may not be as stiff as some of the newer boats
 > **Our rig tension may be too tight given the problem with waves (Lake
 > Ontario)
 > **Our sails are not BRAND new compared to these top boat, ours have about
6
 > regattas on them
 > **We haven't done much to the hull in the way of wet sanding or waxing
etc.
 > **We aren't roll tacking or roll gybing at all
 > **We have our genoa track max forward in the light light conditions
 > **Genoa is eased to the lifelines, boat is footed to try and get it going
 > **We are keeping the mainsail leach open to help establish airflow
 > **Our crew weight and overall weight are within a reasonable range
 > **Our pit person (me) weighs about 235 pounds so we have considerable
weight
 > aft
 >
 > Can you give us some tips? I'm dumbfounded by the fact that there is so
much
 > separation between the top boats and the bulk of the fleet in light light
 > conditions but that the separation seems to diminish as the wind picks up.
 > Is it unrealistic to think that a 20+ year old J24 can compete in the top
10
 > in light light conditions? I know our boathandling/trim can improve but is
 > it just us or is it partly the older boat/setup?
 >
 > Thanks,
 > Tim
 >

The best thing, seeing as you have a new(ish) set of sails, would be to ask
the sailmaker to come out with you on one of these days. S/he should be
willing to do this...

Other thoughts:

1) easing the genoa to the lifeline is too much....on a light day you want
to trim
8-10" off the spreader. The main leach should be closed not open. Make sure
the traverler is in the right place so the boom is on centerline. Coming out
of a tack start with the main/genoa eased a couple of inches more and point
the
boat so the outside genoa telltale is starting to rise (eg. foot mode). Once
you
start to come up to speed slowly trim the sails in and bring the boat up
(sails
first, then boat). As you generate more speed you can point higher. If you
hit
a wave and slow down you have to start over. You can bear down to power
up to get through a wave and maybe avoid slowing down.

2) The genoa car is too far forward. Consider the position for 8 knots of
wind
where the genoa touches the spreader and the chainplate at the same time as
"neutral". You rarely go more than 3 holes forward or back (assuming 3 holes
between screws). Try moving the car back and sail closehauled. After you're
settled down let the boat drift up slowly and watch the telltales break.
They
should break evenly. There is a "special" setting for light air/flat water
where
you pull the car back as far as it will go...only works in flat water.

3) Make sure your leach lines are not too tight.

4) Don't pull hard on the genoa halyard on light days. You want some
scalloping
to develop along the headstay.

5) The shrouds make a big difference. Make sure they aren't too tight. Don't
forget
the backstay. This won't affect upwind speed too much (assuming it isn't
cranked on)
but it does affect downwind speed. As the uppers/lowers change the backstay
has
to change as well. Make sure you're careful about the way you adjust the
backstay
as if the two sides are not the same it will pull the tip of the mast off to
one side
of the boat or the other.

The pit person really isn't sending weight that far aft but make sure you
stow
stuff towards the bow if you're worried about too much weight in the stern.
Also,
have you looked inside the boat? Is there a lot of stuff in there that
shouldn't be?

I have a 20+ year old boat (1981) and we don't have this problem...with
regards to the boat, if you don't dry sail it, has it been weighed recently?
The
boats can absorb water over time and it may be significantly heavier than it
should be. This isn't really an "older boat" problem, it affects all boats
that live
in the water for a "long time".<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->