Challenger Sailing Techniques

Beating, Reaching and Running

Beating

Light Winds - Don’t pull the sail in too tight as the boat stalls easily at slow speeds. Keep the tiller central and as still as possible to stop the rudder acting as a brake. Keep weight forward to lift the stern out of the water and keep the boat heeled so that one sponson is always out of the water, to reduce friction. Keep still in the boat to avoid disturbing the wind and water flows.

Medium Winds - Pull the boom in over the transom corner but be careful not to oversheet and stall, when there will be a dramatic speed reduction and you may end up head-to-wind. [to recover from this, see page 2] Use short tiller movements to luff slightly over the waves and bear away down the front of them.

Heavy Winds - If the boat is struggling, ease the boom out a little. Look upwind for gusts approaching and be ready to spill wind or luff slightly to keep the speed up. Lean to windward to stop the leeward sponson from burying and be careful not to point the boat too high and get “into irons”, stopped head to wind, as it is very difficult to get going again if the boat stops.

Reaching

Light Winds - Keep easing the sail out until all the telltales are streaming horizontally. Keep the tiller as central and still as possible. Keep one sponson out of the water at all times, preferably by leaning to leeward, as this will allow gravity to swing the boom out.

Medium Winds - Constantly check and re-trim the sail to keep the telltales flying. Surf on the waves by bearing away as crests come under the boat and luffing off them as they go by. Lean to windward, as you ease the sail and steer to bear away, which lifts the leeward sponson to take advantage of hull steering.

Heavy Winds - Waves are larger and medium weather technique is applied more vigorously. If the leeward sponson submerges in gusts, luff a little to ease the pressure and bring it up again. When using the rudder frequent small movements are more effective than large ones as the rudder gives more control and is less likely to stall. It also takes less strength and energy. When bearing away, make sure to let the sail out quickly so that it doesn’t try to resist the turn.

Running

Light Winds - Ease the sail out to 90-100 degrees from the centreline. This should keep the boom out when you heel the boat to windward. Sailing by the lee, with wind streaming from the back to the front edge of the sail, is fast. Try to make some of the telltales fly to show the wind flow. It is essential to fit gybing lines so that the rig can be trimmed in and out, as required.

Medium Winds - Boom out to 90 degrees [marks on the mast and deck will confirm the angle]. Boat heeled to windward and surfing on the front of waves is fast. Speed is not increased by broad-reaching so point dead downwind or sail by the lee for the shortest distance between two points. Weight should be kept forward to trim the hulls level as, the longer the water line, the faster the speed that can be obtained.

Heavy Winds - Concentrate on surfing down the waves and keeping maximum speed. If the boat tries to bear away, pull 2 or 3 handfuls of sail in, which should counteract it. Sliding seats can be pushed back to keep the stern down and the rudder in the water but make sure the stern doesn’t drag as it will slow the boat, which will make gybing more violent and put a strain on the rig. Sitting in a semi-lying position feels more secure in big waves.

Centreboard Control

The centreboard is quite large and has considerable drag when lowered. To avoid drifting sideways, the board should always be swung fully down when beating. On a reach, the board can be lifted as much as required, depending on the exact point of sailing and the weather. It is often possible to raise the board so that only the tip is down because the long narrow hulls give good directional stability on their own. When running, the board can always be lifted right up and the reduced friction makes a big difference to the speed.

Both centreboard and rudder should be frequently checked and should be smoothed and polished to reduce friction in the water. The board should be a snug fit in the slot, with no sideways slop.

Steering

The system should be taut with no slop. Check the tightness of the tiller pivot by moving the arm up and down and tighten if necessary. The lines should be as tight as possible without any friction drag and it is important that the tiller and rudder are both aligned fore-and-aft. The blade should have no sideways movement in the stock but should pivot up and down easily using the control lines.