I have been struggling with pointing with a weedy. I seem to point lower and slower ( as i found out at the GTC races on the weekend) than most.
I have no trouble flying the fin with a pointer and trucking upwind.
i usually sail very powered up for eg my 7.2m is my 18-22knts sail
For Eg the combo i was using on the weekend was a 95L 63cm wide F2SX, RSR 7.2m (mast track jut behind middle) with a 34 Flying objects weedy.
can anyone give some tips on what they do to fang up wind with a weedy on.
I feel as though my stance is good and my kit is rigged ok. I just cant work it out.
Any pearls of wisdom ypu guys want to share
Next time we're sailing I'm happy to have a pointing contest, swap gear, and then have another one... then keep swapping gear until you've narrowed it down to which piece of equipment (or rider) is causing the issue.
Really I think it's about the only way you'll find out.
When Decrep and I were doing a big distance day, he could well outpoint me but only on one tack, on the other tack it was opposite. He was running a fin that was a bit asymmetrical. If your fin was assy then this might explain it, because we were only trying to point when on port tack...
I consistently (and very irritatingly) have the same issue Bender
. For me I put it down to poor ability however recently talking to several people including Lao Shi I wonder whether I will benefit from running the mast further back in the track. Seems counter intuitive and I know I often run the mast forward to try to keep the nose down (or at least under control). I shall be trying mast back and adjusting stance to try to get pointing ability and nose under control still.
Comparing kit sounds like a great approach, while at Cervantes I heard that Bjorn stated he only uses fins for a max of 25 hours because after that they loose their (good) characteristics. If fins continue to deteriorate it may well be that the trusty 36 weedy I (and Bender) used for thousands of kilometres could well be contributing to my problem
. For me I put it down to poor ability however recently talking to several people including Lao Shi I wonder whether I will benefit from running the mast further back in the track. Seems counter intuitive and I know I often run the mast forward to try to keep the nose down (or at least under control). I shall be trying mast back and adjusting stance to try to get pointing ability and nose under control still.
Ben,
I often have a similar problem using weedies & have just accepted the fact that they don't point as well as a pointer (is that why they are called pointers?)
At Cervantes at the weekend a reasonably good sailer was telling me how he couldn't point upwind as well as me, he was using a weedy & I was using a pointer.
He was completely destroyed when I told him I wasn't pushing upwind
I think weedies are good & fast but just don't point as well.
That's also why the top sailors all hate them.
Thanks Ado, I guess my consistent moving of the track forward is a residual memory from long board days....
I know a planing hull is diferent but I did not analyse it enough. Mast back is what I shall be trying
As I found last night at the slalom series weedies will only point when powered.
I have found that as Ado said, move the mast track back, more outhaul, bigger than equivalent pointer. When fully lit go ok upwind (was able to stay in touch with James at Cervantes for angle not speed
) but not as well as a pointer. I use the 5.8 koncept on the 84 with Elmo's reboxed 42 JPslalom which comes in at a 29cm weedy. Really needs 20+knots for gaining ground upwind. Tried to use the 7.5 with the same fin and it is no good. Switch to a 30 pointer move the track forward and bingo!
Bender the FO weedies are quite thin. I reckon a 36 JP or one of the new chocos might give you a better result?
Moral of the story want to race - use a pointer and get used to chop hopping and or sailing backwards to clear weed.
Thanks for the input guys. i have been running my mast foot close to all the way back.
i will just have to concentrete on my stance i think
yes that comp on wed afternoon was a joke. the marker on the outside was along way upwind. the inside marker off the wind .
heading out to orange marker i swam twice to get around it and on last race i could not get high enough and headed home.
motto use a bigger board + fin next time.
At the races I got round the mark every time... with a weedy! Others were struggling with pointers.
Here's a session I did recently on the ocean with a weedy, I was pointing as high as I could upwind, then went as deep as I could off the wind.
See if you can tell which is which:
Not bad for a weedy if I do say so myself 
So it is possible to point, I'm not sure what the issue is for Bender but I'm sure that once you start swapping gear you'll figure it out.
