Making the Back End Easier to Handle
In response to my questions, Stan Honey, of the famed
Sally Lindsay/Stan Honey 505 team, provided the following information on
how their boat was rigged differently to make it easier for Sally to handle
the back end. - Ali
We did a couple of things that helped, but basically all were just
adding a bit more purchase. It seemed to help more early in the
season, because Sally would get pretty strong by the end of the
season.
Our mainsheet came up to the boom from a bridle on the transom, and
then had three parts at the centercam. For light air, we would
pull a fastpin on a becket on top of the hexarachet, and let the
extra block float up to the boom, getting rid of the 3:1 in the center
and going to 1:1 in the center. That worked great.
Our vang was 24:1, and the shrouds were 56:1. The other thing that
we did was to have a vertically lifting centerboard, which reduced
the weather helm on three sail reaches, but I think that Sally liked
it mostly because it felt better, I don't think that strength was
a factor.
Stan Honey crewed for Sally Lindsay in Buck Dancer. Some of their (many)
top finishes were 10th in the La Rochelle 505 Worlds. Sally earlier won the 505
North American Championship with Mark Lindsay on the wire.