Advanced Mainsheet Management

Setting Up

We talk elsewhere on this website about the benefits/importance of setting up your main sheet centrally, and getting to nice … relatively equal… end limits. Normally if you have 3-4 conventional rigs, only, this should be easy. If you have a swing rig plus conventional rigs this may not be as easy as it sounds.

The “Multiply by zero” effect:-

As you move between your rigs, the mainsheet throw on a swing rig will have much different characteristics to conventional rigs. It may turn out that one end-limit or the other will be a very low number or close/equal to zero. It wouldn’t matter with simple use of the transmitter. With the advanced features offered on this website, a sheeted in scenario with an end limit of zero, or close to it, will provide challenges.

The reason is that Program Mixers operate by multiplying the mainsheet joystick output number number by a %age adjustment. If your end limit is zero, then multiplying it by anything will result in zero. Your advanced features may appear not to work. 

Some adjustments operate not as a multiplier but as an offset. If somehow you get an adjustment which which moves the sheet beyond the end limit, everything could seize up, or sections of the joystick travel could appear “dead”. 

(voice of experience speaking…!)

TIPS:-

  1. Have a separate “model” for every rig
  2. If you find one end limit is zero or nearly zero, measure the total throw of mainsheet that you need and try adjusting the end limits so that you get that throw – but further along the deck. You then need to adjust your mainsheet (bowsie) length to suit. In the event that the bowsie adjuster won’t give you the right length, just pop a new mainsheet on your main and jib booms and cut the length so you do get it right. Normally we think about adjusting our winch end limits to match our mainsheet. In this system, you might find yourself adjusting your mainsheet length to match your winch.
  3. Two weeks (more experience) later : With the exception of flick gybe, the features on this website work at the “sheeted in” end of the winch spectrum. Experiments here have shown that an end limit there of 10 or below gives highly unpredictable results. It is stays sub-optimal once the end limit reaches 40 or so. Then 50 and above is good. I have aimed at the 50-75 range. I’m sure the next boat I set up I can do better, but for now on this boat I have simply fitted longer sheets on the conventional rigs.

Mainsheet Management Summary

Advanced Mainsheet Management consists of four items, corresponding to four settings (1,2,3,4) of what we used to know as Pinch&Puff… which only had three settings.

  1. Using Left/Right moves of the joystick to bring you into Pinch Mode (1)… (left move of joystick) or easing sheets to tack (right move of joystick).
  2. Use of a three position switch to bring you positions 2,3,4. Position 2 is “normal sailing”, Position 3 is in gentle puffs, position 4 for strong puffs.

You can also use simply the 2D joystick feature on its own (As Craig Richards) OR with the switch settings.

We also have the ability to trim the mainsheet on a dial to help find your optimum VMG… possibly the biggest competitive killer of all…. especially on a changeable day.

In the following drop downs of this website, we shall show you how to program these features on your Spektrum.

© Datchet Radio Sailing