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MELGES 24 Class Link |
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Sail Pricing| Place an
Order| Tuning| Regatta Schedule |
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Doyle Melges 24 Tuning Guide |
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RIG
TUNE |
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Mast rake
in the Melges 24 is critical. Start
by setting the rake to 36’6 ˝’’ from the tip of the mast to the
intersection of the hull and the stern, right next to the rudder.
It is my experience that you shouldn’t let the rig go farther aft
than that “base” setting, ever. However,
in light air, and/or chop, it is important to move the rig forward to power
up your sail plan. You can do
this in one of two ways. Either
change the pin placement on your high-field lever or add turns on to the
turn-buckle above the lever. Remember;
never go back farther than your base setting.
Make sure to take detailed measurements of exactly where you are
starting with your rig, and exactly what each change is doing.
We have felt faster in chop under 8 knots with our rig forward one
hole on the high-field lever. Experiment
with it during practice to see what works for you.
Remember that changing your mast rake will change the tension on your
cap shrouds. Our base
shroud tension starts at 16 on the Loos gauge, then it parallels many other
sailmakers tuning guides as you step up and down through the range.
A good rule of thumb that we have found to work is, if you start at
base and you are thinking of going tighter, wait.
These sails have a great range with the control lines so you can
afford to leave the rig powered up longer.
As far as the lowers, it is important to go sailing before the race
to see where your rig sets up. Ideally
you want a ˝ inch to a full inch of leeward deflection (sag) in your rig
almost until you start having to de-power. At
that point you want your rig to be in column.
Experiment and write down your numbers so you can duplicate your
great days. One thing that I
always look for when I am setting the boat up is my headstay sag.
When you fully trim your main in, you are pulling the rig back and
tightening the headstay. When
you have the perfect amount of cap shroud tension your headstay should have
no sag and almost no bounce when your main is over trimmed.
Then I watch as I ease the main-sheet. I look for the headstay to sag
about 4 inches. That way I know
that if I want to pinch I will have the cap shrouds tight enough to give me
the ability to get a tight headstay. If
I feel slow, I can ease the main and power up the whole sail plan at the
same time. In conclusion, I start from the tuning guide, and then tweak the rig accordingly. Most conditions don’t fit nicely into the guide. Some call for slightly more, or slightly less power. The guide does a great job of getting you into the ballpark. Nothing beats time in the boat, so go sailing and figure out what works for you. |
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MAIN
TRIM |
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One thing that I have found about the mainsail is that you can sheet the main quite a bit harder than one would think. Keep sheeting the main until the telltale off the second full batten down is stalling. That is your point mode for the main. Only ease about 2 inches from that for your speed mode. The sail’s draft is far forward, making the leech straight. The leech opens quickly when you ease the main, so be careful not to ease too much. |
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Jib
Trim |
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| Because the jib is so draft forward, it is important to ease off on the jib cunningham in light to medium air. Ease the cunningham until scallops just start to occur on the luff of your sail. This moves the draft aft in the sail, making it fuller and rounder in the back. It also creates a very fine entry. This helps you point but also makes your jib harder to drive to. These jibs set up differently than some sails you may have used in the past. | ||
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Our
jib cars are set up farther forward; try two holes forward of the third
screw head from the back for light and lumpy and one hole forward for flat
water (see picture to the right for base reference).
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| Remember, these high aspect sails are very sensitive to jib sheet tension and much like the main, easing or trimming a ˝ inch will have an immediate impact on your speed. | ||
| Spinnaker Selection | ||
| The Melges 24 Class allows each boat to carry two spinnakers for a regatta. The standard school of thought is that you should carry a Reacher and a Runner. For development purposes we have three A-kites; the A-1 Reacher, the A-2 Runner, and our A-4 Runner. Each spinnaker has different characteristics and it is essential that you choose your inventory for the conditions that you think you will sail in that regatta. | ||
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Reacher:
The A-1 is our standard reacher.
This kite is designed to be used in the upper and lower end of the
wind range. Basically any time
your apparent air is close to 90°. We
typically use this kite in 0-7 knots and 18+ TWS.
In both ranges your apparent air is father forward than normal.
In the lower range you need to sail higher to keep your speed up and
in the higher range you are always trying to keep the boat planning, causing
your apparent to stay forward the whole time. |
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Runners:
We have developed two different Runners for varying wind conditions.
Our A-2 is designed to be sailed in |
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To place an order or get a
quote, please contact Al Declercq.
Al Declercq
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| Copyright © Doyle Sailmakers, Inc. Salem, MA. All rights reserved. | ||
