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Home , Gasket (sailing), Melges 24, Sailing (sport)

TUNE YOUR FOR OUTRIGHT SPEED

Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev R06 The following tuning guide is meant to of the keel. Also packing pre-cut foam we are protecting the spreaders from be a good starting point when setting between the keel edges / sides and the possibly hanging up on the hoist arm as up your . Depending on total keel box will help prevent any movement the spreaders pass the arm. crew weight, wind and sea condition of the keel when trailing. Many teams and style you may have to alter seal the top of the keel bulb and the DECK PREPARATION your set up slightly from what is given top of the keel box with plastic so that The factory Melges 24 comes ready to here. As you read this tuning guide, write dirt and other debris cannot scratch race. There are a few small class legal down any questions you might have or damage any part of the keel when modifications that really help with sailing and we will be happy to discuss them in traveling. the . detail with you. The goal of this tuning guide is to achieve a rig set up that is fast , AND KEEL l With your up at maximum in all conditions upwind and down. Your Class rules do not allow re-shaping of hoist the with a black new North sails are designed with this these items. permanent marker. “all around” philosophy in mind. HULL l With your sprit fully extended Class Rules For trailing the investment of our 3-piece also mark the bow sprit extender line. bottom cover and 1 piece top cover is We have a great set of rules that many well worth the protection it affords. l With the bow sprit retracted (to of the Melges 24 owners along with class maximum extension when sailing the International Sailing Federation RUDDER upwind) we want to put a knot on the have developed over the years since The rudder should always be removed bow sprit retraction line. By having the the introduction of the Melges 24. The when not in use and kept in its padded pole extended that few inches we current class rules can be downloaded rudder bag. prevent water from coming in the gasket from melges24.com. If you have any area of the pole when sailing upwind in specific questions about class rules KEEL larger waves. Also, add an additional please feel free to ask any of our Melges We just talked about taking care of your rubber gasket to the pole so that when 24 class experts to help you with keel when the boat is on the trailer. the pole is retracted the second gasket clarification. When lowering the keel either with the retracts over the one on the hull. Most keel crane or by picking the boat up with now do not use the retraction line at all an electric hoist make sure you have and use the line to pull in the bow Pre-Race Preparation rinsed out the keel box along with the sprit. delrins. Because of the tight fit between One of the most important items you keel and the delrins even small bits of l Lubricate your bow sprit with a Teflon and your team can do in preparing for debris can harm the finish of the keel. based jelly like compound. Super Lube, high performance racing is to have your Vaseline are some examples. Do not use Melges 24 ready to race. Listed in this LAUNCHING AND RETRIEVING THE a dry Teflon spray because this will not section are just a few items we feel are BOAT lubricate and protect your gasket seal. critical for success on the racecourse. Believe it or not this is when most damage occurs to Melges 24s. When l The addition of a small batten (soft TRAILER AND BOAT trailer launching make sure keel box is 6”) to the end of your bow sprit will help Make sure when transporting your well packed, as the keel wants to shift prevent the tack line from dropping over Melges 24 that the keel bulb always sits as soon as the transom starts floating. the end of the pole on a take down perfectly in the keel bed of the trailer. If When using an electric hoist be sure the boat is sitting where she belongs on to keep the boat level or maybe a few l Mount a Wichard hook or Carabiner the trailer you will find the bulb resting inches down in the bow. Again we on the bottom of the at the perfectly in the keel bed with space in are trying to protect the keel. Also by turning . We will place the the keel box both in front and in back holding the bow down just a few inches spinnaker halyard tail in this hook for

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Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 spinnaker douses. You will find that by Now measure from the top of the placing the tail through this hook that Rig Setup to the intersection of the the halyard will not re- itself when transom and the bottom of the the spinnaker is on the way down. MAST DOWN hull. This measurement should be As the Melges 24 comes almost 36’6+1/2”(11.140). Tighten or loosen the l On older it is only necessary completely ready to race straight from turnbuckle above the hyfield lever to to drill extra holes in the track next the factory there is very little to do achieve this measurement. Make sure to the third bolt head (from the back of to prepare your boat and mast to be that you achieve this measurement with the track). Drill one of these holes just in competitive. With the mast down, be 16 on the uppers. front of the third bolt head, between the sure to mount your masthead factory hole and the bolt head. Also, drill batten and wind indicator to the top of Tension the lower shrouds so when the third bolt head out a little for extra the mast. We like to put a dark colored using the Model B Loos gauge and lead adjustment position and drill three piece of tape around each 12” pulled to the line, you measure 68mm extra holes aft of the third bolt head in from each tip. Our are designed from the to the end of the in between the factory holes for finer with relatively straight leeches and gauge. adjustment. tighter sheeting angles, thus the 12”(305mm) mark. This will be used Now tighten the uppers 18 turns and PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE! later for judging how tight or loose the the lowers 15 turns to load up the rig. jib is trimmed. Another thing we like to Measure the side to side as per below It has been said that each mark rounding do is tie some light weight shock cord and check for the mast column to be can be worth a minute on the . between the two lower shrouds around straight at this point. Now that is a reference between the first the front of the mast 6”- 8” down from group and the last group of boats. That their attachment points. This keeps Finally, with the upper shrouds back at is a lot of time and a majority of it comes the head of the spinnaker from getting 16 on the Loos tension gauge, recheck at the corners and the first few minutes jammed between the shrouds and mast to be sure the mast tip is centered of a race. Knowing how your Melges on hoists. side to side and that the mast rake is 24 accelerates off the starting line is 36’6+1/2”. To check the rake it is best something you need to practice. Sets at MAST UP to use the tape measure on the main the windward mark are critical, especially With mast stepped and the jib halyard halyard by taking a 3/16”(5mm) short if you want to gybe right away. Having hyfield lever locked down attach a 50’ piece of line and tying a knot in each the ability to pass between two leeward tape measure to the main halyard and end maybe 4” (100mm) apart. Put gate marks absolutely requires that hoist to the top (two blocked). Be sure to one knot in the mast tunnel and put you and your crew understand all three remove the factory main halyard the other end of the line through the spinnaker takedowns, the Mexican, and run the halyard straight through the end of the tape measure or the knot in the windward and the leeward. You do end of the tape, tie a overhand or figure the halyard then put the other knot in not have to have rock crews in the eight knot in the end of the tape. the mast tunnel and raise the halyard Melges 24 class to be successful; you do to where the upper sidestays intersect need to have a regular steady crew who Check to see that the mast is close the mast. Measure down to the deck are willing to practice. If we had “Time to centered by measuring to the on each side of the boat at the upper On The Boat Meters” you would find the chainplates on both sides of the boat. sidestay position and center the mast top finishing boats in our class had the At this point the upper shrouds should side to side. most accumulated time together sailing be snug (16 on a Loos Model B tension the Melges 24. gauge) and the lowers should be loose. RIG TENSION Tighten/loosen the upper shrouds on The tension on the upper shrouds is each side so that the mast is centered critical to the upwind shape of primarily side to side. the jib and to a smaller degree the . For maximum speed it is

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Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 important to adjust the tension on the lowers is so light, we prefer to set their SPECIAL NOTE upper and lower shrouds depending tension by sighting up the backside of When sailing with lowers this tight it on wind and sea conditions. For the the mast to see how much sag the mast is extremely important to keep some uppers, which get quite tight, we use a has to set the lower tension. It is not backstay on going downwind. If the Loos Model B tension gauge to measure fast except in very conditions to backstay is not on, the mast will invert shroud tension and adjust the tension have the middle of the mast bending to and most likely break!! Always have the depending on the wind strength using windward. When it becomes so windy forward crew sight up the mast to insure the following chart. that the mainsail turns inside out and that there is enough backstay on! begins to luff or flog in the puffs, then The lower shrouds control the side-to- it is fast to tighten the lowers so that Below is a chart of the settings on the side sag or bend of the mast and to a the mast falls off to leeward above upper and lower shrouds that we have smaller degree how much the mast can the spreaders. This keeps the bottom found fast: This chart was formulated bend forward in the middle. The lowers section of the mast from over bending for the Ronstan turnbuckles and the have a lot of control over the shape of fore and aft and thus keeps the bottom internal wire jib halyard system. For the the main because of this and it is very section of the mainsail working while open body turnbuckles use ½ turn to important to be sure they are adjusted twisting open the top half to depower. equate to this chart of 1 full turn for the correctly. Because the tension on the Ronstan turnbuckles.

As you can see from the chart we have WIND UPPER TENSION LOWER SAG a very detailed adjustment schedule. The goal is to be within a 1 step range ¾” leeward sag, 0-6 - Light Loosen 2 turns from base of the correct setting for the given wind loosen 1 turn from base range. The chart you build for your boat may vary slightly on the number of full Loos 16 ¾” leeward sag 6-8 turns on or off to achieve maximum BASE SETTING BASE SETTING performance.

7-10 Plus 3 Plus 2 After you have set up the uppers to the correct wind speed, the boat on both 10-11 6 4 tacks checking the mast sag side to side and adjusting the lowers according to 11-12 9 6 the wind speed. After you have sailed the boat a while you can create a chart 12-13 12 8 of the shroud tensions and the number of turns needed to be put on or taken off 13-15 15 11 the shrouds for each significant change in wind speed. Also, create a chart for 15-17 18 14 turnbuckle numbers for each side of the boat. This will enable you to exactly 17-19 20 17 duplicate settings without counting turns. If you have the open body 19-21 23 20 turnbuckles it is best to measure the gap between the ends of the threaded studs 21-23 25 24 with a micrometer and record those numbers when the rig is at base so you Loosen 5 turns - 23+ 27 have a starting point to return to. Go to 29 Note that in heavy seas you will want Note: All column numbers relate to turns from base. 4

Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 to err a little bit on the tight side to allow for a softer backstay and loose THIS CHART IS FOR THE FIXED FORESTAY SET UP mainsheet and in flat water you can err a WITH THE VECTRAN JIB HALYARD: little bit in the light side to allow for more backstay and a bendier mast. While class rules allow you to adjust your shrouds WIND UPPER TENSION LOWER SAG anytime during a race we like to set the boat up for the lightest wind speed we ¾” leeward sag, 0-6 - Light Loosen 2 turns from base expect to see on the first beat. Then if loosen 1 turn from base the wind speed changes significantly during a leg we adjust our shrouds Loos 16 ¾” leeward sag 6-8 according to our chart. BASE SETTING BASE SETTING

Having a base setting using your light Loosen Forestay turnbuckle 6 medium numbers is a good way to leave 7-10 full turns from base Plus 1.5 Plus 2 on uppers from base the dock each day for the races. It is easy to spin up and down from there. 10-11 5 3.5 Develop this habit and you will find tuning the rig is not such a mystery but 11-12 8 5.5 actually rather simple. Loosen Forestay turnbuckle 12 12-13 full turns from base 7.5 Sail Trim Plus 10 on uppers from base

MAINSAIL TRIM 13-15 12 9

Like other boats main trim on the Loosen forestay 18 full turns Melges 24 in keyed off the end of the 15-18 from base 12 top batten. In light to moderate air we Plus 15 on uppersfrom base trim the main so that the telltale on the top batten is stalled about 25% of the 17-20 18 14 time (the second telltale from the top -at the second batten, is flying 100% of 19-21 21 16 the time). As the wind increases both Note: All column numbers relate to turns from base. telltales will all the time. In light to moderate air the back end of the Following is an overview of each main as well. When you tighten the backstay top batten should be parallel to the control and how it should be adjusted. tighten the mainsheet to keep the top centerline on the boat, in heavy air it will batten angle the same. In reverse when be pointed out about 5 degrees. Don’t BACKSTAY you loosen the backstay be sure to ease forget that mainsheet tension is how The backstay controls the overall power the main as well. This is not the case in you tension your forestay, which directly in the , particularly the main. heavy air, as you can leave the mainsheet effects on your pointing ability. There is Generally we do not use any backstay more constant and work the backstay a fine line on having enough tension for upwind until about 12 knots true. Then to change power. In puffy conditions we good pointing ability and over-trimming we will start putting the backstay on find it better to play the backstay rather the main. Usually most over-trimming of to depower the boat and keep it on its than the mainsheet. The mainsheet also occurs in light air. feet. It is vital that every time you adjust effects how the jib luff sags so it is faster the backstay you adjust the mainsheet to keep the main trimmed and initially 5

Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 play the backstay in a puff. The jib will main. Downwind the the jib as the wind increases ending up 3 not get fuller in the puffs and the boat should be off. holes aft of base in heavy conditions. In will accelerate faster this way. When it choppier conditions you will want to err is really windy, you can switch back to TRAVELER on keeping the lead further forward. working the mainsail and keeping the As a rule of thumb, keep the traveler car backstay on really hard. between the skipper foot rests when We have placed a telltale on the upper sailing upwind. Never sail with the car leech (near the spreaders) of the jib to OUTHAUL above the windward one nor to leeward help you judge how tight or loose the Because the slot on the Melges 24 is of the leeward one. In light air (crew in should be. The general rule of quite narrow, the bottom of the main boat) the car will be at the windward thumb is to trim the sheet hard enough generally needs to be on the flat side. foot push. As the crew comes up on the so that the upper leech telltale is just Keep the outhaul tight (clew at black rail we find it very fast to center the car on the edge of stalling. Just as with the band) in conditions when the crew is on or pull it above centerline if it is choppy mainsail it will be easy to stall the telltale the rail. When the crew is in the boat conditions. As the breeze continues in light air and very hard to stall in heavy you can ease the clew in 1” from the to build, keep the car centered or up air even with the sheet trimmed very black band. Clew should be 2-3” in from depending on chop. If it is choppy then hard. band downwind except in heavy air tight you want to err on the traveler higher reaching when it should be tight. with a looser mainsheet to allow the top JIB CLOTH TENSION of the main to twist. In really heavy air Adjust the small line at the tack of the VANG when the mainsail tends to “turn inside jib so the luff of the sail has some slight We use the vang upwind as soon as the out” keep the traveler centered or raised horizontal wrinkles coming off it. It will boat is overpowered. At the early stages to stop the main from luffing and put be necessary to change the tension of being overpowered we simply snug some power in the bottom of the sail. In depending on the wind speed to achieve the vang with the mainsheet trimmed moderately heavy air, with lots of chop, some slight wrinkles at all times. In very while going upwind. We do this so that you can experiment with keeping the heavy air, tension the luff so that the sail when easing the mainsheet in the puffs backstay on hard to keep the headstay is smooth and you are pulling out all the we do not lose control of main leech. As straight, and pulling the main traveler to wrinkles. you become more overpowered we pull windward with a soft mainsheet to keep the vang harder to flatten the bottom twist in the main. LEECHCORD 1/3rd of the mainsail. Downwind adjust Be sure that your leechcord is not too the vang so the top batten is parallel to JIB TRIM tight. It is very easy to put a lot of tension the boom. Generally the vang with the on the cord in heavy air and have it too slack taken out of it upwind will be too Because the jib on the Melges 24 is a tight in light air. tight for downwind sailing. We like to high aspect sail (tall and skinny) it is very make a mark on the vang itself for an sensitive to small adjustments in jib SPINNAKER TRIM approximate downwind setting and then sheet tension. Tightening or easing the ease the vang to that mark just before jib sheet 1/2” can have a big effect on Spinnaker trim on the Melges is much rounding the weather mark. boat speed and pointing. easier than that of a conventional poled boat. There are a few tricks that can CUNNINGHAM With the 36’ 6 1/2” mast rake setting you make you faster downwind and make We do not use the main Cunningham should use the third bolt head from the your sail handling easier. Tack height until the wind gets to over 16 knots. back of the jib track for a base setting, on the sail is important. Generally, we Then we pull on just enough to remove the next special drilled hole just forward keep the tack down tight to the pole end any horizontal wrinkles in the sail. Under of that third bolt for ligther wind and when reaching (broad or beam). Letting 16 knots be sure the Cunningham is the holes just after the third bolt for the tack up on reach will just move the loose enough to allow for some slight conditions above base conditions. The sail to leeward and increase heeling. horizontal wrinkles in the luff of the jib lead should be moved aft to flatten When we can let the tack line off when 6

Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 the tack will ride straight up or just the gybe, the fastest method is to have For the windward douse, the skipper can slightly to leeward. We have found this the trimmer ease the as the boat sail low, while the crew start to trim the setup to be faster in these conditions. heads down, another crew starts to trim windward sheet to pull the kite around We will generally let the tack off in these the new sheet and the forward crew to the windward side the forward crew conditions 12-18”. overhauls the new sheet just behind the should blow off the tack to unload the shrouds. The forward crew then pulls pressure off the kite. The clew should Two other topics that always come down on the clew to untwist the head be trimmed all the way back behind up are whether to take the spinnaker as the kite comes around. Almost the shrouds, the halyard can then be down between the shrouds and the everyone is now gybing inside and not released and the kite stowed. mast or behind them. The other topic using the outside gybes. is whether to gybe the spinnaker inside For the “Mexican”, as you approach it’s luff or outside. We’ve found that it SPINNAKER SETS the leeward mark on starboard, the almost always seems easier to take the We have found that it is best to always helmsperson should bear off into a slow spinnaker down behind the shrouds. set the spinnaker from behind the gybe, the trimmer will over-trim the This makes setting the spinnaker easier shrouds. This does mandate taking the sheet as the boat gybes to port. Just as as it does not have to fit between the spinnaker down behind the shrouds, the boat is headed directly down wind shrouds, the vang, the jib and the boom. which is the easiest way for all three and the mainsail begins to gybe, blow When setting the spinnaker, it is best to takedowns. off the halyard. The spinnaker will blow take the whole sail out of the bag prior against the rig and fall on the deck. to setting. This makes it much easier to SPINNAKER DOUSES When the sail is 2/3rds the way down hoist the sail. Normally, we’ve found There are three types of takedowns: release the tack and stuff the spinnaker that it is just as fast and a lot safer to the windward, the leeward, and the in its bag. Practice of these three douses gybe the spinnaker inside its luff. This “Mexican”. is vital to success on the racecourse. eliminates any chance that the lazy sheet could fall in the water, it makes for The windward douse is used when a less sheet for the spinnaker trimmer to doing a port rounding and you are Conclusion pull in, and it allows you to perform any approaching the mark on port tack. The We hope all of the tips we mentioned of the three takedowns at the leeward “Mexican” is for rounding a mark to port are helpful to your Melges 24 sailing mark. but your approach is relatively shallow program. Let us remind you that these on a starboard tack. The leeward douse are the most important and obvious GYBING THE ASYMMETRIC is for rounding a mark to starboard while helpful hints that we have provided. SPINNAKER on starboard tack or when you approach Our experts will be happy to go further There are two types of gybes. The the mark at a very sharp angle while on in detail with you anytime. inside gybe and the outside gybe. How starboard tack and you will have to gybe you hook up your tack line to your quickly around a mark leaving it to port. spinnaker tack dictates whether you will gybe inside or outside. By placing For the leeward douse, you can either your tack line on top of the spinnaker grab the lazy sheet off of the clew, or sheet when hooking the tack line up grab the sheet just above the lifeline. to the spinnaker you are setting up for The helmsperson then must bear off an inside gybe, where the spinnaker slightly, the clew should be pulled in passes between the luff of the spinnaker under the mainsail to prevent the kite and the furled up jib on the headstay. from blowing over the leech of the Hooking up the tack line underneath mainsail, and then the tack line must the spinnaker sheet sets you up for an be blown off completely. The halyard outside gybe. Most of the time though, should then be fed down as the crew you will see teams gybing inside. On gather the spinnaker.

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Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 Tension Gauge Conversion Chart Over the past few year Loos Co. has introduced it’s new style PT-1, 2 and 3 professional tension gauges to the market. Since many of us are replacing our older model A and B gauges with these new models we are posting the following conversion chart for your convenience.

MODEL A MODEL PT-1 3/32 1/8 5/32 5 6 10 9 15 12 14 20 16 16 25 20 19 28 23 21 30 22 35 27 25 38 30 28 40 33 30 42 33 44 36 45 38 46 39 47 40

Model B Model PT-2 PT-3 3/16 7/32 1/4 9/32 10 11 15 13 18 15 20 16 18 22 18 20 24 19 22 26 21 24 28 23 25 30 25 27 25 32 27 29 27 34 29 31 29 33 31 36 33 6 37 36 7 37 9 10 11 12 14 16 18 20 25

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Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06 NORTH SAILS ONE DESIGN QUALITY CONTROL CHECK MELGES 24

MAINSAIL JIB SPINNAKER Corners Corners Corners Cunningham Battens Leech cord Tack slug Telltales Royalty signed by Vince Leech cord Leech telltales Stamp by royalty Foot chord Foot cord Measurements stamp at head Royalty signed by Vince Leech Chord North Logo Stamp by royalty Clew blocks Bag Numbers Trim line Country Code Royalty signed by Vince Battens Stamp by royalty Batten End Cap Measurements stamp at head Leech Telltales North Logo Insignia Bag Spreader dots Peanuts Measurements stamp at head North Logo Bag

Checked by: ______

Date: ____ / ____ / ____

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Melges 24 Tuning Guide Rev. R06