Snipe Tuning Guide For any question you may have on tuning your Snipe for speed, contact our experts: Alex Camet 619-226-1415 [email protected] Chris Snow 619-226-1415 [email protected] Eric Heim 619-224-1414 [email protected] Eonedesign.com Follow North Sails on... Snipe Tuning Guide NORTH SAILS Rev. P0526 Dear Snipe sailor: the hull. Pay special attention to the area corrosion. You want to always wet sand around the bailer. the centerboard before sailing unless it is Thank you for choosing North Sails for anodized. your Snipe. As Snipe sailors ourselves we Most top sailors sharpen the last 4-5’ truly share your enthusiasm for this great of the chines and the intersection of the You may want to consider cutting out boat and the worldwide camaraderie transom and hull in the back of the boat. some of the board in the top of the board that Snipe sailors share. We wish you This allows the water to clear away from where it stays inside the boat when many happy seasons of racing your boat the hull more smoothly and promotes down all the way. This makes the board and hope that whenever you have any planning quicker when the breeze is up. lighter and less work for the crew to lift. questions about making your boat go fast Overweight boats can shave off a few that you will give us a call. We are always THE MAST pounds here by cutting away some of pushing to make our sails faster, longer The mast and its tuning are probably the the top of the board. Check the SCIRA lasting and easier to use and we always single most important thing, to good rulebook for limitations on how much welcome your comments. consistent boat speed in a Snipe. Presently board can be cut out. there are four “popular” masts in use, In this tuning guide we have tried to Sidewinder Gold, Sidewinder , Proctor LAYOUT OF CONTROLS introduce a healthy dose of “why” we do and Persson. The Sidewinder Gold is the The layout of control lines is wide open on certain things and what we are looking stiffest followed by the Sidewinder, Proctor the Snipe. We suggest running most of the to accomplish with certain settings. and Persson. controls to the crew with the exception You will find that the settings on your being the traveler. This allows the skipper particular boat will vary a bit from the It is important to know that no two masts to concentrate on driving especially at numbers given here. The important thing are exactly the same and each boat will crowded mark roundings. is to keep an open mind and a sensitive need a little bit of fine tuning to get it set touch on the tiller. With a bit of practice up right. It is preferable to have adjustable THE CREW and by following the principles outlined spreaders (both length and angle) as Competitive crew weights range from on the next few pages you should find you will generally want to make some 275 lbs. to 325lbs. Generally you can sail yourself going faster and getting the best adjustments as you get your boat up to lighter in flat water than in rough water. performance out of your boat. speed. Heavier crews will want to set their boats up for more power (see below) where Good Luck and Good Snipe Sailing!! On many masts especially the stiffer lighter crews can set up with somewhat models, you may want to file down the flatter sails. forward part of the mast butt. This will Equipment help to induce pre-bend in the mast Basic Rig Set Up especially for light air. Sailing is a very equipment intensive CENTERBOARD With the mast down, we want to adjust sport. To achieve the best possible results The class rules allow you to taper the edge our spreader length and angle. These two we must optimize our equipment to of the boat to within 1” off the edge of things determine how much the mast will extent that the Snipe class rules allow. the board. You should make sure your bend and how much power will be in the This involves taking a top to bottom look board is tapered on the front, bottom sails, and how easy the boat will be to at all our equipment and taking a “no and aft edges. We suggest a “bullet” type power up in light air and depower in heavy compromise” approach. shape for the leading edge and more of a air. Before stepping the mast check the “V” shape for the after edge of the board. following items: THE HULL Make sure that your hull is minimum Be sure to rinse your board after sailing SPREADER LENGTH weight (381 lbs.) and that it is as smooth in saltwater and dry it completely. This This dimension, measured from the side of as possible. Fill and fair all imperfections in will save it from becoming pitted with the mast to where the shroud intersects onedesign.com Follow North Sails on... 1 Snipe Tuning Guide NORTH SAILS Rev. P0526 the spreader. For most boats this length FORESTAY Mast Wind Tension* is 16 ¾” (42.5 cm). The length of the Check your forestay so that it is maximum Rake spreader affects the side-to-side bend of allowable length (mast not touching back the mast primarily. After stepping the mast of partners). You will want to attached 0-8 21’ 7” 18 and going sailing you will want to sight up a piece of lightweight shockcord 15” up 9-15 21’ 5” 19 the front side of the mast and make sure the forestay and tie it to the bow or stem it is straight side to side from the deck to fitting to keep the forestay snug when the 16-22 21’ 4” 21 the hounds. This is very important: if the jib is up. This will keep the whisker pole * PT-1 Tension Gauge mast is bending to leeward in the middle, from catching during jibes downwind. shorten the spreaders until it is straight. If Note that it is very important to use a Holt the mast bows to windward in the middle MAST BUTT ANGLE Allen staggered hole style shroud adjuster make the spreaders longer until the mast Check the bottom of the mast and make or Sta-Masters to have fine enough is straight. sure it is cut off perfectly square. Any increments on your shroud tensions. deviance from this can cause the mast SPREADER ANGLE to not develop pre-bend or develop too The angle of the spreaders (tip to tip much. If you later find the mast does not measurement) affects how much the develop enough pre-bend, file the front of maximum mast bend will be. Heavier the mast step casting to allow the mast to crews will want a larger tip-to-tip rock forward and bend more. measurement (stiffer mast) and lighter crews will want a smaller measurement SHROUD ATTACHMENT LOCATIONS (softer mast). The starting point for the For most boats position the shrouds at the adjustment on this setting is 29 1/4” (74 maximum forward location of 70” aft of cm) measured from shroud to shroud the stem. This will help the main go out with the spreaders pulled all the way further downwind and increase projected back. In heavy air or with a heavier crew sail area. If you are having trouble we move the spreaders forward so this developing enough power, move the measurement is 29 3/4” (76 cm). Check shrouds back slightly which will make the to make sure that the sweep aft on each mast somewhat stiffer. See figure 1. spreader is the same so that the mast bends consistently from side to side. JIB TACK LOCATION Figure2 – Jib tack location all the way forward Position the jib tack at its maximum forward position 11” back from stem. This Mast Rake Settings helps make the sail plan longer and opens up the slot between the main and jib. See figure 2. Now sight up the backside of the mast and make sure the mast is perfectly straight To start attach a 25’ tape measure to your side to side. If it is not you will need to main halyard and pull all the way to the remove shims from one side and add to top and lock the halyard in position. the other to make the mast straight. The mast should be shimmed snugly side to Below is a chart of the three different side at the deck (yet still able to move settings we use. All measure to the top of freely fore and aft). the transom. This is based on the Persson deck crown. As a last step, we want to mark the “neutral” position of the mast. With the Figure1 – Shroud position. onedesign.com Follow North Sails on... 2 Snipe Tuning Guide NORTH SAILS Rev. P0526 pusher/puller off and the mast taking Main Trim the main is too loose. If it stalls all the its natural position make a mark on time it is too tight. Trimming the main is a the side of the mast at the deck and a constant exercise in easing and trimming corresponding mark on the deck of the With the boat hiked flat you want to have as the wind increases and eases. boat. Mark both sides of the mast so you an absolutely neutral helm in the boat.