Penultimate 14 sailing tips

[PitchpolePrincess]

for those of new to 14's who havent seen this article yet have a look

Intro
Many penultimate sailors will find them selves in their first skiff. I did here some things I wish some one had told me about before I started.

Stability
Aluminium Masts
Pennies don't usually have carbon masts. They have light hulls and very heavy rigs. Try and keep the mast over the boat when your learning. lean it too far and the weight will take the boat over very easily. This happened on the slip first time, which is embarrassing. I subsequently left an inexperienced crew holding the boat, it did it to him too but he stuck the harness hook through the side, he was under the impression him holding onto the side would hold it. Also don't let it build up momentum. Its a big pendulum. If it gets to 45 degrees+ one of the crew will probably need to grab the handle and go out even in a flat calm.

Dynamic Stability
Pennies are actually fairly stable - when they are moving. Stop and they become very unstable. That lovely open transom on the Howlett 1b that lets the water out lets it in when you stop. Eugh cold wet feet. The trick with the penny is not to stop. I don't hove too, for starters the Jib's too big to do it in any sort of wind. To stop and rest dump most of the sail and sail sufficiently far off the wind to maintain a bit of boat speed.

Stability? What stability? Pennies are very unstable if they dont have much momentum. When planing they become fairly easy to handle and quite stable, but in little wind you can find that the race officer gets upset and makes you do turns because of rule 42! If you do stop, its very hard to get the boat off the wind and sailing again, i find you're best off letting the boat capsize and start again.

Handling
Steering
This the Key, get it right and you can take a penny out in 2 metre swell and a force 6 and helm off the wire. If you have wind and dump the main when a gust hits you'll probably capsize anyway. If you jump on the trapeze handle, you'll probably go for a dip unless you steer right.

If you going up wind or on fine to medium reach ease the tiller away and the boat will carry on moving nicely and stay flat. If your bellow a beam reach and a gust hits then just bear off and everything will be cool. You probably don't want to have weight forward at this point though. Trimming the main or jib is not going to be enough.

If the kites up and a gust hits the boat will accelerate like the Space Shuttle. You need to bear away with a vengeance at this point. Warn you crew about this tendency or they will fall off the trapeze when the boat suddenly emulates the star ship enterprise and changes course 30 degrees.

Steering up wind is best archived not too tight. About the sort of course a hobie 16 sails is good. However to achieve this requires a lot of main sheet work. Its tempting to pinch and do it with the tiller, this is very easy and keeps you upright and pointing very high. But your short water line length will ensure you go like a dog.

Tacking
Don't back the jib, (unless your very good). It just stops the boat (see above). Getting locked in irons doesn't seem to be a problem. I can go into tacks very slow and get around without backing the jib.

The crew should tack facing backwards. There's not much space at the front of a penny.

Keep your tacks slow at first, if the crew either doesn't get the jib un cleated or sheets is in drum tight after the tack and there's any sort of breeze you will swim.

Steering when its very light.
This is really hard. Especially where the kite is concerned. The kite is miles out the front of the boat. The tiller only a few feet from the dagger board. It leads to chronic lee-helm. You will need to force the boat to head up all the time. If you stop (remember above - don't). Then the kite will swivel the boat downwind where there is no apparent. Hitting anything in the way. Recovering from this is really hard as its impossible to head up and get the speed up again.

Pumping with the aluminium mast requires the trapeze. Its is quite possible to capsize a 14 in a flat calm. All you've got to do is sit down, roll it a bit and the mast will pop you in to the drink. This always amuses the rest of the fleet.

Standing Up
You may have noticed your penultimate doesn't have any of those nice wooden benches that you GP14 had. The designers didn't expect you to sit down. If you do sit down any where but the gunnel you may well never stand up again. This is part of the steering thing. Moving feet or weight from leg to leg will help you steer and feel what the boat is doing.

This falls down a bit in ultra light weather. If the Helm stays aft of the main sheet then the boat will sink. This is very annoying. The only thing to do is to stuff the crew into a ball on/around the dagger board case, and basically do everything your self.

I have tried doing away with the crew entirely and sailing in no wind single-handed. This is not recommended. Its hellish good fun but about a sensible as climbing Everest in heels (and nearly as traumatic, especially getting the kite down).

Capsizing
You won't need any help with this, it will come quite naturally. My method of righting is to climb on the board, uncleat the kicker (basic I know I came from cats it was a painfull lesson). The crew climbs up behind. Crew holds helm's harness. Helm holds gunnel and the crew's trapeze line (max lenght). About half way up helm shouts "now!" and (theoretically) the crew leans forward and grabs the gunnel and helm goes on the wire. As the boat comes up step off the wire grab the stick and wait for the crew to climb in. This is probably easier if you have a carbon stick.

Job Allocation
Helm steers and prevents the boat from capsizing, crew does everything else. Seriously main and tiller and upright and the crew does the rest.

Kite
The F18 is 18 ft long and 8ft wide ways more than an American McDonald's employee. Its got 22.5 m2. A pennies' got 25m2 and weighs half as much. This is why we have more fun. The main trouble is getting it down. It loves going in the drink. Stopping you dead then you roll over in a slow and dignified fashion. I haven't entirely sorted this out yet. One method is to do a windward drop. Bear off crew picks up the lazy sheet and pulls the kite around the wrong side of the jib (you did tape every sharp object right?) passes the windward sheet to the helm and proceeds to pull it down the chute. This is probably going to get me shot by the racier boys but it does work better than trawling for mackerel.

Trapezing
I did most of my pre 14 trapezing on an F18. The technique for this is very different to a 14. On the F18 its a matter of trying to attach your self to 200kg of mine hunting train. The 14 is more like skate boarding or windsurfing (maybe I can't do either), the trick seems to be to keep the 14 attached to you.

Once the helming comes then this is easy the 2 become kind of bound together. If your crewing its harder. You'll probably find your crew either trapezing with his legs apart, which causes the weight to be too far forward and the nose dive throws them off. If the do get their legs together and you don't teach them to anticipate the sudden violent course changes to keep the boat upright they fall over. I don't want to be callous but when they fall off don't try help them. You'll just capsize.

The Twin Wire tea bag
This is by far the most infuriating way to capsize a penny. Probably any twin wire skiff. You any your crew end up in the water feet 4-6 ft from the gunnel. The boat rolled 45 degrees to windward. The drag caused you your backsides in the water prevents the boat from going fast enough to generate apparent and pull you out. The wind holds it from capsizing on top of you. The tiller still works. providing you don't pull the sheets too hard. Yep the sheets, the only way back to the boat are the one thing your really can't pull. I've not found a decent way out of this. Its a very stable position. You can sail for ages totally out of contact with your boat.

Apparently this is the helms fault. don't get into the situation in the first place. Be warey of twinning in marginal conditions.

Tuning
Cover every thing in tape, knots, pins, ring etc. Either the kite will rip or you will.

Rig settings
B******ed if I know. The 2 spreader rig is new to me. Pulling the jumper shrouds (top ones) bends the mast like mad. Great in strong winds pig in light. lowers straighten it out. I ease one and pull the other as a double act.

Light Stuff
In the light stuff I take the slack out of jumpers, and pull the lowers till the bottom half of the mast is almost straight. I use as little jumper as I dare, that mast head kite must be a hell of a load.

Strong Winds
Rake mast back, ease lowers - don't let 'em flap around they do support the mast laterally. Be aggressive with Cunningham and jumpers. you can flatten the main off a lot. A 14 - even a penultimate is not short of power. I'm cautions of the kicker. loose it for manoeuvres. Its fine upwind but doesn't half cause trouble when your in the stopped coming out of a slow tack moment.

Take everything carefully

Personal Preparation
Get fit, get a comfortable harness with out straps. The straps catch on everything. I used to wear a cheap magic marine one with straps and buckles all over. Now got a "Skiff Light" no buckles or straps and its well comfortable. Most Aussie get sail makers to make 'em to measure. Most commercial ones are aimed at cat sailors I guess. The 14 made me give up smoking, now however I'm used to it its easier to handle with out a hernia.

FAQ
Is it worth it?
Oh defiantly Penny's are awesome fun, a 14 foot chip with 40 odd square meters, down wind its as near to flying as you can get without a plane. Once your settled with the kite up the boat really flies. The hull suddenly becomes very stable and the rudder responsive. With the 14 its like its attached to you, its no good fighting it, it always wins. Just steer it flat and don't over sheet the kite. The learning curve is steep but worth it. You try having more fun for less money (Legally)

How fast do they go?
Downwind? ballistic! Overtaking hobie 16 is fun, winds 'em up something rotten, they've got no kite downwind. I particularly recommend twinning it with the kite up with the bowsprit about 6ft from the back of a hobie 16. At this point the 14 forward of the dagger board will be in the air. There will be a humming noise. And most intimidating of all your bowsprit will be making little figure of eights at about the hobie helm's head height. She didn't half scream. Her husband looked extremely jealous.

Can you get a penny airborne
Yep, doesn't half make a bang when it lands

Will I be able to do it?
Yes (eventually) I have lousy co-ordination, great big clompy feet and I manage, to quote my former Transom Ballast I have "all the acrobatic grace of a p***ed chav" and I can sail in a force 6 in full 2 metre channel swell off Brighton Beach. I capsize but hey I go fast when I'm upright.

[Ri14chard]

All of this advice is good. The pennies where a very important part of skiff heritage.

However there is real joy when when one moves on to a new rules boat with a carbon mast. The biggest bonus we had was just one person was needed on the centre board to get it up right! This ment we could sail the boat without a rescue boat in tow!

I am bias as I am selling an Ovi 1 for penny money on this site but the jump in sailabilty of the i14 has been incredible over this period.