505 Trim of the World Champions 2003

The team Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess - world champion 2001, 2003 & 2005 and many other national and international successes - provide the trim of the world champion's boat.

In the first place this page are for beginners. The trim table and the exact measures of  mast, stays and centerboard allow everybody to exactly understand the settings of the successful team. It is explained in detail how each individual measure has been taken. Beside that there are additional hints for trim, boat equipment and controls.

The experienced 505 sailor has for sure his own trim measures. Nevertheless it may be interesting to compare with the data of the World Champion team.

We appreciate all hints to mistakes on this web page and for suggestions to make this even better. Please mail to Holger Jess        

Table of Contents:

• Trim table by beaufort and knots
  • Mast rake
  • Jib halyard, headstay adjustment
  • Jib fairleads
  • Mast ram
  • Shrouds
  • Mainsheet triangle
  • Kicker
  • Centerboard
  • Clew outhaul control
  • Cunningham
• Mast trim data and centerboard
  • Spreader length, angle, height
  • Mast, shroud plate, headstay position
  • Centerboard position
• What else is important ...
  • How to mark controls, sheets and halyards
  • Fore/aft weight trim
• Links to other trim tables

Trim table by beaufort and knots

The Trim of the World Champions, Hunger/Jess 2001, SUPER SPARS M2, Bojsen-Møller Sails

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Mast rake

take measurement to the lower edge	Mast rake
The mast rake measure has been taken from the top to the lower edge of the transom. Connect the end loop of the tape measure to the shackle of the main halyard. Then pull it up to exactly the same position that you would use for the main sail.	Note: Most tape measures have a few centimeters of 'dead end'. The scale does not begin exactly with the end of the tape. Also be careful that the tape measure is really straight (not twisted) and you don't have too much wind when taking measures.

For reproducible results please take also the following into account:

• The boom is taken away when taking measurements. It shall not have any influence on the mast bend.
• The mast ram is used to pull the mast into a totally straight position. The mast needs to move freely in the deck hole to achieve this! You can check whether the mast is really straight by moving the tape close to the mast and check whether the distance of the tape to the mast is nearly the same along the mast. This mast ram position is also called the 'neutral position'.
• The shrouds are adjusted according to the  table.
• Strictly speaking the mast trim data has also some influence on the mast rake and shroud tension.
• Some markings (black felt-tip pen)  at the jib halyard adjustment makes it much easier to find the correct mast rake position on the water. You can make that markings possibly directly on the mast. The lead seal on the halyard wire is then used as the reference point. If the halyard wire cannot be seen easily, its best to connect a thin rope to the wire and lead it with some blocks into the 'visible area'. A long elastic connected to the end of that additional rope keeps it tight. A knot on the rope is the new reference point and the markings can be made wherever they can be seen well. At least three mast positions should be marked: minimum, middle, maximum rake. (see trim table). 

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Jib halyard, headstay adjustment 

schema

The jib halyard tackle should have a reduction ratio of at least 24:1 (better 32:1). It should allow for the full mast rake range of 7,80 m to 7,55 m (method as described above).

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Jib fairleads

how to measure	The jib lead position has been taken between centerboard (middle of boat) and the block of the jib leads. It is important to have an in/out and up/down control for the jib leads. It does not necessarily need to look like the ones on the left photo. It can also be a combination of a track for the in/out control and a barber for the up/down control like the ones on the middle photo.
jib track and barber	It is important that the jib fairleads can be used in a considerably high position in light winds as described in the trim table to open the jib in the upper part of the leech. Additionally the block of the jib sheet has to be mounted far enough back to achieve a flat enough sheet angle. Modern jibs like the BM jib have a very high clew.
sheet markings	Jib sheet markings are helpful to immediately find the old position after tacking. A black felt-tip pen can simply be used if the sheet is white.Otherwise apply a whipping of white yarn.

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Mast ram

strut assembly 8:1 system	The most effective mast controller is a strut. It is mounted on the fore-deck and pulls or pushes on about the level of the gooseneck and lower. A 8:1 tackle pulls down, a 2:1 tackle pulls up.
pointers	Very helpful are two small pointers mounted on the traveller car and markings on the mast (black felt-tip pen). Make markings corresponding to the different mast rake positions. These positions are called the "neutral positions". Example: lets assume you have marked the mast rake positions "1" for "upright", "2" for "middle" and "3" for "max. rake" and you have always pushed the mast straight. Then you automatically get the positions for the "1", "2" and "3" markings for the mast ram. But these positions are clues only. The position for middle wind and upright mast is regularly a little bit down (more tight) and for heavy wind a bit up (loose) compared to the neutral positions.
usage of mast ram	With the mast upright the traveller should not be at the upper end of the track allowing to be pulled up even more in light winds . Pulling the mast ram up results in a prebent mast. Tight shrouds give you additional bending at the height of the spreaders. The result is a flatter main sail and an open leech. In the middle wind range power in the rig is needed. The mast ram's neutral position or slightly more pressure is used. This results in good pointing ability sailing upwind. What does neutral mean? This is the position corresponding to the current mast rake (though the measure taken with a straight mast). In heavy winds there is still power on the mast ram needed. This is important so that the kicker does not bend the mast too much and fulfills his real task: pulling the boom down. With more mast rake pull the mast ram down a little. But with a lightweight crew this should be only a tiny bit.

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Shrouds

rig tension gauge	The trim table gives you only a qualitative description of the shroud tension. For those who still want to measure something: with the SUPER SPAR gauge the tension "tight" means about 200kg.
schema	The shroud tension control should have at least a reduction ratio of 16:1.
markings	Markings for the shroud tension control are very helpful. If the control lines are lead along the bulkhead, the markings can be made right here, like Christer Bergström did it (s. photo).

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Mainsheet triangle

traveller car in mid position traveller car in weather position tackles in the middle   tackles to weather

The pictures show the different types of mainsheet triangles that are in use. The expensive solution with short traveller tracks has the advantage that less power (in your arms) is needed. The simple version works with two 2:1 tackles. The rope stoppers have to be adjusted in a way that with a totally eased triangle and upright mast there can still be put medium tension on the main sheet. Nevertheless it is not easy to find the right positions for the rope stoppers. If you make the triangle (the two legs) too short, then you can not pull them enough to the weather side. If you make them too long, it's difficult in medium winds to achieve enough tension on the leech (without also pulling the lee side). Please look on the photographs and notice also how the end of the main sheet is fixed. To allow the two mainsheet blocks to come very close together (and the boom close to the centerline) there is no becket. The mainsheet goes directly through the (extra wide) hard eye of the short steel wires for the middle block. The mainsheet is then fixed with a figure eight knot.

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Kicker

schema	A good kicker should have a reduction ratio of at least 16:1. It is also very important to have a wide control range. With the main sail open it should be possible to ease the kicker until it's completely loose. On the other hand you must be able to pull it tight with maximum mast rake.
kicker	A cascading kicker system like the one on the left photo is a perfect solution. A lever based system would not be ideal because of the small adjustment range.

Table of contents  Trim table Mast trim data

Centerboard

	Every boat has two "wings". One above water - mainsail and jib work together as one - and another in the water - the centerboard (working together with the rudder). Both are exactly of the same importance (and nearly as expensive)! The centerboard should be reworked at least once a season and all scratches and kinks carefully removed. In particular the leading edge and the first 2-3cm of the section must not have any noticeable unevenness or groove.
rubber gasket	The slot gasket has to be strong enough to provide a really good sealing. The best material is a folded double layer of sailcloth. The overlap of the two gaskets has to be different according to the needs:  the overlap is zero in the front part and a few millimeters in the back part of the trunk. The hole in front of the centerboard should be sealed with an additional rubber gasket.
	With increasing winds the centerboard has to be raised more and more. This causes the center of effort to move aft and correspond better to the center of effort of the sails (with more mast rake). And additionally this moves the center of effort up, so that the boat can more easily be kept upright. It's reasonable to have markings for some positions on the centerboard (black felt-tip pen, possibly even different colors):
	all the way down, vertical about 5 degrees forward of the vertical about 15 degrees aft about 40 degrees, reaching position
centerboard angle	The vertical (all the way down) position should be marked very carefully. This position is special: it's the one with the least drag (in relation to  the lift. The lift/drag ratio determines the pointing ability). How this and some other positions can easily be found is shown in the left drawing.
centerboard position	The centerboard position has to be measured from the aft edge of the transom to the 30% line of the centerboard section. The position of the bolt is irrelevant. To compare the position of two centerboards, it is important to compare the positions of the center of effort of the two centerboards. The center of effort of a vertical centerboard is always between 25-35% of the section chord (width of the centerboard). To make it simple we calculate with 30% now. Ok, how do we compare the position of centerboards with different widths? Put the boat on the side, centerboard perpendicular to the bottom and measure the width. Determine and mark 30% of the width. Then measure the distance to the aft edge of the transom.
centerboard halyard	The arrangement on the left photo has been proven to be a very good solution for the centerboard control line. Namely the centerboard moves on its own to the reaching position once the control line is out of the cleat. This is supported by a strong elastic. This mechanism allows you to ease the control line while you are still approaching the weather mark. The centerboard stays down until you bear off and then it moves up on its own. To raise the centerboard totally, the end of the control line has to be unhooked.

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Clew outhaul control

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Cunningham

Table of contents Trim table

Mast trim data and centerboard

 
Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Spreader length, angle, height

measure the spreader length	The spreader length measure is taken from the shroud wire to the side of the mast section. A lightweight crew can use shorter spreaders (410 or 405 mm). The same is valid for a crew with average weight and more wind (see crew weight ).
measure the spreader angle	To take the measure for the spreader angle put a ruler on the shroud wires and measure the distance to the mast slot. To eliminate the looseness in the spreader bracket, press the spreaders up to the load position beforehand!
	The spreader height is the measure from top of deck to the spreaders. This is always the same for all SUPER SPARS masts (bought at Segelsport Jess).

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Mast, shroud plate, headstay position

positions overview

Mast and shroud plate positions determine spreader angle and spreader length. Spreaders and shrouds are a rather complex system. Strictly speaking none of the measures can be looked at on its own. It is important that you think about these interdependencies before applying the measures to your own boat. If e.g. the shroud plates are not exactly at the same position, then you cannot directly compare the spreaders length and angle! The position of the shroud plates is measured from the fore stay. The headstay position is measured from the transom (aft edge).

mast position

The mast position measure is taken from the aft edge of transom to the aft edge of the mast section. The measure in the  table (3048) is the smallest allowed value (most aft).

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

What else is important  ...

How to mark controls, sheets and halyards

• The jib halyard adjustment gets markings for different mast rake positions.
• The shrouds get markings corresponding to the jib halyard adjustment.
• The spinnaker halyard should have a marking (sewed or painted) that shows you whether the spinnaker is completely hoisted . This is useful in heavy winds when you need much power to pull the spi up and you do not know whether it's really that hard to pull or the spi is already completely hoisted.
• The centerboard gets markings for different angles.
• The spinnaker pole launcher line gets a marking for the completely pulled position (sewed or painted).
• The jibsheet gets markings as described in  jib fairleads.

Fore/aft weight trim

light winds	With light winds its important to trim your weight far forward to avoid dragging at the transom. To achieve this the helmsman usually must sit in front of the main sheet triangle. Some people even use plexiglas flaps for the drain holes in the transom to exactly see whether they sit far enough forward. You can see the bubbles very well..
medium wind range	In the medium wind range and with few waves it is important to use the maximum waterline length to achieve the highest possible pointing ability. The bow has to be in the water until to the very fore located part. The crew can see this very well from the trapeze. The crew eventually has to stand with one feet even in front of the shroud wire and walk fore and aft to avoid to hit the bow too deep into the waves.
upper wind range	In the upper wind range the boat trim should be further aft to allow surfing more easily. The same is right for medium winds and waves in the open see.

Table of contents Trim table Mast trim data

Links to other trim tables: