J/120 North Sailing Guide

While underway, double-check that the main halyard is hoisted to the black band (C). This is an often overlooked detail that will affect luff tension and sail shape, especially in a breeze. Be careful not to raise the jib halyard too high (D), of the headfoil will not rotate properly from tack to tack.

Position mast butt so that attachment bolts are located in middle of slots in mast base

• Here, the main halyard is approximately 6" below the black band. Halyards stretch, especially in moderate breeze, so the mast person and mainsheet trimmer should make sure that the head of the sail is at the black band when hoisted as well as at the end of each downwind leg. Adjustments made on downwind legs should be made before heading upwind.
• Crew placement should be "cheek-to-cheek" to keep the center of gravity as compressed as possible. Also, the crew (legally) can sit outside the top lifeline or leaning against the lower lifeline more aggressively. Max VMG is the result of "little details" that make big differences in speed and pointing.
• Time Bandit (right), shown here sailing in 14 -16 knots of true wind during Whidbey Island Race Week, is set-up for max VMG with perfect foreand-aft trim and minimal heel angle. Helmsman, main trimmer and genoa trimmer are in the cockpit while hiking crew are evenly distributed between the aft end of the coach roof and chainplates. What do we particularly like here? Concentration in the cockpit!
• The 3DL mainsail leech telltales are all flying with the top telltale showing a hint of overtrim. The genoa foot look like it is strapped in hard against the leeward chainplate. It is usually faster to have the genoa foot just kissing the chainplate. The top of the sail will then stay closer to the spreaders, helping to power the boat up and point higher.
• Optimally, the helmsman will sit on the windward side as far out as possible to see the waves and puffs as they approach the boat. Some helmspeople prefer sifting to leeward. In this position, however, the helmsman needs to be notified of approaching waves, puffs, or other boats, which can disturb concentration.

Upwind in 8 knots true. Both sails are trimmed in hard. Note that some cunningham has been pulled on, even in this light breeze. By pulling the traveller up 8" and placing the boom on centerline, the boat will develop just the right amount of weather helm. The crew are already hiking correctly with bodies outside the upper lifeline and looking ahead for puffs and shifts. It’s important for everyone on the rail to be "heads up," always working for more speed or better position. Feedback is helpful to a helmsperson, but a lot of unnecessary chatter is distracting. One person should be communicating with the helm about changing sea and wind conditions.

Pay particular attention to the fore and aft trim of the boat. Most boats go "stern heavy" in very light air. Note here how crew has been placed well forward until the transom is just out of the water. This reduces wetted surface and drag. To keep the boat on its lines, both helmsman and trimmer are seated as far forward as possible in the cockpit, while the crew are close together behind the leeward chainplate and positioned outside the genoa foot so the sail is not disturbed. In light air, some crew might even go below, which lowers the boats center of gravity. All crew should stay quietly seated, allowing helm and trimmers to sail the boat to its target speed. Movements should be slow and minimal.

Fatal Attraction is sailing in 9 knots true wind with 10 deg. heel - a little too much for maximum VMG. Take a look at the headstay "sag." Headstay sag is the deflection of the headstay to leeward of the yacht’s centerline relative to the spar. Headstay sag shortens the chord length between luff and leech and makes the sail fuller. Controling headstay sag is an important tool to widen the range of your All Purpose genoa. The easiest way to control headstay sag is with the hydraulic backstay.

Here is a an example of a 3DL mainsail perfectly matched to mast bend. The headstay length, mast butt position, backstay and runner tension all combine to create an even bend from masthead to deck and also matching the sail luff curve. Notice that the mainsail draft is perfectly located at the top, middle and bottom girths (stripes).

Same boat, same wind, same backstay tension as above ... but no runner load. The mast bend can double if the runner is eased off for a given backstay tension.

Here is a North Spectra 295TX FullBatten Gatorback mainsail in 14 - 16 knots true wind with runner and backstay at full tension to flatten the sail. A key in wind speeds of 15+ knots is to sail the boat with less than 24 deg. heel and max backstay and runner. In addition to flattening the sails, this stabilizes the rig.

This 12,600 dpi 30L mainsail is set-up for power and maximum painting in 10 knots true wind. If you compare the boom angle and top batten, you’ll see the top batten about 2-30 above boom parallel. This is an effective tool to maximize pointing once the boat is at full speed. If the speed drops off for any reason, ease the sheet a few inches and it will probably climb right back up.

This view of the bottom 30% of the sail shows the foot just kissing the chainplate. Note the halyard is tensioned so no wrinkles run aft from the headstay.

This 155% Class Max Genoa (12600 dpi Aramid) below is set-up is for "fast forward sailing" and is slightly depowered. The halyard is tensioned to remove all wrinkles from the luff and backstay is tension is 80% of maximum.

The same sail is shown in less breeze, with the sheet eased approximately 8" from the normal position. The sail shape is very similar to that shown above, with the draft location set a bit further forward.

This trimmers view shows the top 77% of the sail. Sheet tension is adjusted so the top spreader patch makes gentle contact with the upper spreader. The spreader patch is perfectly located to make contact with the rig at mid-patch. Unlike the light moderate set-ups in the above photos, this set-up is best for acceleration and rough water. All the telltales are flying, yet if the conditions permit, it may pay to sail with the top telltale on the weather side lifting up slightly.

• Takedown line is tied to the tack and led back to the forward hatch.
• Lazy sheet is tied to the clew and led aft to the weather side over the pole end and over the takedown line. It is important to lead this line behind the asymmetric ~ tack and ahead of the headstay.
• Place a mark on the asymmetric tack line and on the tack line cleat to mark the position of the pole at full extension. A big time saver!
• Add a 1.5 meter Spectra pennant to the clew of the asymmetric to allow it to pass smoothly across the headstay.

The AP Reacher (right) is especially well suited for point-to-point racing, with the area at 120 m² constructed in .85 poly. Fatal Attraction (2 below) is flying the reacher with the AWA (apparent wind angle) at 50° and good heel angle. The sheet is led through the aft spreacher block. To sail at the narrowest AWA, the crew should move aft, raising the bow and lowering the stern. The net effect is more stability and less chance of the rudder ventilating. The sheet is led through the aft spreacher block. To sail at the narrowest AWA, the crew should move aft, raising the bow and lowering the stern. The net effect is more stability and less chance of the rudder ventilating. spreacher block. To sail at the narrowest AWA, the crew should move aft, raising the bow and lowering the stern. The net effect is more stability and less chance of the rudder ventilating.

The AP Runner is designed to the class maximum. The luff flys straight and vertical which makes adjusting the luff curl easy. As the wind builds, pay attention to sail control and keeping the boat sailing on its feet. To maintain optimum trim, ease the tack line a few feet to allow the luff to fly upward and forward. In moderate to heavy air, the decision on whether to hoist the reacher or the runner can be determined by the sea state, number of crew and their collective experience.

Fatal Attraction is sailing at a very close AWA with the reacher. The minimal luff sag translates to less back winding of the mainsail and less helm. The tack is pulled tight to the pole end and the head is hoisted to max hoist, all ingredients of a good, fast reacher.

Practicing your gybing in all wind speeds means you will have fast, well-timed gybes. Equally important is knowing when to gybe. As the boat accelerates, it pulls the apparent wind angle forward. This makes it tricky to estimate your compass course and angle on the opposite jibe. A good way to estimate the opposite heading is to check the direction the Windex points to leeward. This is especially useful when judging laylines in light air.

Keep a running chatter going between the helm and trimmer to select the best AWA for pressure and speed. The sheet and tiller adjustments should be automatic and 90% of the concentration between helm and trim should focus on the "speed groove" which keeps the pressure in the sail while maintaining optimum speed without increasing heel angle. The sheet grinder is an integral part of "the speed groove". A good exchange might sound like this: Trimmer: "Speed is down 2/10ths, lets head up 3 deg. - be ready for a couple feet of trim....Here it comes". Grinder: Starts trimming gently and ends gently to avoid disturbing the sail. As the wind builds, the verbal exchange gets louder, and the grinding must start earlier and more aggressively to keep the boat sailing fast, in the groove.