harness lines

Wendy,

I use lines between 26" and 28" long.

On my small booms (wave etc, 6.3, 5.4, to 4.x) the harness line starts 60cm from the middle of the boom head measured along the curve of the boom. On small sails (high wind) my lines are about 10 to 12cm apart (measured inside the lines,slightly more than my fist wide). Length for high wind wave, bump'n'jump etc is about 66cm (along the lines). Length for high wind slalom (speed) is about 70cm. I prefer to sail with waist harness in these conditions. I tend to vary the boom height to suit water conditions, higher if its flatter. The narrow spread of the lines and the long length allow me to let the rig move around if i need to, in these conditions if the lines are too short and a huge gust hits you get pulled around by the sail.

In light wind, eg my 12sq meter, I use a wider spread, about 18 to 20cm apart for the lines, length of line varies from 25 to 28". I use adjustable lines, shortening them a little for upwind and letting them out for downwind. Lines are fairly far back, on large sails I use my body weight to sheet in. My booms are set at about eye height for me for light wind, sometimes a bit higher if its very flat water.

For mid sizes sails (9.0,7.5) etc I use a spread of about 15 cm, lengths remain pretty much the same.

I'm fanatical about getting the harness lines right, this is so key to sailing comfortably and fast. Most common problems are lines too short and too far forward on the boom. Putting the lines too far forward makes it very difficult to sheet in.

Sailworks is doing a new design of adjustable harness lines, should have some in soon for testing, these promise to give very easy adjustment on the water.