Boom kicker?

Anyone use a boom kicker?  worth it?  have an option to get one cheap but not sure it is of use.  Thanks!

a boomkicker is essential for good sail shape in light air

that would do it. it went on pretty easy for me. lmk if you need some pics. john

Thanks everyone for your guidacne, have a chance to get this at $175 so I will add on this psring.  Love to see pics John and any tips ojn installing are always welcomed!  :)bill

If it's any good to you I put a couple of photos of our boomkicker here:

http://farroutlaser28.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/boomkicker.html

Cheers,

Jez

Thank you all - this helps a lot (I do read the directions and hate to reinvent wheeels!) and I appreciate the collective wisdom the group.  You folks rock!!   :)bill

The best way to look at how the kicker is working... is that when used either upwind, reaching or on a run the rod should have a bend in it. Which means your supposed to have vang on all the time to keep your boom in the correct position. If it doesn't have a bend in it and it sits straight then you have to move the end on the boom further fwd to achieve this.

Edited by Bill Layton - 19 June 2012 at 8:34am

Bill, that krinkle will likely have more to do with the combination of the cut of your main (particularly luff curve) and the shape (pre-bend) in your mast. If you have a flat cut main, or one with little luff curve cut into it combined with substantial pre-bend such as 32 uppers and 27 lowers, then you are going to have diagnal wrinkles showing from the luff (likely near the battens). Boom angle won't effect this much.

You can sort of eyeball luff curve of your main by spreading it on the ground and pulling hard outwardly on all three corners. While this is being done, sight down the luff and try to spread the luff out and compare it to what a straight line might look like if drawn or sited between the head grommet and the tack grommet. If the convex curve of the sail is less than the bend in your mast, you will be pulling some of the draft (power) out of the main and also creating wrinkles from the luff. Solution will be a straighter mast with say something closer to 30-29 on the shrouds or whatever it takes to make the mainsail work.

An advantage of using sails from a loft that has been cutting sails for the other Lasers, such as Denise at Evolution, is that rig settings for that cut are already known. Unless those sails or truly copied by some other sail maker, then one is on his own in finding out how the rig should be set up. Pre-bend is all relavent to main luff curve and desired forestay tension. Rake relates to setting the the average Center Of Effort (COE) in the main and headsail combined, in relation to the Center of Lateral Resistance CLR) created by the underwater foils (keel and rudder). The CLR on all Lasers is going to be the same, but the COE is going to vary from one boat to another owing to the cut of their sails and the age of their sails, because the draft moves aft in an older sail.

It sounds to me that your mast has to much curve compared to your main. Try the mast a bit straighter. Se if you can achieve a nicer relationship between mast bend and luff curve.

You don't require that much tension in the shrouds. The tension differential between uppers and lowers is strictly guided by the shape of your main. Most contributions regarding rig tuning on this site are from sailors who are using the same, or similar, sails as evolved from Quantum to Evolution servicing the one-design fleet most participated in between Toronto and Montreal. I have Quantum sails from the Vancouver loft and they are totally different and so require a different rig tune. However the cut of the main sail is the most determining factor in shroud tension and pre-bend. Reference my previous post.

If you are racing your boat, I would increase your mast rake to a forestay length of not less that 32'-7". Play with it. Change it between races. Try setting it back even further and see how it feels, how it points and moves upwind. Play with it. Have some fun. You will learn from experimenting. If you get a new main from Denise, then she or Bill can   dial you in pretty close. Otherwise,set the rig to your racing main.

Got it, will go measure the forestay length again and loosen up the rig and see what we get.  Any idea on the main maker?  Logo is kinda like 2 right angle triangles with one pointing up and the other down , one on top of the other.  Although with this advice I may try that North main again!