Spring Tune Up

    Taking time to prep your boat for the summer sailing season is a great way to get a jump on the competition.  So, pull your boat out of storage and get to work with the following steps:

Step 1:  Sails
    Your sails are your boat's engine and need to be given a check up before the season starts.  First, you'll want to give your sails a full inspection.  Start by laying your sails out on a clean, flat surface.  From the head, work your way down the sail following the seams.  Check for broken stitches and small tears you might not have seen before you stored your sails last fall.  Pay special attention to luff and leach tape as well a batten pockets.  420 upper batten pockets are notoriously bad, so take an extra look at the inboard end of this pocket.  Check that you've still got all your tell tales and that they're still in good condition.  Don't forget leach tell tales!  It's also a good idea to spray your tell tales and surrounding area of the sail with McLube.  (this will keep your tell tales flying free, especially when wet)  If you find any wear or broken stitches, take your sails into your local sail loft now, so you won't miss time on the water later.  If you don't have a local sailmaker, you can ship your sails to us and our North Sails Loft will make any repairs for you.  

Step 2:  Spars
    Lay out your spars for inspection.  Work your way from one end to the other looking for signs of wear or corrosion.  On 420's, take special care to inspect the aluminum around the boom gooseneck and the shroud tangs.  Check the halyard sheaves, are they starting to crack?  If so, replace them before the break mid-season.  The castings at the mast head and mast step are especially susceptible to corrosion.  Check your main halyard, and especially your jib halyard for wear.  Clean your mainsail track to remove sand, dirt or grime that has built up over the years.  When it's clean, give it a good coating of McLube.  Check your spinnaker pole ends for corrosion and signs of failure.  If they look good, coat them with McLube as well.
    Optimist sailors should check for wear on the mast at the sprit halyard block and just under the vang cleat, where the mast meets the collar.  If there is serious corrosion at the hook in block or a deep groove (more than a fingernail deep) at the vang cleat, it may be time for a new mast.  If the mast looks good, coat it with McLube, this will keep your sail ties friction free.  Optimist sailors should also check their boom bridles for stretch and wear.  This is key for safe, legal and fast sailing because the bridle is the positive attachment between your main sheet and your rig, it is also the weakest link in your rig.  Class rules require that the bridle stretch no more than 10 cm between the boom and the main sheet.  If your bridle is old, stretchy or worn, it's time to replace it with a Vecrtran bridle, they're cheap and they will make a difference.  This is also a good time to make sure you're using a safe mainsheet clip, one that won't catch on loose clothing when tacking.  At this point, it's a good idea to fully rig your sail and spars.  Are all your sail ties in good condition?  How about your wind indicator?  Is your vang showing wear?

Step 3:  Blades
    Regardless of the boat, smooth, fair blades are an important part of boat speed.  Inspect your daggerboard and rudder for scratches and dings.  If you've got minor scratches, use 400 grit paper to wet sand them out, then finish with a compound or 600 grit paper.  When wet sanding, only sand the areas that are damaged, not the good areas.  Sand in small circles to remove the scratches, then finish in the same direction as the water flow.   Follow this link for more detailed wet sanding tips from West System Epoxy.  Larger nicks and dings will require repair.  If your blades are gel coat, follow this link for tips on repair.  (we supply gel coat from all manufacturers)
    Next, check over your tiller and extension.  Use a screwdriver and wrench to tighten bolts and screws on pintles and tillers.  Inspect your tiller universal for signs of wear.  If you see cracks in the rubber, or if a clear universal has turned brown, it's time to replace it.  A worn universal can go at any time and without warning.  Better to replace it early in the season than have it fail while racing.

Step 4:  Hull
    Start by checking your boat's bottom for scratches and dings.  You can refer to the same wet sanding and gelcoat articles sited above.  Remember that there's no reason to wet sand the entire bottom if damage is limited to a small area.  When you're happy with the condition of your bottom, go bow to stern with a wrench and screw driver to to check and tighten every nut, bolt and screw on the boat.
    420 sailors should check centerboard gaskets and fairings.  Scratches on the bottom are bad, loose gaskets are much, much worse.  Once they start to tear and pull away from the hull, the drag is enormous.  420 also have a lot of running rigging inside the boat, some of it hidden.  Check over all the lines for chafe and signs of wear.  Is the bungee on your trapeze return starting to rot?  Are your hiking straps worn?
    Optimist sailors should check their straps as well.  Now is also a good time to install a daggerboard control system and daggerboard protection kit if you don't already have them.  The control system is a bungee that holds your daggerboard up when sailing down wind and holds it down when sailing upwind, it also lifts your hiking straps to make them more accessible out of a tack.  Daggerboard protection kits includes 4 rubber bumpers for the corners of your trunk, which will help to close the slot around the board and protect it from damage.  It also includes 4 pieces of Teflon tape that will help tighten the trunk slot side to side.  The less slop you have in the trunk, the less your daggerboard will cavitate and the faster you will go.

    Follow these steps and you'll have good head start on the competition this year.  You'll also be setting yourself up for fast and breakdown free sailing season.  If you have any questions, give me a call in the shop at 508-778-9187 or shoot me an email at matt@optimistusa.com .  Click here to return to the newsletter.