Fundamentals of T-10 boat speed

Are you towards the bottom of the T-10 fleet?
Do you seam to have a problem in making the boat go fast?
How do the top of the fleet sailors do so much better?

Time to look at the fundamentals..

Here are the possible issues

1.    Lighten the boat.
2.    Clean the bottom.
3.    Rig tune and forestay length.
4.    Sail condition.
5.    Helm, crew work and tactics
6.    Winter projects - Flat and Smooth bottom plus fairing the keel and rudder

Lighten the boat
 - The lighter the boat is the faster it will sail, everyone knows this.
The problem comes when we develop this strange attachment to collecting things on the boat.
For a Buoy race, near shore, in daylight ONLY carry on board the recommended safety equipment.
Everything else take off the boat - and I mean EVERYTHING! Biggest offenders are extra safety equipment ie: battery powered bow/stern lights (in daytime??), nice things - CD's, sunscreen, extra tools - a couple of wrenches, screwdriver and pliers are pretty, much all you will ever need to fix 99% of any problem.<

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The best way to go through this is to empty the boat completely.
Take EVERYTHING off the boat. Now put back on the safety list.
You should have VERY few other things to put back on the boat.
Extra items that we have are: A couple of spare battens (and light air battens) Handy wipes...Oh and a cooler with water and beer<

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OK maybe you can leave the keg on the dock!

Create an Long distance box with things like number boards, battery lights etc that you only bring on board when racing long distance.

Clean the bottom
 - Cleaning the bottom of the boat is VERY important.
Significant algae will grow in one week in the height of summer regardless of which bottom paint you use. For this reason we clean the bottom before EVERY race. We are lucky in Chicago in that the lake is clear and clean - you do not need a lot of equipment if you are somewhat athletic and do not mind holding your breath. We use swimming trunks,goggles and a white abrasive pad!<pic03> Don't forget to empty the bilge before every race also.

Rig tune and forestay length
 - Make sure the mast is centered and tension the shrouds for the conditions.
Your T-10 tuning guide has very good instruction for this. Once you go out sailing your leeward upper shrouds should just barely be loose. Dont get overly obsessed with this, we pay particular attention at either end of the scale ie: In light winds we do slacken the shouds to a zero air setting and in heavy winds crank everything down to max.

Don't forget because of the fact there is no bulkhead at the chainplates and a mast deck stepped on a 20 year old cored deck; By over tightening shrouds you can damage your boat ie: squueze the boat to a narrower beam! or punch the mast down into the deck!

The T-10 is fastest with maximum mast rake. To make best use of the rules your forestay attachment height should be 34' 6-1/2", this allows you go to the max forestay length of 36' 5-1/2". Changing your attachment height, if needed, may involve some engineering or Aluminum welding so talk to your boat yard. A new forestay is less than $150 and worth the price. Make sure the mast butt sits as far forward as possible in the casting by packing 1/8" aluminum strip aft.<

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Sail condition
 - Newer sails have a better shape and are faster.
Buy two new sails every year if possible. A new jib every year and alternate main and spinnaker. Try and preserve your better sails for more important regattas by swapping out. We maintain three sets of sails, the number one set is used for the NAC, NOOD and Verve, the second set for other BOY races and the third set for beer cans and unimportant races. In order to preserve your investment we roll sails and take them off the boom after every race.

New jibs and mains these days come with "Heavy air" and "regular" top battens - try and use the correct batten for the conditions.

Helm, crew work and tactics
 - After you have taken care of all of the above, you are left with sailing ability.
 - Nothing that 20 years of racing experience won't solve!
I can not tell you how to be a better helmsperson, the important thing is to show up! Get out there and race...the more you practise the better you will be. Also, get a mentor or invite better sailors on board to help you diagnose fundamental helming or boat handling issues.

Winter projects
Flat and Smooth bottom plus fairing the keel and rudder
 - The flatter and smoother the hull, keel and rudder the faster you will be.
Easy thing to say but not so easy to acheive! Getting a flat boat involves an aweful lot of time hand sanding with a three foot long board.<pic05> Once you are satisfied the hull needs to be waterproof - after sanding, roll or prefferably spray on interprotect 2000E. If you roll the paint on - look forward to a LOT more sanding! Your finished boat should be 600 grit smooth ALL over! We use Petit "Vivid" bottom paint, again spraying on the paint is preffferable. - Good luck, give yourselves a lot of time in the winter for this - once the boat is in the water you are stuck with that bottom for the whole season<

>. The original T-10 keel and rudder is fatter than the templates in many areas and not very flat or fair, considerable gains can be made by fairing both of the foils. Consider hiring a professional for this job.

Conclusion
The reason for writing this article is that many new sailors tend to overlook the basics, likewise many seasoned sailors forget the basics! The chapters are in order of importance and ease of use...Sail FAST.

Trevor Smith

Albion T-10
www.albionracing.com
racing@albionracing.com

Date: 09 Mar, 2009