Does any owner of. Cockatoo wish to share the set up measurements that they use with their boat 

 

would be good to have something to work from as just currently shooting the dark about setting up to go faster,

email stephen.brown.47@btinternet.com

 

thank you

There must be someone apart from us Stephen with a Cookatoo 🧐

Yes, but only on the forum if you own a britpop….

so I developed my own, via the mast and plumb line, and mast set up from there.

 

In my experience which is relatively short in radio sailing circles until the Britpop setup guides by the manufacturers was not the norm. The Britpop guide was a revelation to new owners of the yacht. This guide I personally believe is one of the things which lead to the Britpop's dominance for so long.

With one of my yachts I asked the designer and builder for setup advice and basically got the reply he was a seat of the pants sailor and had no information and it was up to me to work out settings. There were no other Skippers local to me sailing the design so it was a drawn out process finding out what worked, still struggle in conditions not regularly encountered locally. Now owning a Britpop as well I have experimented with it's settings and adapted them as required to the boat. The old school Skippers in the club have also helped out giving fairly basic starting points.

Generally newer designs now come with a guide from the designer, These days as the older designs gravitate to newer skippers it is less likely that you can gain setup instructions/advice. The best thing you can do is to keep a record of settings which work in various conditions so you at least have a starting point each time you sail. DON'T rely on your memory.

Eric

 

Thanks Eric for your helpful response 🙂

I did see someone sailing a Cookatoo on a video managed to find an email for them. Thought nothing to lose by asking and he replied with some settings so at least have something to start from. Then like you say note down any changes so hopefully able to repeat them 🙏 

 

Just had an early morning sail which things seem to be moving in the right direction 😃 Sunday will be proof when have others to race.

 

 

Pleased to hear you have found fellow Cockatoo sailor, always good to talk!

Hope your new found knowledge assists your own efforts. Do take into account that different rigs and sail cuts cause variations in setup.

This is why I believe the Britpop setup instructions were instrumental in the yacht's performance. Skipper's always seem to talk about the hull design but the relationship between hull, fin, rudder, rig and sails are all important. It was this attention to detail with the rig that stood out at the time of release of the Britpop. Not certain this had happened before? (If anyone can tell me if there was such a comprehensive handbook for an earlier design I would be interested)

For best results with my own Britpop with regards to sails fitted I should probably replace them with 'BG' sails. (Would need to check rig was applicable to the sail change)

Your own boats mast stiffness and pre-bend may not suit the sails you are using if they were assembled for an alternative sail maker.

There is  enough information out on the web to keep you busy, you just need to look. Our Racing Officer's Web site (Nigel Barrow)  is a very good starting point. The information on 'BG Design' and Sailsetc sites are also informative, (Others are available)

Good luck with your settings on Sunday.

Regards Eric  

Eric today highlights the steep learning curve that I have to climb wind reduced and the added curve ball of weed. But also reinforce your point about noting down settings so able to repeat them. 

 

Nigel Barrow's Web site does look a very good source of information so think I will be visiting it on a regular basis.

Pleased to hear how things are going! Do keep us updated on progress. Where I sailed today the conditions not conducive to experimental setup as you could without a course change not only swap tacks but also  go from beating, to running, to drifting!  Just put a light air setup on and then concentrated on burgee and tell-tails. Bad news was as I was sailing the Psycho and had the Britpop setup book with me at the lake not helpful!

A couple of other sites that you may find interesting:-

https://dawsong8.wixsite.com/jgsails

https://planb.peterburford.com.au/

Both of these sites are from the Southern Hemisphere. (This does not affect the relevance of the information🤪)

Good reading Eric

 I started with ensuring the mast was upright, floating the boat and on the crane, a plumb line with rig tension set so that the plumb sits above the keel screw. 
then out and check the port / starboard movement of the mast, which was easy.

this gave me a measurement for bow to mast, and from there, worked out the rig tension.

this improved the mast set up, and from there it was sail setting.

 

agree that the detailed notes on the Plan B website are excellent, and I go back to these for set up.

would love to buy a Plan B