Summer Time is Good
By amokaman | June 28, 2009
For Sunday June 28 the weather forecast was for some brisk winds west late afternoon but it was already white capping hard when I pulled into the Maumee Bay State Park beach parking lot around 1:00pm. I could see there were lulls so I rigged up my 6.5 to go play. About 45 minutes later a huge long gust hit me that probably a 4.5 would have been good for so I went in and rigged down to my 5.5 which was the smallest I had brought with me. After about 45 minutes of sailing I quit as I wasn’t having much fun sailing sheeted out all the time and I only had my large 160 liter board with me. Man it was blowing and the wind lovers were out. About a dozen windsurfers, a handful of kiteboarders, some jet skiers and swimmers all were contending for a spot in the waves on what was a beautiful Ohio 88 degree day with low humidity. Click on the picture below for a larger size view.
Topics: BAF | No Comments »
GPWC Regatta - Downhauled to the Max
By amokaman | June 24, 2009
The June 21 Grosse Pointe Windsurfing Club regatta was a grueling one day event. There were ten Prodigies which was an excellent turn out and no one was a novice competitor. Usually the winds in late June are more often calm then strong on Lake St. Clair but not this day. It was hot and sunny and oh so gusty. When I got out on the water I knew the racing wasn’t going to be fun and I downhauled and outhauled about half way to maximum. Still I was battling not getting back winded about 25 percent of the time during the first three morning races. I was getting wore out arm wise and was concentrating more on just keeping upright than sailing the course. After the start of the third race a super long gust hit that leveled me about 4 times and everyone else also. Finally before the last race of the morning I went all the way on downhaul then some getting the top of the Comp 8.5 one design sail more floppy than I think I ever seen it. Likewise I had a firm outhaul setting but with that amount of downhaul the sail is already flat. I was using the Prodigy Comp 410 mast. That floppy top made a big difference and I wish I had went to that setting before the first race then backed off if need be. I actually sailed the course nicely that last morning race but my arms were so burnt out I couldn’t really hang in there on the up wind legs.
During lunch I rigged up my Sailworks Retro 6.5 which is a no cam sail. It’s not very competitive but there was no way my arms could battle those gusts with the 8.5 again. As Murphy would predict the winds dropped off after lunch and I was underpowered for the first two races after lunch. Still I was finishing ahead of a couple others that were battling what I’d call medium sized gusts with their 8.5’s.
During the third race the winds came up big time again. I was almost at the finish line when I notice 9 and JDX were swimming after their boards way out past the leeward mark C. I yelled at the committee boat to go get them which they did which canceled that race. Without a rider the Prodigy with it’s high deck is more proned to drifting away in strong winds than longboards are. If you didn’t get that simply said, ”The Prodigy can drift faster than you can swim even without a life vest on”. In high winds you really need to be cautious and not fall off backwards and boost the board away with your feet as you fall. If you do fall … don’t hesitate getting back to the board … swim fast and hard before the board gets turned downwind and picks up any drifting speed. If you come across a boardless Prodigy rider in the water usually it’s best to go to their board and drop your sail. Setting there you’ll cut the speed of the drifting Prodigy in half. Now if the rider has been swimming a bit and has no life vest you should go to the rider and try to get them to hang on using one hand on each back strap and then sail to their board. If you can’t get to the board then start waving your arms in an X motion to signal another person you need help. If your that third person go stop that runaway board! If you have a tow rope you might even be able to pull that runaway Prodigy upwind or at least stop the downwind drifting.
The last race of the afternoon got started about 3:15 and it was blowing hard and handling the 6.5 was work but fun. I finished 3rd overall in the fleet and bested all the other Prodigy guys who struggled with their 8.5’s in the heavy winds. For scoring purposes they divided the Prodigy group into light and heavy weight divisions and I ended up getting a trophy for 3rd in the heavy division. It was one of the nicer trophies with engraving I’ve seen in a while.
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
Board Caddy Contest
By amokaman | June 4, 2009
Wide style boards like the Prodigy are not so easy to carry and I have a good 75 yard walk from the parking lot to the water at my favorite spot. After a long afternoon of windsurfing with wet straps and some head winds that Prodigy is a real beast to carry across a hot sandy beach. The last couple seasons there has been a contest between us local Prodigy windsurfers in Toledo to build the best Prodigy board caddy. Beach chairs, golf caddy carts, baby buggies and only God knows what else has been transformed into a windsurfer cart. From what I have observed most of the creations have serious design problems. I myself have made three different carts which all failed when tested in real world conditions. A board caddy cart needs to have several qualities.
- Not require a machine shop to build.
- Be constructed of off the shelf inexpensive parts.
- Be lightweight to carry and small so it takes minimal space up in the car.
- Have enough wheel volume so wheels can roll in loose sand.
- Be quick to mount and unmount on the board.
- Not damage the board by leaving marks or dents.
There are probably more board cart qualities I could list like a matching paint job but I think you get the picture. The good news is I’ve finally come up with a design that covers I think all the bases. After several uses I’ll know it if works everywhere all the time but so far so good. It’s simply a 2×4, with 1/2 thin wall conduit, a 3/8″ axle and plastic wheels from the Tyco toy company you can get online. Also there are retaining clip washers that keep the axle from sliding out of the conduit. A quick release pin on the axle end let’s me take the wheels on and off on one side. Then you just slide the 2×4 through the straps. Yes I know what you are thinking, yes I had to let the straps out a bit but version two will solve that by cutting the wood down a 1/2 inch .. er maybe 3/4 .. or I could just get bigger booties.
Update 06/21/2009: after using it a several times I found it’s working great and I didn’t need to leave the straps out on my own Prodigy. I had originally tried it on one of my lesson boards which I don’t use myself. I wear Tega water shoes that are well padded in front and thus I have the straps openings set real big. I found the 2×4 wood slides through just fine on my setup and with the snug fit it stays in place. Obviously if you have straps set small you could trim the 2×4 wood to fit. The only issue I didn’t think of was for pre 2006 Prodigies that have no EVA deck foam this setup won’t work unless some padding is added. I haven’t tried the caddy on an older Prodigy but likely it could scratch or possibly dent an unpadded deck.
Topics: BAF | 2 Comments »
Toledo Prodigy racing !!
By amokaman | June 2, 2009
We had 14 Prodigies registered but one no show and one I don’t know what happenned too that finished with all DNS. Anyway a group of 12 makes for a nice race and a good showing in general for one design racing. I ended up 5th overall. For trophy purpose we were able to break into two age groups < 55 and 55+. There were five races in big gusting winds on Saturday with 3 races before lunch and 2 late afternoon. I was really spent after the 4th race Saturday and should have taken out my 7.5 Sailworks Retro which was on the beach ready to go. I couldn’t decide if there were more lulls then gusts to deal with so I went with the 8.5 Prodigy Comp sail as did everyone else. We surely all were worn out at the end of the day. On Sunday it didn’t blow much at all and we only did one race in very light conditions but I did well in that one which boosted my point total. Below you can see me (# H in the middle) in Sunday’s light air race going to the mark as others get headed bad.
Toledo 2009 Prodigy overall results pdf
In general I sailed well and only had one minor bump with US64 that got me wet. I tried to pass too close and a big gust came and my sail could not sheet out as it was pinned against Rod and I end up being catapulted over the front. Chalk that up as another lesson learned. My downwind sailing was better as I was leaving the track forward and I only dropped the sail twice on the down wind legs. Still those two drops hurt a bit. Some good news was my carpal tunnel release surgery on the right hand back in Novermber appears to have worked. I felt no numbness and this race really was an arm stretcher.
I sold my 1992 Equipe Carbon XR longboard a couple years ago but now I own another longboard. I bought a used 1995ish Equipe XR that is in very nice shape at the regatta. With my old 1985 Superlight and the Equipe XR I plan to enter in A Fleet 8.5 using my Prodigy sail at the Grosse Point Windsurfing Regatta coming up in two weeks. I’m not abandoning Prodigy class just switching one time to see how I still stack up against those longboards. Also if it’s light air I want to see how good or bad the old Superlight is. Should be fun using a board from 1985!
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
Alum Creek Regatta 2009
By amokaman | May 9, 2009
I managed 2nd place in A-Fleet as the Mistral Prodigy is pretty much king in light air conditions. Unfortunately several or more people that might have been there had been on Hatteras trips the previous week before. That means Alum Creek would have been their third weekend in a row windsurfing so I don’t blame them for not showing. What changed is the Ohio and Michigan clans are doing the same Hatteras week now a bit later. Next year the Alum event will definitely need to be moved back to the weekend before Memorial Day. That will give people a couple week break or more after Hatteras week. Anyway, I had much fun at Alum Creek and it was good to see some racing friends after a long winter.
I towed the Lucky Dog down on Friday and camped close by to the event site. I got some decent practice in late Friday afternoon which helped stretch the muscles out for Saturday’s competition. We did seven short races on Saturday in light winds. Sunday the wind didn’t show though it surely was a nice warm spring day to sit around and talk windsurfing. In the picture above racers head up wind with blues skies in the background Saturday May 2, 2009 Alum Creek Reservoir Columbus Ohio.
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
Back in the saddle
By amokaman | April 26, 2009
Two That-A-Boys to Mother Nature giving us two 85 degree weekend days and yet another warm day coming on Monday. That’s like unheard of in Ohio for April but I’m glad for it as that really gives the waters a kick start to warming up. I made it out both Saturday and Sunday and boy was I ever rusty. I’ve been down with a cold for two weeks and still have a bit of a cough. My energy level was way off but I still got some good back in the strap runs in on Sunday April 26. Coming up next weekend is the first race of the season at Alum Creek. I got to do several good home workouts this week and get stretched out.
I had spent a couple hours checking the 1977 Serro Scotty early this week and took her to the lake on Saturday. I like to give everything a good towing checkout locally before doing a road trip. Hopefully she will make it through another summer season.
Sunday I started getting my new demo Prodigy checked out on the water. Man that gasket is stiff. So stiff that the smaller standard centerboard won’t go down without a helper stick pushing it from above. Yes I use silicone spray. I tried using the centerboard like a saw moving it through the gasket maybe 10 minutes to break the gasket in and that seems to have helped a bit. I plan to give that gasket a good 30 minute sawing this week to see if that helps the situation. Also this was the first time I used the newer thermometer track for an extended amount of time. So far I like how the track car can travel fast and free. Last season I started leaving the track forward near all the time when racing. When going down wind if I could see there was a really long puff of wind coming that I could plane in then I would move it back just before the puff got to me. Otherwise I leave the track car forward in the upwind position and simply step back a bit further when going downwind. I just feel myself that I have better control with the mast forward and I’m much less prone to stepping back and sinking the tail which is like putting the brakes on.
Below my 2006 Prodigy is all set to get wet for the first time in 2009. It’s still in like new shape and I’ll be racing it this season again. That’s pretty amazing for a board that’s got a ton of use the last two years. The Prodigy is one tough board.
Topics: BAF, Prodigy Racing | 1 Comment »
NABX 2009 - most wind ever
By amokaman | April 8, 2009
The 2009 NABX (North American Buggy Expo) held March 28 - April 6 on Ivanpah Dry Lake at Primm Nevada had the most high wind days of any of the NABX/SBBB events I’ve attended to date. This was my tenth NABX and I got my fill of high speed buggy riding in. A new NABX kite buggy speed record was set by a Dutch rider of 77.4 mph on Friday April 3rd. Now that’s moving! The only disappointment this year was low winds on Saturday which is the big turnout day for the event. Registered riders get official buggy plates along with event T-shirt and Sat evening banquet dinner. I’ll be putting together a Youtube video slideshow later this Spring so watch for that.
The below picture shows why I like Vegas in early April!
The below picture shows some power kiters warming up their strings over the pit area. The scenic Clark and New York mountain ranges surround Ivanpah dry lake. This year Nevada was a great place for outdoor fun while it was snowing hard in Detroit on the final day of the men’s NCAA tournament.
See www.nabx.net and the power kite forum link there for more information on NABX.
I stumbled across this nice YouTube showing some of the action at NABX 2009. About 31 seconds in you’ll see yours truely riding the Peter Lynn XR+ with extended siderails and axle. I’m the one with the white motorcycle style helmet and a gold sweatshirt.
Topics: BAF | 1 Comment »
2009 Season - new Prodigy Demo board
By amokaman | March 25, 2009
I have not windsurfed yet in Ohio in 2009 but it won’t be long until Windsurfing The North Coast is back. Usually I wait till I see the water temperature has reached 57 degrees which usually happens mid May. At that temperature with air temps over 65 a light 2/3 wetsuit will do me. I hate wearing heavy 3/5 suits with matching boots, hoods and gloves so I just don’t do that anymore. When the water is coldish in early Spring and late Fall I always sail the Mistral Prodigy. I think all of last year I maybe fell in twice when using the Prodigy. Usually I’m jumping in the water on purpose to cool down. Keeping dry and warm is one more reason you can give your wife when quized on why you need to own a Prodigy. Another one is that by buying a Prodigy you’ll save on the cost of heavy wetsuits and other neopreme accessories.
Talking about the Prodigy, this year I will have a 2nd Prodigy on my roof rack the entire season! It will be there for demo use and for lessons. So if you see me at Maumee Bay State Park and want to demo ride it just let me know. Also I’ll have that extra Prodigy at any regatta I attend for demo purposes and if someone wants to race it during a morning or afternoon session they are welcome to do that.
Talking about racing, below is the area line up where you will find some windsurfers racing each other. I plan to be at the events on this list. So if you have been itching to try a Prodigy here is your chance. Try to contact me beforehand if possible.
May 2-3 Alum Creek at Alum Creek State park marina - north/Columbus OH
May 30-31 TABA Toledo Windsurfing Championships - at Maumee Bay State Park Oregon OH
Jun 13 PBC Perrysburg Boat Club Regatta at PBC Perrysburg OH
Jun 20 Grosse Point Sailing Club Regatta at Patterson Park, Grosse Point MI
Aug 3-5 ILY-A Bay Week regatta at Put-In-Bay, OH
Sep12-13 Higgins Lake at Higgins Lake South State Park, Roscomon MI
Also remember all season long us Toledo area windsurfers try to meet every Wednesday late afternoon at Maumee Bay State Park beach. We will windsurf even if the winds are forecasted to be light. Though if it was a big wind day on Tuesday then likely we won’t be there Wednesday as we got our wind fix the day before. Maumee Bay State Park is a great place to windsurf from. The wide open spaces of Lake Erie give you some of the best winds found anywhere in the Mid-West.
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
How many cards in your deck?
By amokaman | March 4, 2009
In my deck there are about 24 cards and they all cost a bit of money and sometimes a bit of time and effort. Part of my deck is photo copied below. I have cards from US Windsurfing, US Sailing, Red Cross, Black Swamp Air Force, American Kiting Association, AARP, AAA, several Charge Cards, an ATM debit card, car rental agency cards, phone companies and my business cards for Amoka to hand out. Man the list is stupid long. A few cards live in my wallet and the rest live in a pile that gets a Spring cleaning every year. Probably the cards I’m most proud of are the Red Cross cards.
Amokaman Cards
Each year I renew my Red Cross basic CPR certification and every three years the Red Cross basic First Aid certification. I do this because it’s part of being a windsurfing instructor. I’m lucky that the Red Cross has a great in-house training facility right in Toledo. I’ve always done the full day course which means you start the CPR course at 9am and finish usually by 1pm ish and then go on and do First Aid course until about 3:30ish if you need that also. The First Aid course you only need to redo every three years. If you can’t find the time to do the course in one day they offer it over three evenings. See www.redcrosstoledo.org for details.
Learning CPR is just part of the course as you are drilled on a couple other things and probably top of that list is learning the three C’s. (Check - Call - Care). The Care part involves learning about your ABC’s (Airway, Breathing and Circulation). The most important thing I feel is to learn that one needs to remain calm and alert when in an emergency situation. What not to do is as important as what to do. I recommend everyone take the CPR and First Aid course at least once.
Topics: Lessons | 1 Comment »
The Racing Rules of Sailing
By amokaman | January 12, 2009
After I received my copy of the 2009-2012 RRS (Racing Rules of Sailing) from US Sailing I decided I would actually read through them. After an hour of looking at the rules I realized I then had more questions then answers so I bought a second publication named the “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing”. The Understanding book has a copy of the RRS in it. Putting my years of experience together with the books I felt confident enough to build a nice little video slideshow I titled “My Top Points you should know to Race your Windsurfer”.
The My Top Points RSS video goes over some of the basic right away rules like the Starboard on opposite tack and Windward/Leeward on same tack. I also cover Barging at the Start line and Mark Room. Just because you viewed this video don’t think you know it all. Still consider buying the Understanding Book. However I will say that if you understand the Top Points I make in the video you certainly know enough about RRS to get out there and start racing.
I have a compressed Windows Media version you can down load. It is about a 20M file so please right click and save it to your hard drive so you are not down loading it multiple times. My Top Points .wmv 20M
Also below are the YouTube versions that are of a little better video quality. I had to split it into two parts because there is a 10 minute length limit that YouTube enforces.
Part I
Part II
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
New Guns in Town
By amokaman | December 12, 2008
I recently got in a couple new fins that work well on a Mistral Prodigy. These big power box performance fins are really hard to find. Below on the right is the Gorge Sports Carve 58cm G-10. Yes I know it’s not Prodigy class legal but remember you can race your Prodigy in Open class against longboards or in Hybrid class against the RS:X riders. In either case you don’t want to be outgunned! If you are running a big sail on your Mistral Prodigy the Carve will really help with any spin out issues you are having.
Gorge Sports DC Driver 42 and Carve 58
On the left is the Gorge Sports DC Driver 42. This hatchet style fin gives you a bunch of lift in a short 42 cm frame. These guys were developed for wide recreational boards but we’ve found them to be a good on the Prodigy also. They are especially useful at locations with shallow water and sand bars. The thick wide bottom makes this guy really tough. I’ve got several other new Power Box fins available also that work well on the Mistral Prodigy so check out the fin section in my Amoka catalog.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
What does A moe`ka mean?
By amokaman | December 5, 2008
Since last summer a post on a windsurf blog in town has tagged us as “garage shop wannabees”. I’m not sure what that means exactly but an Internet based home business is what Amoka is, has been since 1993 and will continue to be. I guess the poster is getting old with Alzheimer’s as they forgot to mention they sold gear out of the back door of a ski shop, their car trunk and a record shop for more than a decade before opening a storefront. Now that the tide is reversed there is a lot of public whining going on. I myself have never been interested in being a retail counter boy seven days a week so don’t look for Amoka to expand beyond what it is now. Below the low winter sun glides over Amoka’s storage facility.
The Amoka garage .. it's BIG!
People are always asking me ”Does Amoka mean anything?”. Well way back in the late 1790’s when the white man was settling in Ohio several tribes of Indians lived here on the North Coast. A-moe-ka is an Indian term for water winds. Indians would often travel by birch canoe along the shores of Lake Erie and the Maumee River using the afternoon A-moe-ka to hasten their journey. Now over two hundred years later us North Coast windsurfers are the ones using the Amoka winds!
The Native Americans lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 at a site less than two miles from my garage shop. Close to the site there is a memorial and next to it a big rock named Turkey Foot rock. When Chief Me-sa-sa stood on the rock to rally his braves he was killed by Ohio militia men. Native Indians still to this day leave offerings around the rock to appease the Great Spirit and honor the braves fallen in the battle.
Fallen Timbers Memorial and Turkeyfoot rock.
If you happen to be driving down US 24 remember to stop by the memorial and feel the Amoka winds blowing on your face as you gaze out over the Maumee River. The memorial park is right across from the new Fallen Timbers Mall. Get off on the exit there and instead of turning to the mall go east towards the river, the road curves to the left then to the right then go straight under the foot bridge and you’ll be there. Your other option is to park at the mall and walk to the back of the parking lot by JC Penny. There you’ll see a short path that leads you to the foot bridge that crosses over to the park. If you have not had any luck hitting wind in a while be sure to leave an offering by Turkey Foot rock. As you do say the word A-moe’-ka slowly three times.
Foot bridge across US 24, you can see the mall in the background.
Topics: BAF | No Comments »
Repair Job
By amokaman | November 25, 2008
After windsurfing near one handed most of last summer I finally got up the nerve to let the medicine men fix my wrist. Carpal tunnel caught up with me after 30 years of driving a keyboard and a mouse along with 23 years of windsurfing and 10 years of power kiting. After a few minutes of windsurfing my right hand would go numb. When racing I could no longer grasp the boom when using my Mistral Prodigy Comp One Design 8.5 square meter sail in even moderate winds conditions. Strangely doing normal activities my right hand never bothered me much and so I was never in a rush to get it looked at. I thought maybe it would get better after I retired but no such luck. During the 2008 racing season I finally realized it was getting worst and it was costing me big points on the race course. Since winter had set in here on the North Coast now was the time to get some health care.
Dr. Hoeflinger a Sports Medicine Specialist practicing out of the Westside Orthopedic Group located in Maumee did the out-patient surgery. The surgery took place at the St Lukes Surgi-Care building in Maumee which is all of three miles from my house. I was in and out of the OR in less than 30 minutes. This being my first surgery ever I was a bit nervous but the staff is great there and very reassuring. I could kick myself in the pants I didn’t take care of this a couple years ago.
Now I have to sit on the sidelines for several weeks. There will be no snow kiting for me this season. If gas prices stay low I might do a drive to Florida in late February. I’m praying I’ll be back at 100% by then. The Island Style Classic in Sarasota and Calema MidWinters at Meritt Island are two events I really like. It sure will be nice to be windsurfing with both hands again in 2009!
Topics: BAF | No Comments »
Walking at Oak Openings
By amokaman | November 19, 2008
Winter is the time for getting out and doing a daily walk. The geography along the North Coast here in Ohio is flat as a pancake for the most part. The flat terrain extends right to the shoreline of Lake Erie so we have no wind shadows from hills or cliffs to contend with. At Maumee Bay State Park I get to do some great flat water speed windsurfing right next to shore on strong offshore wind days. Only a hundred yards from my door step is the Wasbash 20 mile paved trail I can walk, inline skate and bike on. I live in a mixed urban and agricultural area of open farm lands which makes for great breezes on hot summer days. There is a problem though, those same open farm fields make for some wind chill during the winter so I prefer driving over to a wooded park on windy days.
Lucas County has a great metro park system and the largest park is just a few minutes drive from me. When you include the adjacent state forest Oak Openings Preserve is almost 7000 acres in size and has over a 100 miles of marked walking paths, horse trails and unmarked fire trails. Most of the time I hike in areas where I seldom see another person. And yes there have been times when I’ve gotten a bit lost but that rarely happens now days as I’ve been hiking in the park regularly for over twenty years.
During the rutting season the big bucks are watching over their girls. Today I got a picture of one that seemed to be intent on watching me. This guy was like XXL size and I am glad I don’t see many of his calibier as I don’t think my little walking stick would do much good if he went into attack mode.
If you get to the Toledo area stop by Oak Openings if you are in need of a bit of walking exercise or looking for a bike trail to ride.
Topics: Other Interests | 1 Comment »
Prodigy #4 and #5 Batten Ends
By amokaman | November 14, 2008
Recently I got in a couple of the number 4 and 5 Comp 8.5 sail battens and you can find them in my online catalog in the Prodigy section. The fiberglass Prodigy Comp sail battens are lightweight. The big 90 and 7/8 inch long number 5 batten only weighs in at 9 oz. Here is a tip. Give your mast a good dose of silicone spray a few times a season on the spots where the two cams rotate. Be careful not to get sand on the nylon straps on the cam ends so keep your batten pockets zipped up. Any grit on those cam ends will groove your mast for sure!
I‘ve never had a problem yet with my batten ends though I have seen people that have. Notice I said people as it’s not the sail itself that causes problems. Forcing the cam ends on and off the mast is the culprit that can lead to a split or broken batten end or a torn cam jacket. I’ve run across new Comp 8.5 sail owners that were really having troubles getting the cams on the mast but it’s really oh so simple.
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Unzip the cam pockets so you can see what is happening. But don’t unzip all the way leave like an 3/4 of a inch zipped. If you unzip all the way the zipper guide can go off the end!
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Slide the mast over the cams, then downhaul with enough tension to take the big wrinkles out then the important step is to outhaul all the way but not over your max outhaul setting.
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Now you just press down on the batten with one hand about a 16 inches back from the mast while the other hand pushes the cam from underneath the mast. The cam should pop over and onto the mast easily. If it doesn’t pop over easily, try ajdusting your downhaul.
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When both cams are on let off the outhaul some and downhaul a bit and straighten your cams on the mast then downhaul again to your final setting and slide the cams down if need be some more. Finally, take care zipping up the pockets.
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When de-rigging just reverse the whole process. Don’t pop loose your downhaul all the way letting the cams twist. Take it easy and slow when de-rigging and pop the cams off the mast by hand slowly. Remember to inspect your cam jackets every few sessions.
If you are not using the 510 Prodigy Comp one design mast you might have a lot of difficulty getting the cams on the mast or just the opposite and find they are really loose and don’t stay on. Getting the best fit is usually achieved by using the standard mast so this is one more reason not to skimp and go with the right mast.
The camber batten end consists of several parts. The nylon straps that hold the split cam together. The plastic cams sides. The cam jacket which is just fabric sewn together and finally the batten end cap and of course the batten rod end itself.
The cam jacket pockets are prone to coming apart at the seams from the cam sides twisting in them. You need to inspect that jacket every several sessions especially if you have not been careful rigging and de-rigging the sail. I sew my own jackets up but dealers can order original replacement parts including the plastic cam sides and nylon end straps.
As the little plastic batten end cap can come off I always tape over it. Just lay some good reinforced packing tape over it down the batten a few inches. If you should loose that little cap or it should split you can use a standard rubber round rod cap in it’s place. Those can be found at many hardware stores.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | Comments Off
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