Club Windsurfers,
As you are now probably aware, the storage arrangement for windsurfing sails had changed to a) accommodate more sails, and b) to provide room for the workbench in the shed. Under the new arrangement sails hang by their clew on the provided hooks without booms and with their downhaul fully tensioned. Hanging the largest sail from the central hook, with progressively smaller sails hanging progressively further from the center — creating a pyramid of sorts — minimizes the hassle of retrieving a random sail from the quiver. Hanging the sails with downhaul fully tensioned not only reduces your de-rigging time but also reduces the next sailor’s rigging time. Hanging sails without the boom allows us to hang many more sails and facilitates using your preferred boom with your preferred sail. This helps everyone get stoked, faster! The arrangement is pictured below:
Similarly, rigging time is reduced if outhaul lines and harness lines are kept properly terminated. The proper termination for outhaul lines includes permanent stopper knots on both ends of the line (1, below). If you find yourself cursing the person that tied a stopper knot on an outhaul line, in all likelihood, your cursing is misdirected and you may soon be cursed by the next sailor that picks up that boom. With all of the club’s modern booms, the outhaul is rigged by taking a loop (not the bitter end!) of the outhaul line threading it through the eye (2) and then placing it on the plastic friction block (3), at which point one end of the outhaul line can be tightened up in a cleat (4). There is no need to free one end of the loop:
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2.
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4.
Conversely, proper termination of harness lines avoids permanent stopper knots. Different users may need to adjust these lines to different lengths, and placing permanent stopper knots on harness lines needlessly increases the next sailor’s rigging time, making her not so stoked. This applies to the “non-adjustable” side of adjustable harness lines as well, as the knot on the “non-adjustable” side frequently needs some adjusting. If you find yourself tying a permanent stopper knot on a harness line, you can be sure that you will soon be cursed. For reference, a half hitch through the nylon strapping is all you need:
