Dear Swift Solo newbie sailors, I forgot to add to my post a couple of
suggestions to make it a lot easier to get up to speed. First and foremost ,
if
you sail in shallow water , 15 ft or less , in order to keep your mast out of
the corral/ mud/ or rocks , do add two 6 ft sections of NOODLES, those
flourecent macaroni looking floats that kids use on the beach , to your cap
shrouds above the the spreaders to keep this beast from the turtle position ,
it
makes it a lot easier to right , and it saves on wear and tears on your mast
and sail. Secound if you have abit of spare change I suggest that you save
that beautifull , alumashield/ kevlar main that you bought from Bram , in its
bag, and goto a local sailmaker and have them make you a Pentex/ dacron , pin
head, FLAT main with little or no roach, you will not believe the difference
this makes , this beasts are so overpowered with the Banks/ Chineese main,
with it deep draft aloft that makes italmost impossible to to depower ,
and enjoy the experience during the STEEP learning curve, and after a couple
of
months after you get upto speed and used to the boat you can always ease
into the race main , and it will be fresh for your first meet. I had one made
locally for $ 400 us . Third and utmost , please make sure you are an
excellent swimer, to quote my very good friend, designer and world campion in
many
, many classes Mr Bill Roberts , " Pepe, YOU WILL BE IN THE WATER ALOT" .
These are are only my suggestions from my personall experiences , and I
repeat this Beast is by no means" EASY TO SAIL". But with a little
persevearance
and a large bottle of Motrim/Percodan you will get to the fun part, and that
is a BLAST. Pepe SOLOCOCOLOCO USA 55
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