Have got a Tiga 271 free X and would appreciate any general advice on it's strengths/weaknesses/tuning/tecnique etc
Am fairly new to sailing , am happy and comfortable in harness/straps but crap at gybing - you may not know me but you know my type !
Any tips welcomed
Thanks
Dan

yep ditto laurie's advice, the tip i offer concerns gybing- firstly let me state i know i am one of the worst offenders, so i am no expert, how ever from watching a lot of sailors i have noticed the most common problem in my opinion is the failure to plain-thru or even carry any speed thru the gybe. this problem is not isolated to just new comers but to lots of seasoned/experienced sailors as well.
the prime cause of this (imo) is due to the sailor getting caught too far back on the board especially after the board has passed dead down wind.this tends to sink the tail thus creating drag and slowing the board almost to a stop which then in turn, allows the 'pressure' in the sail to re establish thus adding to the drama, usually resulting in a swim for the less experienced.
i think the key is to keep your weight forward thru the turn. try and time when you let the sail go and grab it on the new tack to shift your 'new' front foot, all the way forward at the same time, even stick it as far as the mast base.then move back into the straps when starting to plain again. this should keep the board flat thru the turn and hopefully in turn keep the speed up.as i said before i am no expert this is just my observation, in summary the easiest/quickest way to improve is to get some lessons from the guys/gals who know!! good luck.

snides8

thanks for all the above!
I reckon I'll try to think "squat" rather than bend the knees because it's one thing to know thats what you should do and another thing to actually get the body to do it.
I'll also try getting my new front foot further forward, ? next to the mast foot as per snides8; I'm sure I'm getting to far back on the tail of the board
Haven't tried the link yet but I'll check it out now - thanks tozza

definitely *bend* the knees. I started seriously bending a few weeks ago - head below boom height in the jibe - and a whole bunch of things came good immediately as a result. 1) Better speed through the jibe - more forward I guess; 2) quicker more dynamic sail flip; 3) absorb the chop better; 4) more feel for the carve

Biggest improvement in one session since the pre harness and straps days.

makatak

when u bend ur knees point them towards the centre of the turning circle of ur carve. this will help keep it all together.
with the sail flip move the front hand to right next to the mast b4 u start to carve.

I found the best thing was watching Alan Cadiz's video on gybing. The video is well worth the money or try and borrow it from someone. it had me gybing in just a few sessions after studying the video a few times.
cheers Bertie

www.outdoorshots.com.au/view_sessionshot.php?eid=43&pg=6&sid=04p1313110
www.outdoorshots.com.au/view_sessionshot.php?eid=45&pg=1&sid=04p2043521
www.outdoorshots.com.au/view_sessionshot.php?eid=101&pg=17&sid=04pc182323

"Does anyone else out there have tips for jumps? Stay in harness, or out, hang off boom, or try to jump with legs? tail landing, nose landing, head landing?"

I'd reckon if you're starting to jump off decent size chop/waves, then unhook when learning, because once you're airborne, if (when) it goes wobbly because you haven't got the hang of controlling the board in the air with your feet ...

Once you've got your confidence up, then jumping hooked in becomes second nature (just like being in the footstraps etc..)

Go for the tail landing for sure .. nose landings are for people better than you and me (for now...)

Have fun .. Lozza

thanks laurie - we be unhooked and ready to fly (in my case this means anything up to a whopping 40cm above the water surface). When taking off i feel more comfortable keeping the front foot up, and keeping the windward rail up (pointing toes a little). I am also very conscious of the back foot extending to contact the water again.

THe first jump was hooked in, and felt very comfy cos i just went with it, but know i'll get out of the harness and push a little more[}:)]. Should be relicating Filtyamateur tricks in no time!!! mental note - ask the wife for more gear money....