QLD
7436 posts
I'm a weekend sailor. I can sail all weekend with nothing more than a bit of discomfort in my hands. However if I get 5 days straight of good wind on the holidays my hands really let me know I'm overdoing it. I've tried gloves in the past (Da Kine fingerless mits) and found that they interfere with my grip too much (although I haven't used them for about 5 years so maybe I should give them another go).
I was thinking about the functional problem involved. What is required is a means of taking a gripping load from the palm and fingers (the bits that give me a caning)and transferring it elsewhere. There is absolutely no point in giving better adhesion to the palms unless its the forearms that are the problem and its not. I was reminded of those Gripping aids that weight lifters use. They are nothing more than a strap that goes around the wrist with a long tail that wraps around the bar and is held in place by the hand gripping the bar. Then I was watching the gymnastics on the tele today and I saw that some of them used some kind of hand helper that uses a similar loop around the wrist. That looks like it has possibilities. Do any of you have any knowledge or experiencce with these things? Do any of you have a good working solution to this difficulty?
QLD
2315 posts
If using the da kine gloves i only ever use them one day to give the sore bits a break, it does change the grip area slightly. If you find they are interfering you are probably using your hands too much unless you are wavesailing, in the harness i use no back hand only front hand so that gives one hand break. In everything except going flat out you can set your harness lines to hook in whilst schlogging and also give hands a break. Finally keep hands out of water and try to keep them as dry as possible (this is where gloves fail).
As far as hand helpers go i just cant see it working at all that well, also whem gymnasts/weightlifters use them their grip is pretty static. windsurfing whilst not in the harness the grip is reasonably dynamic making it a little less viable. The other thing is look at why its happening, maybe boom grips are too grippy. I did kayaking and you could do stuff like that all day without the need for gloves.
WA
45 posts
Those grips for gymnastics have a dowel that sits near the top of your fingers. It forms an extra ledge around the bar so you dont have to grip so hard. They cost around $70 and come with velcro straps or buckles (buckles are better as they don't come loose as easy). I never used them but my daughter needs them for gymnastics. They are made of leather so I don't know how they will react to water. To buy those you will need to go to one of the gymnastics competitions as they aren't found that easily in sports stores.
I tried gloves before and found that I would rather loose the skin on my hands than using up the strength in my arms. The gloves (even fingerless) make your grip bigger which translates in more effort from your lower arms. I read this in other places as well.
QLD
2315 posts
I've never had a problem with the da kine ones, the material is super thin and dosent change the grip hardly at all. I rarely use them but when I do (after heaps of days of sailing and no skin on hands) i dont have a problem with them.
WA
255 posts
Relax & drop your shoulders. Hands should be resting on the boom not gripping it. Adjust lines to correct length & placement. You should be able to sail with no hands on the boom.
Deano
