I am beginner...
should i train my self footstrap first or harness?
where can i get good tip on putting harness and line on.

Definitely harness first, then front foot, then back foot.

Don't stand on your toes to hook in. Pull the boom down to you. Initially have your boom a bit lower so you can hook in and out easilly. Hook in a few seconds first and then unhook to get used to it. Keep doing this until your get your confidence and feel comfortable to keep hooked in for longer periods.

If you are a flat water sailor then get used to being hooked in all the time. The harness really does become your friend and not the frightening monster it appears at first.

Do not try to get your front foot in until your are comming onto the plane (That hairy bit were the board starts to skip across the water and you seem to lose all control).

Do not try to get your back foot in until you are up and planing. Most make the mistake at first of heading up to the wind to try to control the power. When you are comming onto the plane, try to bear away a bit to get fully powered. Everything becomes somewhat balanced at this stage and you can quickly slip your back foot in (your are balancing on your harness line, your front hand and your front foot to do this).

Be quick when putting your feet in the straps, but be gentle. Don't stamp on the rail, or your board will swing into wind and depower.

And as Nebian says, expect to get catapulted from time to time.

Re Setting your lines.

Spacing:
Space your harness lines about six inches apart on the boom. (One 'shaka')

Length:
You'll want the 'loop' to be about from the top of your wrist to your elbow.

Position:
the easiest way to position the lines is on dry land. Rig the sail and get some wind in it on the beach. The point on the boom at which you can hold the sail powered up with only one hand is the 'centre of effort' or C.G. of the sail. Space your lines round this point.
When you get planing the apparent wind will shift this point a little so you will need to adjust.

Adjustment:
If the sail is pulling too much on your front hand move the lines forward. If your back hand is pulling to much move them back.

Once you got them right, mark the points on your boom cos if you use a bigger/smaller sail on the same boom you'll have to move them again.

Whe you improve you can narrow the 'spacing' to nothing if you want to be trendy.

Only YOU will be able find the right spot. If someone else tries to do it for you it wont feel right.

Hope this helps

Gary

You're right edge. C.E.

hmm,, i read that stuff and find it interesting that guy basically says to do either, one minute he's saying hook in first the next he's saying go the straps first?????

Definately agree harness first.

So does Peter Hart, lifted from the windsurfing.org pages

quote:

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LET THE HARNESS WORK. So long as you are powered up, you'll accelerate mare quickly if you hook in BEFORE bearing away and moving back down the board - after all it's easier to sheet in with your body than it is with your arms alone.

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My 2 cents worth:

• Harness first:
  When the wind is strong enough to get you on the plane without needing to pump
• Harness last:
  When you have to pump to get planning, it's often easier to get into the straps when up and planning as getting into the harness may effect the trim of the board
  When you're way overpowered

When learning from scratch there's no point getting to grips with the footstraps only to get knackered after 20 minutes of planning without the harness! Learn the harness and as you speed up do the "elvis shuffle" (see a Guy Cribb article) down the board. You should be able to do both pretty much in the same month...

Good luck!

BTW well rigged sails and properly placed harness lines are as important as any technique advice so make sure you get this right. Try the elastic technique that Cribb talks about on his cribb sheets - it seems to work! Where do you sail as I'm sure people will be keen to help out with rigging/line positioning?

Grumplestiltskin

I think you might be reading something into Mr Hart's comments. My reading is that under normal conditions you hook in, come onto the plane 'just' and get into the straps, then bear away to really power up before heading up wind.

In lighter conditions you would hook in, then bear away to get onto the plane and then get into the straps.

Realistically I find that it all happens at the same time. I am always hooked in. If it is really light I might hook out again as a gust hits to get a good pump. Normally though I will just wiggle the rig while hooked in. As I feel the board accelerate I will bear away as my front foot goes in, quickly followed by the back foot.

I am talking flat water sailing here. Wavesailing is a different baby that I have no experience with.