Crew Hiking Positions Clarified

Submitted by fs3360 on Wed, 12/12/2012 - 10:42
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Racer's Rap

After several occasions where a crew's hiking position was questioned as to legality, a request was sent to the FSSA for clarification. Chief Measurer Bob Neff's response can be found at this link. It is interesting to note that standing rigging, (like the side stay) is not currently legal to use as a hiking aid. No one in our fleet knew that!  -  D. Grimes, FS3360, Fleet 150

sawyerspadre

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 21:43

Since the Scot class has gone through nearly every permutation of question about hiking straps and other hiking aids, and have settled on the hiking line, which is pretty well defined, this makes sense.  Many other classes have hiking straps and very aggressive hiking.  If one wants to out-hike the competition, boats such as the Thistle are perfect.   A few of the new classes, like the new sportboat classes, limit hiking very closely. I think this helps the longevity of the class, as a wider range of ages and body types can be very competitive in the boat.An example of hiking in the Scot.http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p583038362/hfdc7dcc#h1a92bcb5This Terhune family seems to do well without holding the shroud:http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p583038362/hfdc7dcc#h12617984

bhmsailor

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 23:29

So does all this mean that the boat #68 is the linked photo is disqualified?
http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p583038362/hfdc7dcc#h1c5ae280
What about boat #07?
http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p583038362/hfdc7dcc#h462d84a
Or boat #49?
http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p583038362/hfdc7dcc#h94fded4
 
 

sawyerspadre

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 19:15

I think that is the question you are asking.  If they were protested by a competitor, how would the RC rule?hiking is not monitored by referees on the water, so a protest is the way to resolve.

fs3360

Fri, 12/14/2012 - 18:55

It would seem to me that the defining issue would be whether or not you are using the shroud to support your weight in a hiking position, as opposed to just using the shroud to stabilize yourself while sitting on the rail. Obviously, there is a whole lot of gray area here. The first two examples in bhmsailor's post are in that gray area, but probably OK (my opinion). The last example looks like he is leaning out more and putting much of his weight on the shroud, and so, is hiking, using the shroud as an aid. I used to lean heavily on the shroud with one hand, and the jib sheet with the other, in a laid out position. THAT would not be legal. Nowadays, I find that using the jib sheet in one hand and the hiking rope in the other is much more comfortable, and legal too.Dean GrimesFS3360Fleet 150, Lake Eustis Sailing Club

sawyerspadre

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 19:06

I agree with Jay that this string is somewhat odd.  The class has not had this clarification up to this point.So it seems that the folks who are holding the shroud while  sitting on the rail in the normal crew position are ok.  What if they were sitting outboard of the shroud, straddling it, and hanging onto the shroud or chainplate with both hands?  It seems that would be illegal.Does this need to be clarified?