April 2022 Newsletter

New TiiTAN kicker/vang block

Building on the success of the popular XHL block, the TiiTAN is the latest Allen block.  The new TiiTAN block features a titanium sheave and ceramic bearings for improved performance and reduced weight.  Southeast Sailboats are proud to have been involved in the development/testing of this great new block over the past 6 months.  You may have seen a prototype ‘bronze’ coloured one on European Champion Micky Beckett’s boat, and a red one on mine!  We have some of the first batch of these new blocks in beautiful blue, after which we believe that they will be a gorgeous grey! 

The TiiTAN block is available by itself or as part of a custom kicker/vang system. Check out the links for more info and pricing.

Princesa Sofia Palma Mallorca

The first major international event of the year kicks off today in Palma Mallorca with all three of our sponsored sailors there.  Micky and Matilda are competing, and Jon coaching.  Plus, we wish our customers competing in ILCA6 and ILCA7 from Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain, USA and of course the U.K, all the best.

Southeast Sailboats in Malta

Southeast Sailboats spent a long weekend in Malta for one of the first EuroMaster events of 2022. Great hospitality from the Royal Malta Yacht Club and SailCoach greeted the masters sailors in what was a breezy event!  A truly awesome venue and we will be back!

Micky Beckett and Jon Emmett on Hiking Strap Adjustment 

With the release of our hiking strap adjustment system a month ago we thought that we should do a short video that shows just how well it works, and an article as to why you may need an adjustable system.  So, do you need an adjustable hiking strap?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Micky Beckett explains all in this great article…

"The most under-rated control line on your ILCA/Laser, is your hiking strap/toestrap adjustment system. I’ve seen all kinds of systems that don’t really work and a handful that just about do. What a working system can offer you is real control over your boat and an ability to transfer power from your kinetics through the boat into straight line speed.

So, let’s get down to it, how tight or loose should your toestrap be?

Unfortunately the answer isn’t neat and tidy, it’s all very circumstantial. The tension you want will depend on how tall you are and how strong your ankle fibres are, what leg of the course you’re on, how windy it is and possibly the sea state.

Let’s go through these factors one by one:

How tall are you?

Broadly speaking, the taller you are the tighter you want your toestrap, with anyone above the 6’2 mark probably wanting a very tight toestrap nearly all the time. For everyone else a good adjustable toestrap system is essential. People who come in at 5’6 or less need a lot of slack in their toestrap so they can still generate adequate righting moment. A nice rule of thumb is that the gunnel of the boat should be half way between the back of your knee joint and bottom of your bum. A looser toestrap will cause your knee joint to be too close to the gunnel and visa-versa with a tight one. If you’re not sure, get a friend to snap a photo of you doing your finest few seconds of hiking!

Do you have ankles made of steel?

Even I don’t. I’ve raced against people with really tight toestraps and tried to copy this thinking it would be a good idea, but it just wasn’t for me – it gave me really bad ankle pain and pins & needles after tacking. This is not how it should be! Realistically the longest you may be on one tack for is 10 minutes, by the end of which your ankles (not to mention quads, abs and hip flexors) will be crying out for relief, that’s okay, but don’t ignore too much pain. If you’re losing any sensations in your feet then loosen off the strap. Equally if the top of your shins are getting sore from curling your toes then you could consider going tighter.

Where are you on the course?

• Upwind is where you need the most righting moment, and dependent on your height as mentioned previously a looser strap may be required.
• On the reaches what you need is some righting moment and a lot of control – you need to be able to sit up and move your weight into the boat fast, this is to keep the boat quick and flat and avoid rolling to windward, for this a system you can tighten up as you go around the windward mark is very useful.
• Downwind if you’re in the habit of hooking your back leg around the toestrap you will feel more locked in if the toestrap is bar tight.

The breeze and the sea state?

Anything above 14 knots and you want the maximum leverage available - this means your body being as far out the boat as possible, but hips not low and getting hit by waves. If you can’t hold your body up then consider tightening your toestrap. As the breeze drops from ‘maximum power conditions’ this is where it gets interesting. A tight toestrap can be really beneficial when it’s ‘marginal power’ conditions, when you’re sat up hiking.

Over-flattening the boat (rolling the boat to windward) can be costly, but if your strap is tight then you can be locked in, able to do kinetics and effectively transfer power from your upper body through the boat, without the risk of over-flattening the boat. Also when there’s a big swell, such that at the top of the wave there is a lot more power than the bottom, a tight toestrap can be really beneficial when the lull and the trough come along, so you can stay in control of the heel of the boat at all times.

A compromise will be needed in really gusty conditions – for example how tight to go on a 5 – 15 knot day? Something to maybe discuss with others!

Ultimately it’s always a trade-off between righting moment vs control. Insufficient righting moment can be particularly punishing when lane holding in breeze, but the added control of a tighter strap can have huge benefits. It’s never worth maintaining a posture or position that punishes your joints, hiking is painful but that pain should be reserved for your muscles.

It took me years to reach the point I’m at in the photo. I’m a long way out the boat – I’ve got plenty of leverage, but I’ve also got high hips so my body is well clear of the water and I can exert very powerful kinetics through the boat. Toestrap tension will determine what hiking position you can achieve, I highly recommend spending some time considering different tensions and experimenting. Photos taken outside the boat are incredibly valuable to compare what you feel with what’s actually going on."  

Many thanks Micky.  GBR Team sailor and European Champion Micky Beckett is sponsored by Southeast Sailboats.

Southeast Sailboats new system can be rigged with the cleat on the starboard or port sides depending on your preference, but we recommend that the handle is always rigged to starboard so you can easily pull on the handle to tighten the strap as you round the windward mark.  Jon Emmett's video below explains all

Rounded Sail Numbers in Black and Red

Over the years customers have asked if we sold rounded digits, not just the 'digital 8'.  Well now we do!  0-9 digits, in Black and Red, with sizes for both ILCA4 (4.7) and ILCA6/7 (Radial/Standard).  ILCA6/7 digits are available now.  ILCA4 will be available in a few days time when we have received stock of all numbers.

Top Tips

This time a top tip from one of our customers!  Walt Spevak from San Francisco suggested marking your hiking strap adjustment line with a Sharpie pen so that the part of the line that you grab to release the line is easier to spot.  Great tip Walt!  If you have a top tip that you would like to share just email me and maybe it will feature in a future newsletter.

Caption contest!  Walt, pictured above, in his ILCA dinghy approaching the somewhat larger SailGP USA, was apparently heard to shout 'you should have gone to Southeast Sailboats'!  If you have a better caption let me know!

Away Dates - April

We aren’t away for more than a long weekend that often but when we are we give as much advance notice as we can.  Please note that Southeast Sailboats will be closed for one week from the 26^th April so that I can sail at the Spanish EuroMasters event.  Orders placed after the 24^th April will be shipped on the 4^th May.

This is a favorite venue of mine for both personal and sailing reasons and after an enforced absence because of COVID I am really looking forward to getting back to this wonderful venue.  Your understanding whilst the webshop is closed for a week is appreciated.

ILCA 6 sails pre-order

Next deliveries of ILCA6 sails are expected end-April.  We are not taking orders for these until stock is imminent, but if you think you may want a sail please e-mail us at sales@southeastsailboats.co.uk 

We can then add you to the wait list and advise you when we have an absolutely firm date at which point we will open up ordering.   There is no commitment to order – this is just a way of letting you know via e-mail when sails are imminent and to let you have the opportunity to order on a first come first served basis as again supplies may be very limited. Our last batch of ILCA6 sails sold out within days.

Coming soon.....

One of the parts that we regularly get asked for is a quick release pin for the kicker/vang fitting to attach to the mast.  We have sold a number of parts over the years but none proved reliable so we have asked one the major equipment manufacturers to make a custom drop-nose pin for us.  I have been testing one over the past year and it is really good.  We gave go-ahead for production quantity and these should be available by the end-April.  Keep an eye out on the website!

Plus a couple of other interesting developments should be here soon – hopefully they will be revealed in the May newsletter!

Check out our YouTube channel

Latest videos on our YouTube channel are instructions on how to fit self-bailer springs, the deck block soft shackles and our traveller wear protectors.  Just search for Southeast Sailboats on YouTube, click on the link or scan the QR below.

Traveller Wear Protectors

Our traveller wear protectors are proving very popular with now over 1000 sets sold worldwide!  Available from Southeast Sailboats and from an increasing number of dealers worldwide.

Based on our own design concept these class legal traveller pads have been turned into reality by dinghy fittings company Allen.  The traveller wear protectors are available by themselves or a part of a cost saving wear protection bundle.  The following video explains all....

International Shipments 

Southeast Sailboats delivers all over the world with tax free pricing in multiple currencies.  To date we have delivered to over 40 countries!  For more information on what tax free means click on the link below.  

Typical Delivery Times - Based on recent tracked shipments  (which we can see when they are delivered), below is the latest guidance on postal and UPS delivery times to Europe, and other destinations, in alphabetical order:

Australia - typically 14-21 days

Austria (via UPS) – 2 days, post 12 days

Belgium - typically 7 days

Canada – typically 7-12 days.  UPS 2 days.

France - typically 6 days  

Germany - 6-14 days

Greece – typically 9-11 days

Hungary – 10 days

Ireland (Republic) – typically 3-8 days  6-8

Italy – Post - Please note that this is a very slow service due to customs delays.  UPS typically 4 days

Japan – typically 7 days

Netherlands - typically 6-14 days

Norway – typically 14 days

Poland – typically 6 days

Portugal – approx. 28 days 

Singapore – typically 7 days

Spain – Please note that this is a very slow service due to customs delays in Spain

Sweden – typically 4--14 days

USA - typically 6-8 days. UPS 2-3 days

For more information on tax free pricing click on the link below.

Southeast Sailboats Away/Closure Dates

Running a one person business isn’t easy!   I am designer, splicer, packer, despatch clerk, web master, book keeper etc. etc.!  Plus I have to try and juggle working with sailing, and other activities.  So occasionally I have to put up the ‘gone sailing' shop closed sign on the homepage banner and top notification line, when I am away for a sailing event or holiday.  Southeast Sailboats will be away for a long weekend at a EuroMasters event from the 17-21 March, and we will be closed during this period.   

As a ‘heads-up’ Southeast Sailboats will be closed when I am competing at the following events in 2022: 

26-30 April - EuroMasters Spain

20-23 May - EuroMasters Belgium

9-20 June - Masters Worlds Mexico

25 August - 2 September - Masters Europeans Germany

As always, your understanding of the above is really appreciated. 

Popular upgrades

The following continue to be some of our most popular upgrades....

Harken 29mm bolt-on deck blocks.  Easy to fit, these blocks instantly improve your Laser. Available as the blocks by themselves or as an assembly including the block plate.

Our signature 8:1 downhaul/cunningham system.  We have built/shipped hundreds of these systems to sailors all over the world.  An essential upgrade if you are using the MKII standard sail, and also if you are struggling to pull on enough downhaul on your Radial or 4.7 rig.  Each system shipped is custom made using blocks from Harken, Allen and Ronstan, with options including rig type, termination and secondary lines types/colours. 

Transform your kicker/vang system with our range of great free-running block/key assemblies using blocks from Harken, Allen and Ronstan and stronger kicker keys.  Whether you are using a 15:1 or 12:1 setup, lower friction in your system makes it easier to pull on, leaving you with more energy to focus on sailing/hiking!