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Well, what a summer it's been already! We are getting into the thick of Championship season and with that, our thoughts turn to boat prep to eke out the last few percent of performance gains.
Whilst thinking about the last few percentage points, we shouldn't forget about checking over the components that could cost you big Championship points through gear failure, not to mention big bills to replace or repair the aftermath.
Below are my top products to make sure you're giving yourself the best chance of finishing first at your Championship race, and hopefully avoiding those expensive mistakes.
Most people check these infrequently, and often notice wear incidentally. In the lead up to Championship racing, you need to make sure you're on top of these checks. These are one of the single and most important items on a supported rig and are a fraction of the cost of rig repair or replacement - should the worst happen at your Championship event.
Fortunately, Sailing Chandlery have you covered with their in-house rigging service.
Most boats will use 3mm 1x19 stainless shrouds and forestay.
Look for any splits or tears in the rubber of the joint, and un-tape the connection to the tiller extension to look for corrosion.
The rudder retaining clip may be the only thing keeping the rudder on the back of the boat at times, so you need to make sure it's in good condition if you're racing in a Championship event in the near future.
Check the clip fully returns to the rudder or transom fitting and prevents the rudder lifting off.
If these fail, it can certainly lead to lost races or even losing tiller extensions and entire rudder assemblies, which isn't a risk you want to take for Championship events!
Have a good look over the wear points at the end of the halyard where it attaches to the sail, as well as where the halyard holds in the clear.
If the outer cover is showing any chafing, compression or clear signs of wear, now is the time to replace it before it fails mid-race at your Championship event.
With main halyards, it is worth spending a bit more on a low-stretch line with a hard wearing cover, as these tend to last a lot longer, and will last through Championship races and offer repeatable settings as they stretch and creep less.
Two great products offering low stretch and good holding during your Championship race are:
The saying goes "If it can happen, it will happen", and this applies to clipping over, often mid-tack when you're under pressure.
Championship racing typically takes place on the sea and for those that are used to steady flat water this obviously adds another dimension to manoeuvres.
Making sure areas that you push off of or step through regularly are offering good grip can be the difference between a great tack and capsizing.
Harken Grip Tape comes in a variety of sizes and is really easy to apply offering really high levels of grip.
Rooster Pro Grip also offers great grip, and it's perfect for rack bars or areas where you might also be kneeling.
Now that you've scoured a boat and replaced anything that could break or might break the icing on the cake is making sure your foils and hull are sparkling clean and polished to give you that Championship edge.
Make sure any significant damage is repaired before giving your hull and foils a really good clean with a marine specific cleaner such as Sea Clean, followed by a polish with Harken Speed Polish.
Now's the time to give your boat a good check over before your next big event or Championshipevent, and give yourself the best chance to get to the front and stay there.
