stacking in amateur racing

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DHV90

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Hi guys

just curious, whats the general stance on shifting gear inside the boat on amateur races to best position the weight?

My boat has good places to store jerry cans and sails conveniently all over the inside, and moving them fore/aft and side to side could make a big difference on longer races with long legs, enough to be worth the effort. moreso since we sail short handed so wont have much weight on the rail.

Is this generally illegal? Or needs declaring on handicap? or legal but frowned on and not in the spirit of the game? or fine and legal if you can be bothered to put the effort in?

Just curious about at what point water ballast becomes water ballast, rather than stacking if that makes sense.

No real practical reason for the question, just a random thought I had today. Thanks in advance!
 
It used to be said that kit should be in its normal place when not in use, however RRS51 doesn't actually say that. However it amounts to more or less the same thing. It's obviously a hard rule to police but I haven't encountered it being broken much.

51 MOVABLE BALLAST
All movable ballast, including sails that are not set, shall be properly stowed. Water, dead weight or ballast shall not be moved for the purpose of changing trim or stability. Floorboards, bulkheads, doors, stairs and water tanks shall be left in place and all cabin fixtures kept on board. However, bilge water may be bailed out.
 
We have one of the original RORC stickers on board which spelled out and illustrated with drawings the rules on movable ballast. If anyone is interested I could photograph it and put it on the forum some time.
 
savageseadog said:
We have one of the original RORC stickers on board which spelled out and illustrated with drawings the rules on movable ballast. If anyone is interested I could photograph it and put it on the forum some time.
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That must be a collector's item by now.

Although I think with the Falmouth working boats it's not a case of trying to cheat but rather trying not to sink.
 
savageseadog said:
We have one of the original RORC stickers on board which spelled out and illustrated with drawings the rules on movable ballast. If anyone is interested I could photograph it and put it on the forum some time.
Click to expand...

That would be very cool to see, if you get time to scan!
 
Judders said:
I believe it is an IRC rule rather than a World Sailing Rule.
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No, it is in the RRS as quoted by lpdsn above.

51 MOVABLE BALLAST
All movable ballast, including sails that are not set, shall be properly stowed. Water, dead weight or ballast shall not be moved for the purpose of changing trim or stability. Floorboards, bulkheads, doors, stairs and water tanks shall be left in place and all cabin fixtures kept on board. However, bilge water may be bailed out.
 
just out of curiosity, is there any clarification about whether this is just after the race hast started? It's very common to see people emptying certain water tanks or packing stuff away in certain locations before a race, so can everything be stowed in a 'proper' place in such a way that it's weight is used to some advantage, so long as it doesn't move during the race?
 
searj said:
just out of curiosity, is there any clarification about whether this is just after the race hast started? It's very common to see people emptying certain water tanks or packing stuff away in certain locations before a race, so can everything be stowed in a 'proper' place in such a way that it's weight is used to some advantage, so long as it doesn't move during the race?
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I've seen doors, tables, batteries and all sorts being taken off boats just before untying at Regattas
 
searj said:
just out of curiosity, is there any clarification about whether this is just after the race hast started? It's very common to see people emptying certain water tanks or packing stuff away in certain locations before a race, so can everything be stowed in a 'proper' place in such a way that it's weight is used to some advantage, so long as it doesn't move during the race?
Click to expand...
What you describe sounds like things being "properly stowed". If doing an offshore race and you expect a very long leg on port tack (for example), I don't think there would be anything wrong with "properly stowing" a lot of the moveable ballast on the port side of the boat before the race started. Some of that ballast (such as sails) might be used later and re-stowed somewhere else.
 
searj said:
just out of curiosity, is there any clarification about whether this is just after the race hast started? It's very common to see people emptying certain water tanks or packing stuff away in certain locations before a race, so can everything be stowed in a 'proper' place in such a way that it's weight is used to some advantage, so long as it doesn't move during the race?
Click to expand...

Racing rules apply from the prep signal until you've finished and cleared the line. (See definition of racing).
 
Yes but there is all manner of stuff on board that is not registered. We can’t get our boat anywhere near the listed weight of 3800 always over 4000
Some in our club go as far as taking the cushions out.
 
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