INSIGHTS FROM J/30 ANNAPOLIS NOOD WINNER BOB RUTSCH

After Bob Rutsch won the J/30 class by one point at the 2016 Annapolis NOOD with two firsts on the final day, Jonathan Bartlett from North Sails Chesapeake asked him a few questions about his program.
How do you fit successful resutls into such a busy life?
There’s never enough time. An injury this winter didn’t allow me to get to the boat put away properly or get winter upgrades done so it was a struggle to get the boat ready on time. Not sure how we would do it without Bobby Muller. His crew had the bottom ready as always and installed a new hatch that we broke at the end of last year. Then our crew all pitched in to get us ready before Annapolis Yacht Club One Design event, which we used as a shake down for the NOOD. Good thing as we broke the topping lift.
Who is on your crew? What are their responsibilities? Do you always sail with the same people?
My boat partner and brother-in-law Mike Costello handles tactics and main. After 20+ years he can do it all and we always have fun. But he’s so busy with three kids playing baseball and soccer that I only get him out for a couple events a year: NOOD, Race Week and NA’s.

Daughter Poncie Rutsch, now 25, trimmed spinnaker. Matthew Wienold was bow and has been my most dependable crew since he joined us ten years ago. Barry Deren did mast. He’s been on the boat since we bought it in 1984. Brad Blash is our primary jib trimmer. He’s been with us five years and is good for jokes and morale. Janie Gittleman was our floater/squirrel.

I also have a couple of new people I can call on who are still learning. After that it’s friends, neighbors, and crew on loan from boats in the fleet that are not sailing a particular event.

How critical is rig tune through the range of conditions?
For many years we used a median setting with Class maximum headstay and only cranked on turns when it blew over 15. We had to up our game when John White joined the fleet. Since we don’t have wind instruments after every race I download ten-minute wind and sea conditions from NOAA and log it with our tune and sail usage. I also look at our GPS track to see what we did right or wrong. We can generally hit our desired tune on the water by adding or subtracting turns for wind speeds from 6-20 at two-knot intervals.

If you have to give three pointers to other teams on how to get the best performance out of the J/30 what would these be?
Only three? After thirty-two years in this boat there’s more but I’ll try to keep it short.

Boat prep is a necessity–a smooth and clean bottom, good sails, and up-to-date rigging.

Sail inventory

So far the 3DI Genoa has been everything I hoped for. It has maintained its shape through two years—52 races and counting. No apparent material deterioration. Normally after 50 races I would be planning on a new genoa for the NA’s this fall.

A typical laminated genoa would be getting brittle, starting to delaminate at this point. The J/30 with a 162% overlap takes a beating during the tacks from the mast, the halyard turning blocks, spin pole ring and stanchions. The extra thickness built in for this down low and wear patches seem to have helped.

After a year the #3 3DI has only been up to see if it fit and an couple tacks while warming up on opening day this year. Looking forward to using that next time it blows.

As for care, we try to rinse it off occasionally if it gets salty and give it time to dry. It probably helps that we take our sails off the boat and store them inside when we are not out sailing.

Crew work

I like to sail with people I enjoy spending time with, who are willing to commit to our program. Talk about or show your crew how you want to handle maneuvers, and cross-train so everyone is at least able to step in and help if needed. There are good crew guides for the J/30 available online but adapt them to your needs. Get the sails up before the first race of the day and practice at least a few tacks to get your compass numbers. Then do a set, some jibes and a douse. Use time between races or on the way in to the dock to work out any problems and find solutions.

Change gears with the conditions

Keep making adjustments as wind and sea conditions change–crew weight, sail trim, and settings like outhaul, halyard tension, traveler and backstay. Compare speed and angle to competitors around you: always speed first, then angle.

There’s lots more but that will do for now.