I had to Google to figure out that hiking stick meant tiller extension. 😂 I was thinking it's some sort of stick that ya hike off of like a hiking strap ok. Tyvm

Jim,

Crew positions for racing. Nobody sits aft of the skipper for racing. Physics and stuff, crew together, weight forward to balance the sail and keel center of efforts to minimize rudder use. bow and stern even in the water. Water flow even along the boat, minimum drag.

Note how my hand is resting on my leg. When we turn around to start sailing, I hold the hiking stick in my aft hand and rest it on my leg. As the boat and I bounce around, my hand and the tiller stay steady and the boat steers straight.

Glad to chat with you about Ensigns. I am running a Sea Scout Ensign Regatta this weekend for 24 Sea Scouts. Please feel free to call me next Monday evening after 7pm. 732-600-0901

Bill Murphey

Chowder, #176

Fleet 63, Barnegat Bay, NJ

i have to tell you i am not following this. how can your tiller hand be on your leg... i have never even seen a tiller stick... who sits aft of the helmsman in ALL of that space back there? its just wasted space? do you have photos of all this? can we chat? 631-455-0559

Jim,

Welcome to the Ensign Class. For racing, from bow to stern, foredeck person, jib trimmer (straddles the winch when hiking), main trimmer/tactician, skipper. Weight forward balances the boat. If you mount the hiking stick at the tip of the tiller, you want the hiking stick/tiller tip just behind your aft leg. This way you rest your steering hand on your leg for stability and can still move across when tacking.

For cruising, I like to put a cushion on the back of the cockpit, sit back there with my feet up facing forward, hiking stick for leverage in one hand and a beer in the other. I call in my 'approved solution for sailing. Your guests can all sit forward and bring you the next beer and shrimp cocktail at your request. Rank has its privileges.

Also, from here, if you are teaching a new sailor, they can sit on the opposite side and steer. You can nudge the tiller if necessary and coach them in a normal voice.

Have fun with your new boat.

Bill Murphey

Chowder, #176

Charter Manager

Fleet 63, Barnegat Bay, NJ

Dear Ensign exerts,

Sorry, I am a complete newb to this boat. It seems to me that the Tiller is very long, so keeping the tiller aft of my body is hard, and 2/3 of the bench behind me becomes sort of useless. What is the intended helm/crew/guest configuration in this boat? I am thinking perhaps sit so the tiller tip comes up to my bellybutton if I row it all the way in to me on the windward side. Then there would be room for a guest actually aft of me, provided s/he is not too large. What is the optimal best practice? What do folks actually do when racing and trying to maximize performance? What was the original plan of the designers? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Jim