DN NA Class

Tonight at the TIYC meeting Ron Sherry will give  seminar on runners.  He even invites sailors to bring their own runners in to have a look at them and make recommendations on how to improve runner performance.
Meeting starts at 8PM at ORYC (Ottawa river yacht club) upstairs meeting room.  5844 Edgewater Drive, Toledo, OH 43611

Nice,that would be great to be able to attend.Wishful thinking,but is there any chance of the talk being videoed or the possibility of someone taking notes?

Great Suggestion!  Sorry I didn't get that until Sunday Morning.  I think there are some videos or text our there on the web, though I couldn't find them right away.
Anyone have some links?

Hi,
Here are some notes I took that night.  For those who were there, Kent, Rich, Jody.... please fill in what I missed or correct anything I misunderstood:

What I learned at Ron Sherry talk at TIYC 2015:

-Have a process and stick to it.
-If working on multiple runners, lay them out, and mark with tape what you want for each runner.
-Get the right equipment:
-Straight edge to check the blade it should be perfectly straight.  If bent, use wood blocks and a C clamp to correct.

1.  Get a flat surface and light bar to check the profile.  Ron uses an I beam cut short and planed flat by a machinist, and a long light bar.   

2.  Back light the blade to check profile. Look for hollow spots. On the I-beam he has the distances marked so he can measure the profile.  The zero point is the pivot bolt hole on the blade, from here Mark off the inches in front and behind the hole to measure the crown.  With the blade placed on the flat surface, slide a business card under the blade and measure where it stops to determine the length of your crown.  Around 18 inches of crown is suggested (think that was in reference to a 36 inch 3/16 insert runner that he was using for demonstrating).
   
3.  When sharpening or changing profile do only 4-5 passes each side (ALWAYS do the same number of passes on each side). Then let  the blade cool, If not the blade can heat up creating a high spot on the blade, and when that high spot is worked over on the sander, and eventually cooled it will create a hollow in the profile= SLOW!

4. Once the profile is achieved, stone the runner, he uses wet sand paper cut in strips, used on the stone and Boride lube.  He suggests about 30 strokes back and forth on each side of the blade. Use the fresh site of the sand paper strip when you start on a new side of the blade.  If I remember correct he uses a progression of grit 120-200-400?? 

5. Use a laser level to check if the edge is straight.  A laser used for putting pictures on the walls works well.  Draw vertical lines on the wall, and line the laser beam up with line, then run it down the blade to see if it is straight.

6. Align runners on boat.

Other Tips:
-A nice crown is good on flat hard ice, where a flatter blade is good for bumpy ice.
-Be organized, and write down what you used and what worked, and compare with other sailors.
-Wait to align the runners until everything is done: Straighten, Profile, Sharpen, Stone, check for edge straightness, THEN align your runners.

Thanks Pete.