Light air tips - older J24
 

I'm seeking some light air performance tips.

I've sailed on CAN2947 for the past five seasons. After many many regattas I
have concluded that we are competitive with the top half of the fleet when
there is 8+ knots of wind. However, when the wind drops we fall way behind.
To fix this problem we did the following to the boat:

New Quantum sails
Tuned the rig properly (max J, mast butt max foreward, max forestay, max
spreader deflection, etc)
Starting trimming the sails in accordance with the Quantum tuning guide

This has given us a huge improvement this season. However, we still fall
behind in really light conditions (just not as much now) so I'm looking for
some tips from some of you rockstars out there. Here are some details...

**Our most significant problem seems to be light air going into waves where
we just can't get the boat underway after a tack or rounding
**Our keel is not max forward but about 10-15mm (almost 1") back
**We haven't checked our keel or rudder against a template
**We have an older mast which I believe is heavier than some of the top
boats
**Our hull may not be as stiff as some of the newer boats
**Our rig tension may be too tight given the problem with waves (Lake
Ontario)
**Our sails are not BRAND new compared to these top boat, ours have about 6
regattas on them
**We haven't done much to the hull in the way of wet sanding or waxing etc.
**We aren't roll tacking or roll gybing at all
**We have our genoa track max forward in the light light conditions
**Genoa is eased to the lifelines, boat is footed to try and get it going
**We are keeping the mainsail leach open to help establish airflow
**Our crew weight and overall weight are within a reasonable range
**Our pit person (me) weighs about 235 pounds so we have considerable weight
aft

Can you give us some tips? I'm dumbfounded by the fact that there is so much
separation between the top boats and the bulk of the fleet in light light
conditions but that the separation seems to diminish as the wind picks up.
Is it unrealistic to think that a 20+ year old J24 can compete in the top 10
in light light conditions? I know our boathandling/trim can improve but is
it just us or is it partly the older boat/setup?

Thanks,
Tim