Robi,
The big thing to keep in mind is to keep the leeside junction between the mast and the sail as one fair curve. If over-rotated the mast will be a blunt obstacle (much a like fixed mast) for the wind and will not attach to the sail until much farther aft in the main. This is not good.
If under-rotated the union between the mast and sail will have a big indentation. The wind will come around the mast all happy and then bang its head against the rut. It will then bounce off and not attach again until way back.
The happy air molecule will come around the mast and pass over a very smooth transition between the mast and the sail.
It sounds like the advice so far is for sailing without a spinnaker. When sailing with main and jib you are going much slower and your apparent wind is pointing more at 90 degrees to the boat (that is the telltale on the sidestay points slightly aft of your mast.)
In that case you rotate your mast at 110-degrees and leave your main traveler out to near the hiking straps or maybe even farther.
That would be the ballpark setting to allow the smooth transition between mast and sail.
Now, with a spinnaker you will gain a lot more speed. And each sail backwinds the next, causing it to luff.
This is hard to explain, but here is how I read things.
I put a telltale on the bottom of the outer end of the pole (I use 8-track tape that is easy to find in yard sales, or go to Radio Shack and buy some cheap reel-to-reel tape.., same size), then I put telltales on either side of the forestay on the bridles, and finally on the sidestays.
Once dialed in the telltale indicating the apparent wind on the pole will be at about 90-degrees to the boat or pointing a little aft of that.
The telltales on the bridle will be flow farther aft by about 20 to 40 degrees.
And the telltales on the sidestays will be flowing amost straight back as if sailing on a close reach.
What is happening is the spinnaker is backwinding the jib. So, if you left the jib out it as at first set, it would be luffing.., so you sheet it in. Now it is sheeted in more than the spinnaker.., because it is backwinded.
Now, the spinnaker and the jib are also backwinding the mainsail. So, if you left the main out as at first set, it would luffing also.., because it is backwinded. So, you sheet it in.
So, with the two headsails both backwinding you will find the main is set almost as if it were on a close reach, rather than at 90-degrees to the true wind. That is because you are building tremendous apparent wind.
Back to the sail adjustments. Since you are now setting the main for a close reach, you only need to let your traveler down less than a foot, you probably do not have to even think about touching the mast rotation (it is probably set perfectly when you ease the mainsheet and traveler), don't mess with the outhaul, and you might ease the downhaul a bit.
Too bad you can't come to the
Sailing Seminar next week. These are the basics we teach there.
And I could really get you tuned into your boat and save you years of experimentation. Just trade off some duty days with some other CooGoo. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I used to be Hooligan's Navy.
Rick