How does the GIZMO work

How does the GIZMO work.  

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I was very interested to see what the GIZMO does by looking at the rig on a new Grunge from Robot Yachts.  I have to say I was envious of the rigging work by Tony Edwards.

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There are two pictures below showing the sheeting lines for the main and then the jib and I will describe what the GIZMO does to each.  Graham Bantock also has a nice plan showing the layout on the Sailsetc web site.  The GIZMO lever is clearly visible bolted to the base of the mast on the starboard side.  The cord connected to the top end of the Lever is part of the mainsheet.  At the top of the mainsheet post are two plastic balls through which the mainsheet is threaded. When you sheet in, the boom is brought in to the distance of the two balls from the mainsheet post so you cannot oversheet.  If you did not have a GIZMO the story stops here.   But with the GIZMO you sheet in a bit more and you pull the lever in the direction of the mainsheet.  There are 3 cords attached to the other end of the lever.  2 to adjust the main and one to adjust the jib.  Here are the pictures of the GIZMO sheeting arrangement and a video below of the sheet movement caused by the rotation of the lever

Application of the GIZMO lever tightens the leach of the main slightly, at the same time as increasing the cunningham, whilst on the jib, the jib boom is pulled down slightly but the clever bit is as the jib boom is pulled down, the leach line is eased to maintain the same leech twist.  In addition the jib is sheeted in slightly.  So the overall effect of the GIZMO is to close the main leech, tighten the jib luff and sheet in slightly and I guess you point higher.  Here are two videos that show the GIZMO in action on land.

Of course the key to effectively use of the GIZMO is setting up the rig in the first place.  Get this wrong and the GIZMO is of no use to you

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How do you move the GIZMO using the transmitter.  You can either set a toggle switch to engage the GIZMO or use the fine adjustment.  The only challenge with the fine adjustment is you might forget it is applied or not.  My preference would be for the toggle approach as the GIZMO is either on or off.

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Bear in mind, if the GIZMO is applied with a large amount of movement on the lever there will be a force applied to the winch and this will burn up battery power.

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