swoosh we are essentially talking about the same thing- if you care to go back through anything I wrote and disprove it or convince me otherwise then i'll listen. I never once said my way is best. If you notice there are all the slalom sailors saying neutral, all the wave/freestylers facing slightly front hand (again what happens when the draft typically moves back in a wavesail?).
No one is favouring back hand but again stance makes a big change also- you can set your lines so that it has backhand pressure- then swing forward and around the front foot and the pressure goes neutral (probably the most harness commited stance you can get).
Back to the original post- how can cribby's setup be exact when sail designers set the draft for different points with different sails? 1/3 is just an average but it is then to be fine tuned TO PERSONAL TASTE.
Besides what are you wavesailors/freestylers even doing using harness lines anyway [}:)]
yer mate I know, I have tried his setup on race sails- couldnt stand it- again look at the gear cribby is using for the setup.
Wavesails I never found so important- but then i'm not really focused on sailing long time in the harness then- focus more on jumping and crashing 
Cribby is probably trying to stop the spinout epidemic- sailors new to the sport tend to sail a bit more back hand biased, they sheet in, put pressure through back foot and spinout.
I watched that vid of barn- not much in harness action goin on there.
Once again- draft moves more in wave and freeride sails so you should place lines that little bit further back. If you want to call it making the most of the sail in the gust then so be it. Further alot of wave and freestyle sailors are in the harness to get back upwind on which point of sail the pressure is further back in the sail. Tho I'm a bit like mark aus (I think it was) and like to open a wavesail up a bit for going upwind.
I did a random sample from a few issues of boards and windsurf mags were you could take a useful measurement of the harness lines, most of them were close to 1/3 position.
But I think the beauty is the consistency you get from this method. i.e. if you want it more forward measure a 1/3 plus an inch or whatever etc.
I also prefer slightly front hand bias as well, as seem to sail much better that way.
oh and if what good sailor says goes, i'll take your barn and raise it an antoine whom favours a little bit of back hand pressure so we're all wrong 
some great moves in that video!! Loved it.
which harness line position and length has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with.
as the sailors are not hooked in when the moves are going down.
The wind at Jerri is pretty steady - so no need to try and second guess what the wind is doing...
Each to their own with harness line position - having ridden with and filmed the best sailors in the world (Especially from Helis - where you can rally see the set up)- the majority are riding neutrally balanced set ups.
But should we setup like pros? We are not pros.
Meh, I just place them where it looks like the draft in the sail should be on land, then fine-tune on water until they are balanced for the median wind speed.
Personal preference may see you adjust otherwise. If you are learning to get in the straps you may want to have them slightly forward (1cm), if you are looking at clocking a max GPS speed you may want to have them slightly back to make the most out of the gusts.
I dunno, feel free to correct me.
I usually set my harness lines for trolling. This gives the maximum amount of LULZ
p.s. yes we should set gear up like pro's. afterall gear is designed around testing feedback from pro's, so rigging otherwise would in most cases give less than optimum results.
i think the majority of the windsurfing communities idea of 'balanced lines' are in fact still to far forward. It is possible to sail no hands on a windsurfer, and it gets easier the FURTHER forward the lines get, it makes sailing with bad technique manageable. but this is not fast or efficient.
hence the scientific term "sailing like a girl" which is the same as other scientifically valid terms such as "throwing like a girl" and "running like a girl".. nothing to be ashamed of but there is room for improvement.
I know 1st hand from working in the instruction/rental industry that 90% of the public sail with their lines way to far forward. Every time I jump on someones Gear i have to move the lines back!
And i would bet good money that antoine would move the lines back as well.
Cribby is right, Its worth listening to advice from professional instructors, and hes the best instructor Ive seen. and he changes thru the nose because hes the best. (one of his billionaire clients turned up in a power yacht for some intuition, so most can afford it.)
this is what Im talking about, Its the first photo i found on gaastra.com.. finn is less skilled than antoine but it must be noted that these guys are sailing way more powered that the average joe.
so if antoine says back hand pressure he is a freak anyway with arms like Godzilla and shouldn't be listened to for advice.
yes im not using my harness in the video, but i am flying going into those move and thats all down to stance and setup.. the faster u go into move the fast you come out.
I agree about rigging like pros. Small tweaks are not the same as rigging differently.
After watching the video of barn and reading the post above, I'm more frustrated than ever about the lack of tuition for windsurfing in Australia.
I have to realise that I have probably been using hopeless technique and set-up forever.
i've gone to longer lines approx 30cm for GPS sailing and with a couple of other small tweaks have now found an extra gear.
Now I'm more confused than ever. 
There is never any one right way, but
for those of you who do not use the 1/3 rule, how do you decide where to put the harness lines?
Do you
a) stand the sail up on the beach and feel where it seems balanced,
b) whack them anywhere and go for a sail and then adjust,
c) look for where the max draft is and put them there
d) something completely different?
i think one of the important things here is how far apart you set your lines.
the closer together they are the more back they go and the more having slight front hand pressure feels good.
setting your lines far apart tends to disguise the best place to set the lines and makes back hand pressure feel better.
I agree with barn about line length.
Gestie- I dunno, I set my wavesails with lines together and my racesails pretty much identical spacing to what finian has there (about 1 hand spacing apart). 28 lines should be perfect for you when placed together, it's just TOW getting used to longer lines and adjusting stance to make use of longer lines.
I sail no hands all the time, it promotes trim balance and correct stance. Wouldnt say it makes me slow.
I agree with what you are saying Barn about peoples lines being too far forward, but I was never talking about that. Balanced lines are balanced, not so you have back hand pressure.
Windxtasy start with 1/3 rule then move lines back if backhand pressure and forward if front hand. The closer you have your lines the more rotational the sail becomes so you need to balance that also.
Aside from that enough has been said from me
If you're not a pro, or not competing in the beach pecking order, what does it matter how you set your lines provided you are satisfied with a good planing bump and jump session.
Anyway, my wetsuit isn't the latest fastest colour, so I have a reasonable excuse!
yabadabadoo I think you're over simplifying something that is rather complex... While the 1/3 rule works for me, I appreciate it is not actually perfect, I just like it for consistency.
Something to consider is I believe it is impossible to have the harness lines perfectly in the middle for all loads as the sail is not connected at the mean aerodynamic center of the sail, but instead it is connected to the mast at the front, which provides a rotational moment on the sail.
You can only have it perfectly balanced for 1 load. My understanding is the mean aerodynamic center (MAC) is actually 1/4 along the chord of the sail.
I think that using the uphaul like that is just a way of getting further outboard away from the rig.
I don't think there is a lot of tension in it. Its doing the same job that your front hand does.
