Tell me what I'm doing wrong here please

centerline · May 7, 2016

Im not a sail trim expert by sense of the word, but if it were me and my boat in the photo, the sheet block would be more rearward and the jib would be much flatter

Paul Mermelstein · May 7, 2016

It looks like too much draft in both sails. I agree with Centerline that the jib car should be moved aft, and tighten the sheet. For close haul, on the main, sheet it in and/or travel up so the boom is centered. Otherwise, it looks pretty and have fun.

rgranger · May 8, 2016

I think you want Jackdaw to pipe in on this one....

Looks like a hell of a good time to me....

BTW: Very excellent name for a sailboat...

(I'm assuming you mean it as an adjective and not a noun)

JohnVTX · May 8, 2016

As others...jib halyard too loose, move car rearward. Main looks to need some boom vang hauled in.

Stu Jackson · May 8, 2016

Roadking Larry said:
I'm seeing a jib halyard that is too loose and a bit over trimmed on the jib

Yes, the jib halyard is too loose.

But you're not over trimmed on the jib, you're under trimmed 'cuz the inside telltales are flying. Tighten the jib sheet, instead of thinking you're pinching.

Looks like a great day.

Don Guillette · May 8, 2016

Roadking Larry said:
Close hauled, maybe pinching a little too high, wind about 10kts.

I'm seeing a jib halyard that is too loose and a bit over trimmed on the jib and main

On the plus side the Hunter Vision 32 that the picture was taken from really had to work at it to get by me and only managed it when we turned for the down wind leg.

Top 1/2 of the main is twisted off and you're spilling air (power). Trim it to match the shape of the jib after you get the jib telltales streaming. If you do that your friend will be watching your boat name get smaller and smaller as you pull away from him.

Jackdaw · May 8, 2016

RLK,

What a great shot!

First your main looks great right there. Leave that alone... For now....

As others note your jib not not trimmed nearly enough. What makes is seem like you are pinching (inner tell tails cocked up) is that the sail's luff is way to far open and creating a bad angle of attack. Remember, you can only tell you are pinching when trimmed correctly! Otherwise you wrongly interpret what the sail is telling you.

Your tack being so high is part of the issue. That messes with your ideal jib lead/car position, both in location and angle. Remember that you want to sheet in your Genoa so the last 1/3 of the sail follows the same angle of the main (meaning basically centerlined, like you main). See pic below. You can see how your is hooked way back inward due to bad car position and not enough trim. Work on car and trim to get that sail's exit to match your main!

In this pic you can see how the last 1/3 of the jib has the same angle as the luff of the main. A good baseline.

Stu Jackson · May 8, 2016

JohnVTX said:
jib halyard too loose, move car rearward.

Jack's right, of course. But moving the car aft will just twist off the top of the jib, NOT what you need. As I mentioned earlier, you needed to trim the jib more. What Jack said about the high tack on your jib is true, but there's a tradeoff there with visibility. Work on trimming the jib properly. Our jib is tacked high off the deck but we've been very competetive with others with our same boat with deck sweeper 130s! Keep trimming.

Jackdaw · May 10, 2016

Roadking Larry said:
Thanks guys, I appreciate the critique and will see what I can do with it.
I don't get many pics of my boat under sail and fewer still when I'm actually "trying". I'm seeing things I just don't "see" when I'm in the middle of it, still learning to look for what I need to see, your help is appreciated.

While getting pics of your boat to see sail shape is nice, the best way is on the boat. Plus you can do it all the time.

To do it, position yourself UNDER the sail, looking up mid-foot. From here the entire sail, with twist, draft, AOA will be visible. To get the headsail you will have to lay on the deck. It's worth it. Take pictures from here as well!

Jackdaw · May 10, 2016

Don Guillette said:
Top 1/2 of the main is twisted off and you're spilling air (power). Trim it to match the shape of the jib after you get the jib telltales streaming. If you do that your friend will be watching your boat name get smaller and smaller as you pull away from him.

Two thought on this.

First, I would hold off on thoughts about mainsail trim until the headsail is flying correctly. Everything the main does is based on what the headsail does, and the wind it gives it. So fix that first. Trim your headsail, then your main.

Second, the main twist actually looks pretty good. Yes it's spilling some, but the key point is that the boat going to windward is on a GOOD LEVEL OF HEEL. Once you get to 10knots TWS and above, your boat is powered up and the goal is to sail flat and fast. Excess heal both messes with the effective sailplan, and most tragicicly you induce a huge amount of side-slip (5-10 degrees!) in most boats, in particular ones without racing keels. Sail flat. The best way to do that is to add twist.

markwbird · May 10, 2016

That is not where sails should be if you are close hauled in 10 knts with smooth water. The jib and main should be sheeted in pretty tight so that the sails are in close and fairly flat with less twist. The jib halyard should be tightened up. Once the mainsheet is tightened up to close the leach, use the traveler to let the main down as needed to reduce weather helm. Rule of thumb on the main: Tighten mainsheet so that back end of the top batten is pointed parallel with the boom. Also, adjust the jib cars as needed to get the tails flying top to bottom. These are general tips. Every boat is different and older sails will not be as cooperative as new ones.