Best choice?

[Quoddy]

I have read that high aspect ratio foils are easily stalled. It seems that if your underwater foils are high aspect than you need to take extra care to keep them out of stall. So this is the question.
You are on the wind in a boat with a centerboard or high aspect ratio keel and rudder. The wind is gusty. During a gust you have three choices.
1.Allow the boat to head up. This stalls the centerboard.
2.Maintain your course. This stalls the rudder.
3.Ease the mainsheet with the vang on or drop the traveler. This reduces helm, maintains course and also trims the sail to the new apparent wind.
Is number three by far the best choice or are there other considerations?

 

[Tim R.]

Door 3 is usually the best choice. That is why I have a dedicated main sail trimmer. New mainsail this spring with higher aspect ratio than previous. I also added an RPS so my trimmer can see the rudder angle and trim appropriately.

 

[Ted]

Aspect ratio

TimR,

How did you go about increasing the aspect ratio of your main sail? Did you lengthen the mast or shorten the boom? Just curious.

 

[sailaway78]

It depends

If your a racer, with plenty of crew on board and interested in max boat speed at all times, then I would go with #3. On the other hand, if your a cruiser, and boat speed is not your main consideration, and/or if single handing then I would vote for #2. When not in a big hurry, or when sailing short handed, trimming for each and every gust can be a lot of work, and usually for very little gain.

 

[Tim R.]

TimR,

How did you go about increasing the aspect ratio of your main sail? Did you lengthen the mast or shorten the boom? Just curious.

Increased roach with full length battens at the top of the sail.