Sail Trim Help

[Ducati]

Looking for some help with sail trim.

Any resources/assistance (for dummies) for racing with the head, main and spinnaker would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Joe]

There are many, many books and videos on sailboat racing. Right off the bat, here's 3 videos.... "The Shape of Speed", "Sail Trimming", and "Spinnaker Sailing"....... I found these all at a chandlery.. but you could check here or google. For books I'd look for a copy of Tom Whidden's "The Art and Science of Sails". Another great book that is far more than a sail trimming guide is Gary Jobson's "Championship Tactics".

 

[Stu Jackson]

Oh, c'mon

...(for dummies)

They wrote a book called just that!

 

[Stu Jackson]

Bad on us!

Everyone should have directed you to Don Guillette's excellent Sail Trim book and chart, available right here on this website.

Go to the experts forum, here: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Figured you're a regular here, so would know about it.

 

[Prime Time]

sailboat racing with greg fisher

http://www.apsltd.com/p-4896-book-sailboat-racing-wgreg-fisher.aspx

amazing book on sail trim!

 

[Ross]

Re: sailboat racing with greg fisher

The thing I like most about sailing is the range between simple and complex that we can make it. For cruising as I do, the least is fine but I would never win a race. For those who race I am sure that my laid back sail trim routine would drive them to distraction.

 

[sailaway78]

I'm with Ross

I can't be of any help on this one. I'm with Ross, and subscribe to the idea that close is good enough. Then just kick back and enjoy. To be totally honest, I love to sail, but sailboat racing to me is kind of like watching the grass grow, or the paint dry.

 

[Todd Smith]

The thing I like most about sailing is the range between simple and complex that we can make it. For cruising as I do, the least is fine but I would never win a race. For those who race I am sure that my laid back sail trim routine would drive them to distraction.

As both a racer and a cruiser, I can understand that everybody doesn't want to tweak things all the time. But sometimes, watching the "leave it alone" sailboat trim is like listening to a guitar that is badly out of tune, or even missing strings. It just hurts. Fortunately, we can each sail our own boat.

On topic, I found the North U Racing TRIM Coursebook to be a good source of a lot of info. With good illustrations. It even talks through spinnaker sets and douses in a clear way.

Here is a one source for that book.
http://www.northu.com/nu/NU_catalog.taf?_function=list&category=21&flash=5

 

[Steve Kamp]

I'm with Ross and Phil: when going down river from New Bern towards Oriental, I'm content with 8-10 kts of wind from the north, jib and main out and drawing with a broad to beam reach, boat making 4-6 kts to a general course of SE. Some boats we pass, others pass us. It's all good.
Steve