How to tack perfectly...

tjar

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Aug 8, 2011
166
Hunter Legend 35.5 Tacoma, WA
I won't profess to be an expert, but a lot of what makes a successful tack is the number and experience of the crew, and how your boat is set up. In my case, it's often just me and the wife. She's typically on helm, or I let the autopilot take over. When the call is made, I take a wrap on the lazy sheet and prepare the loaded sheet to release. As the turn is begun, I drop the traveler to the other side. This avoids having to pull the main back in against the wind afterward. As the genoa starts backfill, I quickly release the sheet and take up the new one. Don't try to pull the genoa across, but let the wind push it over and then sheet in quickly on the new tack. If I do it correctly, I can sheet in before the sail fills and don't need to grind at all.
 
Jul 29, 2017
169
Catalina 380 Los Angeles
I found it a lot easier to tack the old boat (30 ft and much lighter) than the 380. I was able to single hand a tack where as with the bigger boat I can do it (with Otto's help) but much slower. A good tack is one that ends up with the boat more or less on the desired heading and the same amount of crew on board with no bumps or bruises as when we decided to tack. When we tack we always try to time our turn so that there is plenty of time to release the sheet under tension and pull the lazy sheet in so that when we steady up on the new course, the sheet only needs to be eased out for trimming eliminating the need to get out the winch handle. I'm not into working hard to sail I'm into working smart. :dancing:
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
I'm so happy when we can tack smoothly, and without losing much speed. That's not easy for us,...

Us, is usually just me sailing the boat. But sometimes I enlist help with family. But we do tack, sometimes a lot!
Close tacking to windward, foul current.jpg
I used to race but not these days. I love to sail! And that means tacking. This (above) is pretty typical sailing for us, going to windward, often with a little current against us, in light air. In this sail, I'd take one sheet winch and my wife manned the other. I enjoy the helming and trim between tacks, she enjoyed a book.

I try to do smooth. You'd think because we sail an older boat with a long keel and attached rudder, that's what makes tacking slow. But in fact it's more waiting for our 135% genoa to pass the shrouds and mast. So I try to keep things well timed.

The best thing I learned from my racing years is, 'make the boat go fast, first'. That 'rule' usually referred to speed over course (within reason); get the speed and then worry about everything else. But it holds for tacking in close quarters, especially when the wind is light.
TAcking into Billy's Cove (1 of 1).jpg
So rather than wrenching the genoa over, I try to keep the boat moving smoothly and work the tack into that. The worst thing that happens (often enough) is the lazy sheet gets caught on something (there is a lot of somethings on our old boat).

Good racers are the best sailors. They can teach you a lot just by watching them.
Tacking duel crop 2.jpg
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Lots of good thought here, I'll just expand on a few and some some new.

First, the driver is the key, and the conductor of the tack. They can make or break the tack, and can save a bad one. They do this with RATE OF TURN. Every boat will have a difference ideal rate, and this will also factor in conditions, wind and sea state. An ideal turn will be smooth enough to allow flow to stay attached to the foils, not bleed off too much speed, and to allow the headsail to cross over the boat and be trimmed to the new side. A good plan is to slow down (or even pause) for a second or two when the boat is head to wind; it allows the trimmers more time, and also a bigger boat will gain free VGM as it is coasting directly into the wind.

The next driver trick is to know their new angle. For most boats is fastest to come out of the tack a few degrees wide and sails trimmed accordingly... then trim on and turn up as the boat accelerates. Learn tricks to 'know your 90'. Near shore, sight down the traveler to landmarks. Use your compass. Soon it will happen by 'feel'.

Boats with non-overlapping headsails have a real advantage here; we often finish a tack without needing a winch. If you have a big (135+) headsail and a big crew; think about having someone nimble 'run the clew around' and pull it to the final spot on the new side. Just have them be aware of sheets.

Speaking of sheets, work on what we call 'boat hygiene'. This is every crew-member keeping their lines in order; either able to run free, or the slack pulled out. This is important for the lazy sheets. Often on BlueJ the cockpit will look like a snake's honeymoon, but we're careful to make sure the lines are able to run free.

Then its practice, because practice makes perfect. BYW, the best way to measure and improve your tacks its to time how long it takes you to come back up to your pre-tack speed on your new close-hauled side. It will also teach you how much more it hurts your boat to tack in light air.
 
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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
The next driver trick is to know their new angle. For most boats is fastest to come out of the tack a few degrees wide and sails trimmed accordingly... then trim on and turn up as the boat accelerates. Learn tricks to 'know your 90'. Near shore, sight down the traveler to landmarks. Use your compass. Soon it will happen by 'feel'.
Now if only this detail could be passed to the Ray pilot. When initiating a tack with the wind input being active, you have no control at all over how far the boat goes, and unless it's blowing 20+, the thing tends to go way, way past where it should, sometimes to the tune of 180 degrees. It's usually put into standby by that time, cuz it's not a freakin Chinese fire drill, people. The older version of the Ray software let you set the parameter. Lighthouse 10 and up assumes they know better than what you want. (I'll shut up now)
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Now if only this detail could be passed to the Ray pilot. When initiating a tack with the wind input being active, you have no control at all over how far the boat goes, and unless it's blowing 20+, the thing tends to go way, way past where it should, sometimes to the tune of 180 degrees. It's usually put into standby by that time, cuz it's not a freakin Chinese fire drill, people. The older version of the Ray software let you set the parameter. Lighthouse 10 and up assumes they know better than what you want. (I'll shut up now)
I've never been impressed with Raymarine autopilots performance during maneuvers. For this (and other) reasons they are very rare on shorthanded racing boats. There the gold-standard is NKE, with B&G a distant second.
 
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Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Some very good insights here. I think I've done a good tack when I see the clew of the jib cross the deck in almost a straight line. If the old sheet is slacked enough going into the tack, for the clew to reach or nearly reach the shrouds, and the sheet is held instantaneously, the clew makes a quick transit of the deck and a well timed pull on the new sheet makes the sail snap to fill. A few more pulls and the sheet is basically in and you begin to trim to the new heading - inches not feet. Jackdaw again is correct that the helmsman controls the tack. I'll say a great tack won't happen if there isn't a great release. Besides needing good timing, I tell crew the line should be casted off. I mean thrown forward so that there is no friction for the new sheet to overcome to let the sail cross the boat.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
In observation of boats tacking there are a couple of helm management issues that need to be addressed.
  • While racing I often saw boats fall off right before a tack. Like they were prepping the boat to turn. Not needed. Announce to the crew you are moving the rudder 'Tacking' then move the rudder. No dip is needed. Do it smoothly.
  • Know where you want to be before you start the journey. Inexperienced helm often know they are turning to move the sales to the other side, but they have not yet determined what angle or what course that will be. They have learned that they get there then they tighten up the sails and find the new course. Racing quickly changes that for a boat helm. Before you tack look at the conditions: waves, wind, pressures, other boats, etc. and identify the new course. That way you will know when to slow the turning motion of the boat and you will smoothly come up on the new heading. The sail team will be bringing the sails into the position and then you fine tune for speed.
  • Learn from each tack. Each tack will present different trim conditions from the one you just left. Learn these variances and look for them to repeat as you tack to your mark.
  • Prepare to adapt. Just when you think you got everything figured out, you haven't.
 
Dec 19, 2014
57
Tartan 30 Baltimore
I tend to do most of the tacks single handed even though my wife is on board. Having a tiller allows me to stand up with it between my legs and drive through the tack. The big 150% is a lot of sail to get across without needing at least some grinding but I can usually get most of it and steer to the trim to gain speed and then trim in and point higher. Look back and see what your wake trail looks like. If big fish hook looking thing you've probably over steered.

We don't race my boat but I crew on a friends boat. I think the key when racing is to have the loaded sheet ready to "spin off" the winch as soon as the sail breaks while the other crew members sheet in on the new tack. Having the mast person clear it through the fore triangle helps as well as if you have competent crew pulling the clew aft past the shrouds.
Good stuff guys.
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Not to hijack the thread, but I keep hearing that a rudder reference will alleviate some of the over correction from a wind sensor guided tack, and I guess the one I have in the box here should get installed. :) It would be nice to hear from somebody who has one, is running Lighthouse 13 or better and can say they tested it before and after the reference input was available.
 
Nov 30, 2015
1,337
Hunter 1978 H30 Cherubini, Treman Marina, Ithaca, NY
I certainly won’t add any instruction, other than to let the wind work the headsail over. Have someone on the new sheet coiled on the winch and ready to haul, with winch handle ready, and another needs simply spin the old sheet off the old winch when the headsail is neutral load. We tack a lot on every outing, similarly to @TomY. Our trips always look something like this...

24F9FAF2-679B-4FD3-8F23-A17B41EFE61D.jpeg

Sometimes the winds are a bit confused, but on this trip we had a newbie at the helm. And I though she did great, and also spilt no wine.
 
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TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Tacking was and still (motorless boats) is a necessity for some. This particular stretch of water is part of an ancient Thoroughfare (Fox Island) that was a major route of commerce and trade, under sail. It's usually easy to pass through, going 'downeast' with the prevailing winds.

But in this track we were attempting to sail East to West, in a prevailing Southwesterly breeze.

Approaching from the East on a beam reach, we hardened up the sails putting "7" to port. Tweaking sails to squeeze the most out of our port tack, we get a good sense of what we have to work with as things tighten up, ahead.

With my wife and I manning the genoa sheet winches, we had good speed and a pretty clean tack onto starboard as we put "8" to port.

The next tack is off a shoal. Things are tightening up ahead, it's important to squeeze the last few feet out of the tack. You know you need to get through the last 'gate'.

We were killing it (I remember our glee)! Just off "10" we pulled a crisp tack onto starboard. "11" is on an exposed ledge. I knew what we needed to clear the slot between "10" and "11" and still with solid speed we swung onto the tack we were looking for...

What doesn't show is the lazy sheet caught on a mast winch. Arrrgg,... I felt our hard earned speed leave us. The tables turned quickly in this sticky wicket as my wife ran up to the mast to release the sheet. My finger was already on the glow plug push switch as she got it free and we finished under power.

What a let down. I imagined we joined many sailboats over the centuries that failed to make this dog leg.


Chart far.png
 
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Aug 28, 2015
190
Oday 28 St Joseph, MI
At my age I don’t really care what others think of my sailing ability. I mostly sail alone and all I care about is maximum relaxation with minimum effort. I’ve finally started using dyneema shackles and I figured out if I release the sheet at the right moment and let the wind carry the genoa clew across the shrouds there is no hang up, no fighting the sheet. I can usually trim the sail for acceptable efficiency without using a winch.
 
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Nov 30, 2015
1,337
Hunter 1978 H30 Cherubini, Treman Marina, Ithaca, NY
My finger was already on the glow plug push switch as she got it free and we finished under power.
Indeed...I'm sure most of us have done that as well. The auxiliary is my second favorite crew member.
 
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Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
In the old days, the best way to tack was Jibe. Stay under power the whole time. Of course that was my Hobie Cat.

It is should be pointed out that every boat and every condition is different. In my previous boat, it had difficulty turning up wind. This meant that you turn the rudder and immediately drop the jib. As soon as the boat crossed center, you needed to straighten the rudder, and pull in the jib which had already flopped to the opposite tack. the wind against the jib would continue to turn the boat. As soon as the sails began to work again, the boat is moving forward, so the straight rudder makes the boat hold the new course, which was usually about right. Anything else, and you would overshoot the turn.

My current boat is much different. It will sail up wind like nobodies business. So as you approach the turn, you can actually bring both sails in, as the boat is still under power until you are directly into the wind. When you cross over, you tighten the jib on the opposite tack and continue the turn under power. You can watch the telltails and just adjust the sail throughout the whole tack. I've only done it perfect like that once, normally I don't take that much effort.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
There is a certain joy in executing a maneuver such as a tack to a high degree of expertise. I don't think that joy is confined to the race course, or is just for boats with crew. I think it's about knowing how to do it and doing it well.
 
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