How do I use my traveler

[Uno Mast]

My traveler is mounted above my cabin on my Beneteau First 285. I've only sailed one season mostly single handed while I'm learning. I need to get better at trimming and think it may be time to get the traveler more involved. Please go easy on me with some of the lingo, not too many sailors around me to pick up a lot of the vocab. If there's already a thread that I wasn't able to find, I'll gladly read it if someone has a link. Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[JohnShannon]

http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?51997/Sail Trim Chart

Think it is in there. The traveller allows you to decouple mainsail twist and mainsail angle.

Without a traveller you tug on the mainsail as the main is sheeted in to the center the mainsheet also pulls down on the boom removing twist from the main at the same time.

In light air, when you might want some twist and beating you can set the traveler to windward, still sheet the boom to the centerline, without getting rid of the twist.

In heavy air you don't want a lot of twist and can let the traveller all the way to leeward with the mainsail sheeted in hard to keep twist out.

Others on these forums know far better than me. So when they speak listen!

 

[DougM]

John's explanation is a good reference. A general rule of thumb is in moderate wind keep the traveller centered, as the wind goes light, bring the traveller slightly to windward. As the wind builds, drop the traveller to leeward in small increments. In windy conditions the traveller helps to reduce heel. In gusty wind conditions, it is sometimes easier to leave the mainsheet cleated and simply play the traveller. After awhile you will get a feel for what the boat likes for adjustment.

If you have a vang, you will want to learn how to use it to advantage as well.

Generally, the goal is to get the sail to flatten out into a thinner airfoil as the wind increases. As a sail is used and ages, it will stretch and get baggy. Eventually, no matter what you do with traveller, vang, and mainsheet is going to make much difference.

 

[Jackdaw]

First, congratulations on the boat. The 285 is easily one of my favorite small Beneteaus.

The advice gotten so far is good. On fractionally rigged boats like the 285 and most of the First series, the primary sail control SHOULD be the traveler, used to control the mainsail's Angle Of Attack (AOA) relative to the wind, AFTER the mainsheet is used to set the twist). On our boats, the person in charge of the main spends 90% of her time adjusting the traveler, not the mainsheet.

There is a fly in the ointment. On 285s with wheels, the traveler is not where God intended it to be (in the cockpit), but up on the cabintop. Its is VERY hard to adjust and play there as a primary sail control. The controls are hard to reach, and fiddly. Tiller driven 285s have it down in the cockpit.

So a good option is to 'vang sheet', ie set the vang to control how much twist the sail has, and let the mainsheet out to adjust AOA.

I found two good threads that discuss this.

This on mainsail control
http://forums.beneteau.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=1096904

and this on vang sheeting.
http://forums.beneteau.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=986061