process or result

[David11038]

In the 5 or so years I have been into sailing, I have noticed there are two types of sailors, those who love to fiddle, fuss and tweak, and those (like me) who like to 'set and forget'. This seems to be a difference between those who like the process of fiddling and those who make adjustments to achieve a result. Of the sailors I have met, most appear to come from the tweak crowd - but this may have to do with the fact that I only know daysailors.Which are you?

 

[Alan]

On this site....

...there is a forum called 'Sail Trim'. If you visit that forum you will discover just how many sailors don't really understand sail trim and the controls associated with it. Of course, if you don't understand 'how' it all works, it becomes very difficult, even futile, to try and make these corrections. On the other hand, sitting and watching your sails, knowing that the trim is all wrong just doesn't sit well with me. I cannot just watch my mainsail leech just flog itself to death due to a needed leech cord adjustment, or the top of the genny spilling air because the car location is wrong. I enjoy SAILING not falling asleep at the wheel.

 

[Paul J. Rusyniak]

relaxation!

We’re non-racing day sailors interested in safety first, then relaxation, then performance (without going bonkers over it).Pauls/v The Lord Nelson h260

 

[Paul Akers]

Tweaking is a form of relaxation

Just getting out on the boat and pushing a button and going is not my form of relaxation. Although tweaking can be physical, I love doing it. Relaxation comes to me in the form of "changing pace". Tweaking can also create what I call "A Brain Enema", where you get fully absorbed both physically and mentally in achieving relaxation.

 

[Warren M.]

I just love...

... to sneak up on much bigger, and presumably faster, boats and overtake them. Since none of these overtaken skippers ever looks aft, or is paying attention to what his sails are doing, I can creep up on them and then quickly pass them. The key to this addiction is sail trim and helming. Once the "target" of my attack notices me passing him, I just love to hear all those winches, and molars, grinding as they try to catch up...bye, bye....

 

[David11038]

tweaking and relaxation

Alan, I have been following the sail trim discussion closely. I depend heavily on the "tweakers" to help me know what to do. I have enjoyed the approach Don G has been using, giving basic rules of thumb for us nontechnical folks and giving more details to those who thirst for that knowledge. I didn't mean to knock the "tweakers", just wanted to survey the differences. I am reasonably good at sail trim and attend to my telltails, but have sailed with other sailors who tweak for the joy of tweaking - like Paul. All of my sailing has been on small boats. I have mostly sailed on boats with relatively few trim controls such as CL16, JY15 but have also sailed on tweaker delights such as 470's and M16's.

 

[Andy598]

Seems there is a middle ground

Although it may be in conflict with a country that is driven to polarization, it appears many of us are in the gray area/middle/sometimes group. I try to find a point of efficient sailing but anything past that is experimenting usually because there is little else to do. As mentioned, we learn from the tweakers as I also learn from the "workers" who are always improving or fixing something. We all have something to contribute (in my case it is often a cooking suggestion or a wine (cheap)recommendation).Andy"Baroque"

 

[Alan]

David

No offense was taken, for sure! Don has such a mellow way about him(left coaster) and I tend to come across like a bull in a china shop. It is obvious that he is a tweeker, but doesn't offend those who are not.

 

[Wright Ellis s/v Whiskey II]

I'm with Warrren

I love to play the "sneak up on 'em" game myself. Before I owned my 26.5, I sailed with a friend on his 29' Soveral. He taught me the game. Stuart would say, "One sailboat on the Bay is a cruise, two boats is a race." Tweak away!!

 

[Alan]

Wright Ellis s/v Whiskey II

Your 26.5, is it the old version or the newer one? I've often thought about buying one of the older 26.5's and converting it to an outright race boat. It has a ton of potential and would clean up on the race course.

 

[Jim]

not either or

Love this question, and am surprised I never asked it of myself. Have those days where I could give a damn (within limits) how efficiently I'm sailing, and on other days I'm on the sail controls like white on rice. Two sailboats on the same tack...did you ever have the pleasure of stealing another boat's wind? Regards, Jim

 

[Bill18593]

Process and result

I fiddle, fuss and tweak so that I can set and forget. To me, the "fiddle, fuss and tweak" are the necessary steps to get to the "set and forget" stage of sailing.

 

[Alan]

But Bill....

....the problem with that thinking is that there is no end to the adjusting. Air and water are fluids that are constantly on the move and changing. The breeze doesn't hold a constant speed or angle.....waves and current the same. I have no argument with your not wanting to sail with proper trim, but don't kid yourself into thinking that you're there and now you can stop.

 

[henkmeuzelaar]

Is sailing a disease or a cure ? *o

After many years on the worldwidewaterways I have yet to see that question answered in a truly authoritative manner. Among the sailor species there would appear to be at least 3 subtypes: Type I is obsessed with being on the water; Type II tries to escape from something; and Type III wants to visit places.Type I tends to keep fiddling with the sails (what else is there to do??), Type II just keeps working on the boat (while being away from whatever it is he wants to be away from), and Type III wants to shove off though knowing little about sailing or boats (hopefully learning along the way).The good news is: all three subspecies love to post on this board and yak about their obsessions as well as the envisaged cure .Fair winds,Flying Dutchman

 

[Bill18593]

But Alan...

That's why we sail!!

 

[Bill18593]

Is sailing a disease or a cure?

Yes, it is.

 

[LeeC - H240]

Various thoughts...

My understanding is that if there are two boats of the bay, and the other is in front of you, then you are cruising. If you are in front of the other boat, then you are racing.By the way, instead of gray, wouldn't the middle ground now be purple (blue >> red)?I am apparently type II as defined earlier. I do not have good technical sailing skills. Many facets of sail trim discussed here are beyond me. I do however enjoy being on the water, being driven by an unseen force, usually in relative quietness.......

 

[Rick D]

Tweakin' Good Time!

I just did a charity race with my '94 Legend 40.5 which so many of you gave me hints re: sail trim <smile>. Despite an adjusted PHRF of 100 (HUH???), I finished fourth on adjusted and corrected in the over 30 fleet. The fun in that was no wind over 7 knots, four of seven marks upwind, and a mostly (seven) non-sailing crew. These boats are not known for light air performance, so it felt pretty good to have done that well.Here is what surprised me: how few tweakers there are among supposedly high-performance sailors. Two of these sailors are experienced sailors who, depite being responsible for specific sail trim, did little to optimize the trim. And, I have found that true with a large percentage of crew over time. Some of that may be reluctance by visiting crew, some just unfamiliarity with a particular boat, but it is surprising regardless. Once, I went out for a day-sail in my boss's Islander Cruising 39. It had a cutter rig. I couldn't stand looking at the jib trim, too much mainsail twist and proceeded to get about another knot out of it. He told me I had done more tweaking than he normally did in a fifty mile trip. Must have been true, since all the leaded crystal wine glasses promptly slid off the holder to shatter on the sole.Anyhow, as much as it's fun to just kick back, it's always fun to see just how much performance you can pull from a sailboat. Rick D.