Telltales are absolutely the most important sail trim indicator on the boat but sadly a large percentage of boats don't have them (how they trim their sails without them is beyond me) and many boats that do have them, the skippers don't know how to read them.
To those of us that have been sailing for many years, we sometimes don't put ourselves in the place of newbies who are struggling with sail trim. I've spoken with and received a few emails from a newbie lister from Fort Myers, FL. The following is his most recent question:
"Don, I have a question for you. On a beam reach, the jib leeward telltales are all three streaming back horizontal but the windward telltales are streaming vertically up. I have moved the fairleads aft and forward, pulled the jib sheet in and let it out with no luck. The wind was around 4 - 8 mph. So my question is, are the telltales (windward) really an effect on a beam reach? While going to windward (** he means closehauled) I can always get both sides to stream back. What am I doing wrong while on a beam reach?".
First of all, he isn't doing anything wrong and I've already sent him the answer to his question but forum listers can you see how folks learning sail trim struggle with this stuff!!
If you are a NEWBIE or a HIGH BEGINNER, can you answer his question? I know regulars on this forum immediatelly know the answer but I'd like beginners to take a shot at it first.
To those of us that have been sailing for many years, we sometimes don't put ourselves in the place of newbies who are struggling with sail trim. I've spoken with and received a few emails from a newbie lister from Fort Myers, FL. The following is his most recent question:
"Don, I have a question for you. On a beam reach, the jib leeward telltales are all three streaming back horizontal but the windward telltales are streaming vertically up. I have moved the fairleads aft and forward, pulled the jib sheet in and let it out with no luck. The wind was around 4 - 8 mph. So my question is, are the telltales (windward) really an effect on a beam reach? While going to windward (** he means closehauled) I can always get both sides to stream back. What am I doing wrong while on a beam reach?".
First of all, he isn't doing anything wrong and I've already sent him the answer to his question but forum listers can you see how folks learning sail trim struggle with this stuff!!
If you are a NEWBIE or a HIGH BEGINNER, can you answer his question? I know regulars on this forum immediatelly know the answer but I'd like beginners to take a shot at it first.