My time is coming to an end as your Forum host. I've enjoyed the dialog as I love to talk about trimming sails so a mate can get 100% efficiency from their sailboat. Additionally, I hate to see beginners to intermediates go through what I had to in order to learn how to sail a boat efficiently. If you found some of my material helpful, please comment to the powers that be at sailboatowners.com - Bly, Phil and Karisa. Please buy their products and maybe suggest ways you'd like to see sail trim information presented to help you sail your boat more efficiently and get as much from your little beauty that she can give. One way to achieve 100% efficiency is through the use of TELLTALES. Telltales are absolutely the most important sail trim indicator on the boat and probably 50% ( and I'm being kind with that number) of sailors worldwide don't have any attached to their jib or main. I always carry an extra set with me for attachment to any boats I go on for instructional purposes. I can't read the sails without them and frankly I don't know how any sailors without them can read their sails. They have to be better at it then I am. Telltales are the primary system of checks and balance for the mainsail and jib/genny trimmer. I feel the knowledge of telltales is so important that I devote 5 pages to them in my book - The Sail Trim Users Guide. Obviously, space does not permit me to go into all the details of telltales but let's touch on a few. Telltales show "attached flow". What that means is, if the leading edge of the luff of the mainsail or jib are aimed directly into the wind, then the telltales stream aft. When you view your telltales, imagine air flowing past the sail as smoke in a wind tunnel. If you ease the jib or mainsheet too much or your course is too low or high in relation to the direction of the wind, then the leading edge is no longer pointed into the wind and the flow on one side or the other becomes disturbed and the telltales react accordingly. There is a lot more to this telltale stuff, such as placement on the sail plus the controls used to adjust etc but space is limited so lets talk about how to read them. There are 5 settings - FULL SPEED, ACCELERATION, POINT, PINCH, and FOOT. Full speed is when the inside and outside telltales both stream aft. Acceleration is when the outside lifts a bit and the inside streams aft. Point is when the outside streams aft and the inside dips down a bit. Pinch is when the outside streams aft and the inside really dips. To correct that situation either trim in or sail lower. Foot is when the outside lifts and the inside streams aft. To correct that situation either ease out or sail higher. Here is an easy tip to remember - if the OUTSIDE flips then EASE OUT. If the INSIDE flips then TRIM IN. Any questions?
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In mast furling
Most sail trim recommendations do not pertain to boats with in mast furling with out battens even though these sails are loose footed and out haul is most effective to create sail shape in the main sail. Also large genoa sails on forsail furlers are not covered much especially when relating to reducing sail to balancing total sail area deployed. Why dont sail trim experts start covering these areas? Sailing with these types of sails is different.
Most sail trim recommendations do not pertain to boats with in mast furling with out battens even though these sails are loose footed and out haul is most effective to create sail shape in the main sail. Also large genoa sails on forsail furlers are not covered much especially when relating to reducing sail to balancing total sail area deployed. Why dont sail trim experts start covering these areas? Sailing with these types of sails is different.
In Mast Furling
Ron: It is just a guess on my part, but one reason you do not see a lot written about in mast furling is that there are not enough of those systems around. Most boats do not have that system. Ocassionally, I see and article written about your system in Sail magazine but the articles are few and far between. As they become more popular and come down in price, you will see more material presented.
Ron: It is just a guess on my part, but one reason you do not see a lot written about in mast furling is that there are not enough of those systems around. Most boats do not have that system. Ocassionally, I see and article written about your system in Sail magazine but the articles are few and far between. As they become more popular and come down in price, you will see more material presented.
Second Rob's request.
Why does my new North main only have telltales on the leech? Anything to do with it not being full batten? The yankee(jib) on my cutter has them forward. And thanks Don, I've been paying attention and it makes a huge difference to get both sides streaming.
Why does my new North main only have telltales on the leech? Anything to do with it not being full batten? The yankee(jib) on my cutter has them forward. And thanks Don, I've been paying attention and it makes a huge difference to get both sides streaming.
Leech Telltails
Rob; Before I get into the telltails on the main, here are a couple of tips I use to make things easier. I need all the help I can get as I am not a born sailor and had to learn everything the hard way. To help myself determine that the wind is hitting the luff of the sail evenly on both sides, I have telltails attached to both stays on each side of the boat and one on the backstay. I also have the normal one attached to the mainsail and jib. The backstay one helps me a lot going down wind - saves my neck from looking up at the masthead fly. For telltail material on the rigging, I use some green plastic tape stuff I get at a nursery. It is a lot cheaper than the West Marine stuff. I also use the tape to tie up my tomato plants!! Anyway, it is cheap and works for me. Another thing I do is to trim the mainsail is to keep the headboard at the top of the sail directly in line with the arrow on the masthead fly. When you think about it, where else would it make sense to point it as that is the direction the wind is coming from. Now, as to how to read the mainsail telltails. The most important mainsail telltail is the top one and the two in the middle of the sail. Some guys think the two middle ones are disturbed by the mast and maybe they are a little but I still think they are important because, as I said, I need all the help I can get. What you are looking for is to have the top telltail streaming with an occasional stall. If it constantly hooks behind the sail, then there is too much twist in your main. Adjust the twist by using the mainsheet and boom vang. Trim the two middle ones just like you trim the jib telltails. That is the basics of what your trying to do but there is a lot more to it. I don't have any fancy wind instruments on my boat so I have to rely heavily on my telltails. I devote more than 6 pages in my book as to how to read the jib and mainsail telltails, which indicates the importance I put on them. Hope the above helps you a bit.
Rob; Before I get into the telltails on the main, here are a couple of tips I use to make things easier. I need all the help I can get as I am not a born sailor and had to learn everything the hard way. To help myself determine that the wind is hitting the luff of the sail evenly on both sides, I have telltails attached to both stays on each side of the boat and one on the backstay. I also have the normal one attached to the mainsail and jib. The backstay one helps me a lot going down wind - saves my neck from looking up at the masthead fly. For telltail material on the rigging, I use some green plastic tape stuff I get at a nursery. It is a lot cheaper than the West Marine stuff. I also use the tape to tie up my tomato plants!! Anyway, it is cheap and works for me. Another thing I do is to trim the mainsail is to keep the headboard at the top of the sail directly in line with the arrow on the masthead fly. When you think about it, where else would it make sense to point it as that is the direction the wind is coming from. Now, as to how to read the mainsail telltails. The most important mainsail telltail is the top one and the two in the middle of the sail. Some guys think the two middle ones are disturbed by the mast and maybe they are a little but I still think they are important because, as I said, I need all the help I can get. What you are looking for is to have the top telltail streaming with an occasional stall. If it constantly hooks behind the sail, then there is too much twist in your main. Adjust the twist by using the mainsheet and boom vang. Trim the two middle ones just like you trim the jib telltails. That is the basics of what your trying to do but there is a lot more to it. I don't have any fancy wind instruments on my boat so I have to rely heavily on my telltails. I devote more than 6 pages in my book as to how to read the jib and mainsail telltails, which indicates the importance I put on them. Hope the above helps you a bit.
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