SAIL STRENGTH AND WIND SPEED

[RICHARD BRAHS]

I OWN A 1984 HUNTER AND HAVE YOUR BASIC 150% GENOA DACRON SAIL AND A MAIN SAIL.THIS PAST WEEKEND ON THE LONG ISLAND SOUND THE WIND GUSTS WERE STRONG UP TO 30 KNOTS+ I ONLY HAD MY GENOA OPENED ABOUT 70% BECAUSE I WENT FOR A QUICK SHORT SAIL. THE BOAT WAS REALLY HEELING OVER AND I WONDER ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF THE SAILS AND RIGGING IN RELATION TO THE WIND VELOCITY. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFORMATION OR GUIDELINES ON THIS?THANK YOU,RICHARD

 

[Torrence Jenkins]

Double Trouble

From what I've read, for every doubling of wind speed, the force applied to the sail is 4 times. Which is to say that if the area of your sail at 5 mph experiences 1000 pounds of force, at 10 mph the force is now 4000 pounds. These numbers may be exagerated, but the formula is accurate. Hope this helps.TJps, alwas keep everything real tight on those days. It really helps. Cheers