Sail trim and tiller forces
- Thread starter flynhi4u
- Start date
video
After watching the video I totally understand how change the mainsheet would turn the boat assuming the rudder remained locked. They were out in open water with very little surface friction to deal with so the wind was constant and they had the ability to lock their wheel so the rudder stayed center. The only force that was a variable was the position of the main sail sheet/traveler. It would be like using power to control pitch in a small plane.
But like I said on the lake we sail it is never constant nor is the water conducive most days to allow us to pull that off in our boat to any degree of success. Yesterday it was blowing anywhere from 12 to dead calm in a span of a hundred feet. The water was choppy and she took constant attention to keep her tracking straight. We were just excited to have wind in the sails after 4 days of no wind.
Thanks again for all the input. I have learned a lot and if we ever get a bigger boat and sail bigger water I will be sure to try this out and impress the guest LOL! For now we will just hang on to her and do our best to keep her going straight the old fashioned way.
Sam in IN
After watching the video I totally understand how change the mainsheet would turn the boat assuming the rudder remained locked. They were out in open water with very little surface friction to deal with so the wind was constant and they had the ability to lock their wheel so the rudder stayed center. The only force that was a variable was the position of the main sail sheet/traveler. It would be like using power to control pitch in a small plane.
But like I said on the lake we sail it is never constant nor is the water conducive most days to allow us to pull that off in our boat to any degree of success. Yesterday it was blowing anywhere from 12 to dead calm in a span of a hundred feet. The water was choppy and she took constant attention to keep her tracking straight. We were just excited to have wind in the sails after 4 days of no wind.
Thanks again for all the input. I have learned a lot and if we ever get a bigger boat and sail bigger water I will be sure to try this out and impress the guest LOL! For now we will just hang on to her and do our best to keep her going straight the old fashioned way.
Sam in IN
More reason to keep the tiller or one sheet or both in your hand.
Something else to consider for comfortable sailing: heel angle. It is possible to go fast without lots of heeling. My boat sails best, is most balanced, most fun when I trim for a small heel angle. Sheeting in tips the boat and forces weather helm. There is a point where the forward pull of the sail is reduced and the braking force of the rudder is increased and the crew comfort is about zero. Somewhere more upright is where you'll find your optimal trim.
That is something we do for sure with our boat. I tuck the main sheet under my leg with it ran up over my leg. That way in a gust I can just reach down without looking and release it a bit. Cindy learned the hard way to do that.
I agree, we sail best at less than 20 degrees. Anything more and you are just hanging on for the ride. Sometimes in a gusty wind we are better off just riding it out as it usually does not last long but if sailing in a good wind we too sheet for about 15 degrees.
Cindy has a built in inclinometer and she starts to get a bit anxious beyond 15 when she is at the helm. If I am on the tiller she is fine till everything starts getting re arranged in the cabin LOL.
We are looking forward to trailering to the North Channel next summer. Hopefully there we can get in some more "open" water than the tree lined puddle we sail in now. It will be nice to get to sail in wind that hopefully doesn't change as much as what we deal with now.
Sam in IN
I agree, we sail best at less than 20 degrees. Anything more and you are just hanging on for the ride. Sometimes in a gusty wind we are better off just riding it out as it usually does not last long but if sailing in a good wind we too sheet for about 15 degrees.
Cindy has a built in inclinometer and she starts to get a bit anxious beyond 15 when she is at the helm. If I am on the tiller she is fine till everything starts getting re arranged in the cabin LOL.
We are looking forward to trailering to the North Channel next summer. Hopefully there we can get in some more "open" water than the tree lined puddle we sail in now. It will be nice to get to sail in wind that hopefully doesn't change as much as what we deal with now.
Sam in IN
Ha!
Not clairvoyant ... I just noticed the clues left in his original post. You don't want me to predict the weather!
Some boats are much better at sailing "locked rudder" than others.. We were able to trim my buddy's Tartan 37 so that it sailed a pretty straight course with a locked rudder for 6 hours in a constant breeze broad reaching north in the Gulf Stream.. A fine day it was ! My H-34, on the other hand, has trouble doing that for 3 minutes.. My friend, Otto Piloto, is pretty much a necessity. He strains a lot less and uses a lot fewer ampere hours when the sails are correctly trimmed!