Sail Trim

[BarryL]

Hello,I was sailing today and took this shot of the main.The wind was about 8 kts, and abeam.What do you think of the sail trim?I think the draft should be moved a little forwardby tightening the outhaul and main halyward.Agree, disagree, any over comments?Thanks,Barry

 

[Roger (Ninette Manitoba)]

not bad trim of 8 kts

If you are looking for constructive crit, I would add that you could pull down on the boom vang a bit, to bring the top batten in line with the boom. You are spilling a bit of wind up there, and could likely squeeze out another 1/2 naut (or more) out of that sail. Doing so may bring the max draft a few more inches forward, but the important item is to catch the wind your spilling. Pulling on the outhaul will flatten the sail, I think.

 

[Andre K]

"squeeze out another 1/2 naut "

You may "squeeze out another 1/2 naut" with the "halyward" but in the same time you may just add another 1/2 knot of speed by leaving the halyard alone and just tighten the mainsheet... ))))

 

[Alan]

BarryL

You're a brave sole!...but my hat is off to ya. You're gonna get it from both the 'grammar right' and the 'trimming left'.On another thread they've been talking telltales. I don't see any and this is a great example of why you NEED them. Without them it's near impossible to read the wind and how it flows over the surface of the sail.According to the windex your entry is still a bit too tight. An ease on the sheet will fix that but also add twist which you want to eliminate. Vang will pull out the twist and make the shape more efficient. On a beam or broad reach the sheet cannot control twist therefore you switch to 'vang sheeting'. It appears that the leech is much too tight in the top 1/3 of the sail. An ease on the leech line should cure that.You mention that the draft should be moved forward. I'm estimating that it's about 40-45%. I curious why you would want to move it forward.

 

[BarryL]

More info

Hello,Thanks for the responses, feel free to keep them coming.I am self taught and have a thick skin. I want to learnmore and can handle criticism. Regarding tell tales - I bought them last week and amwaiting for a calm day to put them on the main. Thegenoa has them already.Next time I am out I will experiment with using theboom vang to control twist. I had been trying to controltwist by tightening the main sheet and dropping the traveler. On this boat (which I bought in November) thetraveler is difficult to use. One side has a cam cleat,the other a rope clutch. The combo means that it isnot easy to adjust. Devising a more manageable travelerset up is on my list of things to do.Thanks,Barry

 

[Ted]

Sea State

With only 8 knots of wind the it is likely to presume that there is very little wave action. If that is the case you would want to move the draft in the main back to about 45 or 50%. It looks like it's a bit more forward than that in the photo. Tell tales are a must too.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Traveler blues...

Barry, sounds like all you may need to do is replace the rope clutch with another cam cleat, then you should be able to adjust it from both sides.