First, I would like to thank everyone (especially you, Don) for their input on my very steep learning curve into the wonderful world of sail trim. I am almost finished with my second read of your book Don and I will be trying to put into practice as much information as possible this weekend. I mentioned before that on our new boat we have telltales on the head sail but the main has none. This would not be a big issue if it was a standard main sail but of course we have an in mast furler and a 63' mast. I will get this little problem solved in the future but for now, would watching the head sail tell tales give me some indication of trimming the main? Regardless of the success of my efforts, I am looking forward to a nice sail on our beautiful new "girl" this weekend. If I was able to make some progress in my skills at the same time that would make my next boat payment all the more worth it! ;-) Once again, thank you for all your help.
- Status
Luff and trim
Once your jib is set, you can set the angle of attack of the main by moving the traveler downwind until the luff of the main flutters ("luffs") and then moving the traveler back upwind until it stops. If you are in a reach where the main must be eased beyond the end of the traveler to luff, then ease the mainsheet until the main luffs, and tighten it until it stops. If the luffing starts high on the main, reduce twist by tightening the mainsheet if the boom is over the traveler, or the vang if it is beyond the traveler. Loosen the mainsheet/vang if to increase twist if the luff begins low on the main. David Lady Lillie
Once your jib is set, you can set the angle of attack of the main by moving the traveler downwind until the luff of the main flutters ("luffs") and then moving the traveler back upwind until it stops. If you are in a reach where the main must be eased beyond the end of the traveler to luff, then ease the mainsheet until the main luffs, and tighten it until it stops. If the luffing starts high on the main, reduce twist by tightening the mainsheet if the boom is over the traveler, or the vang if it is beyond the traveler. Loosen the mainsheet/vang if to increase twist if the luff begins low on the main. David Lady Lillie
Kristin: David has given good advise, which you should follow. What he is describing is called "trimming to a point of draw". I hate to minimize the lack of telltales because I have difficulty in trimming the main to get that last 10% I want out of the sail without them and I know what I'm looking for. You can get pretty close to 100% efficiency without them but one of their purposes is to indicate problems that are about to develop if you don't do something. They will react to a disturbance way before you recognize it. With in mast furling, I would think it should be pretty easy to install them. Obviously someone has to go up the mast and if you just rolled the sail out a bit they could probably slap 2 on (one on the top, which is the most important one and one in the middle). Another way around the problem is to get the jib trimmed so that everything is flowing and then trim the main to match the shape (mirror) of the jib. Hope you enjoy your sail this weekend. Now that you have a pretty good idea of what you are doing it will make the experience so much more enjoyable. Think back to what sailing was like for you when you only had a fleeting idea of what was going on with your sails.
No need to go up the mast
Just let the sail all the way out and then drop it like a normal mast. Did mine about a month ago like that. Today I get to go up the mast though...to run a spinnaker haylard. The temp is hot, very hot, sun beating down and I'm going up...yep...and I'm suppose to be smart huh
Just let the sail all the way out and then drop it like a normal mast. Did mine about a month ago like that. Today I get to go up the mast though...to run a spinnaker haylard. The temp is hot, very hot, sun beating down and I'm going up...yep...and I'm suppose to be smart huh
Franklin: Yup, dropping the main is a better idea. I don't know a lot (actually nothing)about the internals of the in mast system. I though it would be a bit more complicated to drop the main but apparently it is not.
Locate Tell Tails
As I study the subject of sail trim in this forum I am finding much info and patience on the part of the knowledgable contributers. There are two items I need more info on, and a search of the archives has not been successful in answering the questions fully. 1. Location for adding Main tell tails. Mine are worn and are on the leech only, as noted in the archive posts, they are located on the trailing edge just below the battens. The discussions reference Mainsail body tell tails. Where would these be located? 2. Same for the Jib, leech and body locations. 3. I've found no reference to the adjustment of leech cords. Clearly these will affect sail twist if not properly tensioned. Any help here on tensioning leech cords? BobD Sabre 30 III
As I study the subject of sail trim in this forum I am finding much info and patience on the part of the knowledgable contributers. There are two items I need more info on, and a search of the archives has not been successful in answering the questions fully. 1. Location for adding Main tell tails. Mine are worn and are on the leech only, as noted in the archive posts, they are located on the trailing edge just below the battens. The discussions reference Mainsail body tell tails. Where would these be located? 2. Same for the Jib, leech and body locations. 3. I've found no reference to the adjustment of leech cords. Clearly these will affect sail twist if not properly tensioned. Any help here on tensioning leech cords? BobD Sabre 30 III
Locate telltales
BobD: The telltales on the mainsail are attached to the leech of the main around the batten area so you are OK there. The two center mainsail telltales( one on each side like the jib) are placed about in the center of the sail and slightly aft. The reason for that placement is we are trying to get away from the disturbance of the mast. You read these telltales just as you do the ones on the jib. On your jib I assume they are near the luff of the sail and that they are placed about every 1/3 of the sail. You don't need any center telltails on the jib. The most effective tellale placement is on the luff of the sail that is why they are placed there on the jib instead of the leech. I have no scientific evidence to support that I think the most effective mainsail telltale placement would be the luff if it were not for the mast getting in the way. If I were given a choice, I would rather measure incoming airflow (like the jib) instead of exhaust (like the main). Leech lines: They are used to stop the sail from flogging itself to death. The proper adjustment for closehaul work is to tighten the line until the flogging just stops. When reaching or running, you can use the leech line to bend the battens to get a little more shape. You can also use the leech cord to hold the top batten in line with the boom. In that context, it has some effect on twist but not much. The leech cord is never a substitute for the boom vang and mainsheet, which are your primary twist controls.
BobD: The telltales on the mainsail are attached to the leech of the main around the batten area so you are OK there. The two center mainsail telltales( one on each side like the jib) are placed about in the center of the sail and slightly aft. The reason for that placement is we are trying to get away from the disturbance of the mast. You read these telltales just as you do the ones on the jib. On your jib I assume they are near the luff of the sail and that they are placed about every 1/3 of the sail. You don't need any center telltails on the jib. The most effective tellale placement is on the luff of the sail that is why they are placed there on the jib instead of the leech. I have no scientific evidence to support that I think the most effective mainsail telltale placement would be the luff if it were not for the mast getting in the way. If I were given a choice, I would rather measure incoming airflow (like the jib) instead of exhaust (like the main). Leech lines: They are used to stop the sail from flogging itself to death. The proper adjustment for closehaul work is to tighten the line until the flogging just stops. When reaching or running, you can use the leech line to bend the battens to get a little more shape. You can also use the leech cord to hold the top batten in line with the boom. In that context, it has some effect on twist but not much. The leech cord is never a substitute for the boom vang and mainsheet, which are your primary twist controls.
- Status