After climbing my mast and seeing that my steaming light was completely rusted and needing replacing, I decided to go out for a short sail. So I packed up my gear and left it on the dock. Started the OB and headed out into the bay. I put up the main and decided that is all I would sail with. Some things I noticed... The boat still wanted to head up more with just the main than with both sails. I suspect the Center of Effort was moved because of only one sail bent on. Even though the main was trimmed correctly. Any thoughts about that? Next, I noticed that in some what calm waters, wave height about .5 ft, winds around 9 knts, about 3 ft wave separation, the boat had a bobbing, or porpoising effect. It was very gentle and relaxing, but I have never seen that with same winds/seas when two sails were up. Again, any thoughts on that one? It was a pleasure to sail with just the main. Heeling no more than 5 degrees and the boat really moved at a comfortable rate.
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Pull out some jib
It does not have to be a lot but you need some to make the boat sail correctly.
It does not have to be a lot but you need some to make the boat sail correctly.
Power
Hi Brian - Your observations from sailing under main alone are exactly what I'd expect. The center of effort being further aft (on a sloop, not forward like Bob's cat-rigged Nonsuch) with only the main up should produce more weather helm. Also, without even distribution of sail power the boat won't "power" through waves as well. That being said, given the light to moderate conditions and your, let's say, "easy going mood" at the time, why not sail with just the main on occasion? I sailed home yesterday afternoon in Lake Washington downwind with only the staysail and yankee up in 30+ knots of breeze without the main. Sure, I could have sailed with a reefed main but heck, it was Sunday! Have fun out there, Trevor
Hi Brian - Your observations from sailing under main alone are exactly what I'd expect. The center of effort being further aft (on a sloop, not forward like Bob's cat-rigged Nonsuch) with only the main up should produce more weather helm. Also, without even distribution of sail power the boat won't "power" through waves as well. That being said, given the light to moderate conditions and your, let's say, "easy going mood" at the time, why not sail with just the main on occasion? I sailed home yesterday afternoon in Lake Washington downwind with only the staysail and yankee up in 30+ knots of breeze without the main. Sure, I could have sailed with a reefed main but heck, it was Sunday! Have fun out there, Trevor
Masthead Rig??
My Pearson 323 doesn't sail that well with just a main. Much to most of my sail is in the foresail. My boat sails better with just the jib especially going downwind. That said we once sailed downwind about 150 miles with just a reefed main. We had to rig a preventer to control the boom in case of an unintentional Jibe. On a different boat we sailed from Marathon Key to Key west on jib alone. A boat with a fractional rig generally sails better with the main alone than does a masthead rig.
My Pearson 323 doesn't sail that well with just a main. Much to most of my sail is in the foresail. My boat sails better with just the jib especially going downwind. That said we once sailed downwind about 150 miles with just a reefed main. We had to rig a preventer to control the boom in case of an unintentional Jibe. On a different boat we sailed from Marathon Key to Key west on jib alone. A boat with a fractional rig generally sails better with the main alone than does a masthead rig.
Well, if there was anything I got
Out of this little adventure, it was concentrating on setting the main correctly. I have a tendency to pinch my sales for the given wind direction. Yesterday I learned to relax the main for the wind and found the best set.
Out of this little adventure, it was concentrating on setting the main correctly. I have a tendency to pinch my sales for the given wind direction. Yesterday I learned to relax the main for the wind and found the best set.
Pinching is Easy to Do!!!
Depending upon the underbody of a boat you can head up a lot but be sliding to the leeward. It is easy to forget that just because the boat is pointing a particular direction doesn't mean that it is going in that direction. Our keels act like wings and beyond a certain speed angle combination they stop producing lift. A GPS can help to determine when you are making the most progress into the wind. A simular situation exists in flying. A plane will only climb so fast for a given speed,weight and angle of attack. Trying to climb faster by increasing the angle of attack actually slows the plane and reduces the climb rate. In extreme cases the wing stalls(stops producing lift) and the plane falls to the ground...ouch!!!! The cleaner the keel the higher you can point because a rough surface creates turbulance and destroys lift sooner. I usually tack through about 120 degrees when sailing around for fun. With the main alone I can't do much better than a beam reach. I am guessing that with the center of effort more aft there is more load on the keel. Sure I can point high but my track is less to the windward.
Depending upon the underbody of a boat you can head up a lot but be sliding to the leeward. It is easy to forget that just because the boat is pointing a particular direction doesn't mean that it is going in that direction. Our keels act like wings and beyond a certain speed angle combination they stop producing lift. A GPS can help to determine when you are making the most progress into the wind. A simular situation exists in flying. A plane will only climb so fast for a given speed,weight and angle of attack. Trying to climb faster by increasing the angle of attack actually slows the plane and reduces the climb rate. In extreme cases the wing stalls(stops producing lift) and the plane falls to the ground...ouch!!!! The cleaner the keel the higher you can point because a rough surface creates turbulance and destroys lift sooner. I usually tack through about 120 degrees when sailing around for fun. With the main alone I can't do much better than a beam reach. I am guessing that with the center of effort more aft there is more load on the keel. Sure I can point high but my track is less to the windward.
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