What Are You Adjusting?

[Don Guillette]

Learning how to trim sails is really simple. I didn't think it was so simple when I was trying to figure it out because I was going about it the wrong way. Sail trim is like learning to ride a bike -- once you learn to ride that's about it as opposed to nuclear research that goes on forever. A lot of the questions submitted to this forum and with conversations I have with sailors consist of the same subject but are worded differently.

Many conversations are from sail trim forum lurkers, who read everything, but who are embarrassed to ask a question on the forum (they shouldn't be) and start out this way. They themselves want to know what RichH, Joe from San Diego, StuJ, Alan and a couple of others know about sail trim. I tell them it ain't going to happen at the stage they're at. Those 6 or 7 guys have years of practical experience on what it takes to sail a boat. They've forgotten what 50% of the sailors worldwide even know about sail trim.

Next, lurkers focus on some sail trim control for the main or jib that they want to master and it goes all the way from the topping lift (when they start with that one I know I'm in for a long conversation) outhaul, traveler, fairleads etc. It's always ONE control in particular they are focusing on.

I always ask them WHAT do they think the sail trim control they're interested in IS ACTUALLY ADJUSTING. No beginner has ever been able to tell me and therein is the problem. I can't think of an analogy but unless a mate knows what he's adjusting when he pushes or pulls a sail trim control on the main and jib, sail trim will never make any sense. Additionally, some sail trim controls work together to acheive a desired effect. Other sail trim controls work against each other cancelling the effect a sailor is trying to acheive, so again you have to know what you're adjusting.

Beginners, in order to make sail trim an easy learning experience, need to do themselves a favor and learn what every control is adjusting. Once they do they'll get a great deal of enjoyment out of sailing.

 

[Sublime]

In all fairness, people who learn well by reading have enough info in this forum and from your book that they probably aren't the ones coming up to you and asking you questions.

People learn in different ways. Some need a 3D visual. Some need to see it in the flesh. Some need to actually pull on the line and observe the changes while someone is telling them what is happening at that moment.
Some don't understand enough of it, or have enough experience, to apply what they learned from reading to what they are seeing on their boat.

My 2 cents.

 

[Don Guillette]

Sublime: The big problem that happens when a mate tries to learn sail trim on their own or from a few sentences on this forum is they don't know what they're actually seeing or reading. Examples are TWIST and DRAFT POSITION. Once someone points those element out to them, on the boat, they never forget it. A book and a chart are a step above figuring it out by one's self.

Another problem is putting the whole sail trim thing together. In other words, they have to visualize the forest and not focus on the individual trees (traveler, outhaul, fairleads etc). Even folks that buy my stuff have a problem putting it all together and they do contact me with various questions. I get questions as to what RichH, Joe from San Diego, Alan, StuJ are talking about. It's clear to me but I'm not everyone. It's like getting sail trim knowledge through a fire hose and that's exactly what I tell them is happening.

Where I've had the best results is to tie the book and chart together in a 3 hour seminar followed by 4 hours "on the water". At the end of both sessions I know they have an excellent understanding of the basics of sail trim because at the end of 3rd hour they can look at the sail trim on boats in the area and tell me exactly what's wrong with their trim and how to correct it.

For YC's and sailing clubs in AZ I condense the 3 hour program into a 35 minuteprogram followed by a Q&A that can go on for an hour. All I deal with is draft depth, draft position, twist and angle of attack and I demonstrate it using a large pond sail boat and many still have problems visualizing what going on. I might add, I know where their coming from because I had an awful time trying to understand what the instuctor was talking about. It amounted to a mental block. It took me forever to put it together and when the lights finally went on I couldn't believe how simple sail trim actually is.

 

[sinnettc]

Hmmm. I've learned a lot from reading things here but I'm still not sure I could tell you what the effect of the various controls will have on the placement of the draft. Now, that said, I can tell by how the boat is handling, when I need to dump the traveler, yank on the backstay, or have the admiral tighten the cunningham.

Where I struggle a bit is with the amount of twist I want/need, especially as the wind picks up and I throw in a reef. That's what I'm going to focus on the rest of the summer, I think. The boomkicker complicates things a bit, since I have to manage how much the boom comes up with the vang. With the tall rig it's easy to get overpowered so I need to figure it out.

 

[Indysailor]

My own rule of thumb with teaching that says if everyone is getting a question wrong, then there's something wrong with the question or the way I'm asking it.