You must know how telltales work to be a successful sailboat racer and those sailors that have mastered their use can be found on the podium more often than not.
Twist is when the top of the sail opens in comparison to the lower sections. This gives us the ability to control the lift and drag created by our sails.
Twist...
Effects of Headstay Sag
Headstay sag affects everything from boat speed to pointing ability and that's why headstay sag matters.
Sailboats with headstay sag often point higher and maintain boatspeed better in light-air conditions. One of the key methods to power up a sail is to induce sag in the forestay.
Dinghies obviously only have one jib and many sailboat classes limit...
Understanding and Controlling Upwind Sail Power - Upwind sail power comes from 3 sources:
The angle of attack.
Depth in the sail (draft)
Twist.
When trimming our sails we want to get our boat to full power and we must adjust for the sailing conditions by altering the three power sources listed above.
Sails are built so that they can perform in a variety...
Depending on the boat you sail, the boom vang will be one of the most important controls. Vang tension determines the twist of your mainsail.
As we go from sailing upwind to across the wind and then downwind, the difference in mainsheet tension will determine how much the boom will try to lift as you ease the sheet and this...
Twist, is the relative trim of your sail from top to bottom. Your sail has a lot of twist when the top of the leech is open. When you have a closed leech, this is described as little twist. Twist's Importance and When to Use It
The effect of an increase in twist is a reduction of power. Reducing...
Rig Tune to Get Better Performance.
Firstly, I would like to correct an error in last weeks Blog regarding using the compass to establish Line bias. Phil Crebbin, a UK 470 Olympian kindly pointed this out. He has provided the correct method which is copied below in bold.
Everybody knows that it is the wind direction vs the line direction that...
Excerpts from an interview with highly accomplished Dinghy through to Maxi Yacht sailor and North Sails sailmaker Michael Coxon. Sails -The controls and Their effects.
What's the most important sail control and how does that vary from class to class? Sails - the controls and their effects
“The most important sail control for any boat is the sheet tension. Where the...
A Checklist For Successful Trimming
Trimming sails is a challenging crew position that requires knowledge and experience. The trimmer also needs the ability to work with the rest of the crew.
The goal of The Trimmer
The goal of the trimmer is to get the boat to perform at peak efficiency and to use that speed to outsail the competition. A good...
Today, Iim trying something different using screenshots to give a Guide To Changing Gears. I hope you enjoy it.
Dave Dellenbaugh has been giving sailors the benefit of his boundless sailing knowledge for over two decades. He uses an easy-to-follow format through his "Speed and Smarts" newsletters.
Visuals rather than longwinded explanations do a better job explaining the sometimes baffling concepts...
Most sailors know that modern sails perform much like an aeroplane wing and that's the way sails work to windward.
Because of the way that a sail is curved, and because of the angle of attack when trimmed properly, the air passing over the leeward side speeds up in comparison to the air passing over the windward side.
It is the...
