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Sail Trim and Shape Nick Turney
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Topics to be covered Different Types of Sails Sail Trim/Controls
Downwind Sails
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GOAL #1 – Boat Speed- Cruising or Racing, we all like to go fast!
How is it achieved – BALANCE! No Helm Sail Set Up Sail Trim Selecting the proper sail for the conditions
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Different Types of Sails
Cruising Racing Club Sails Heavy Boats vs. Lighter Boats
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DIFFERENT SAILS FOR DIFFERENT BOATS
Some boats are very fast and easily driven and sail with very straight exits on the sails as a result.
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Some boats are larger and require a more powerful sail plan and set up
Some are heavy, sluggish and need rounder, more powerful sails. Some boats are larger and require a more powerful sail plan and set up
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Different boats and sail plans demand different sail shapes- the J/24 sails best with a draft forward straight exit design but sheeted very hard
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The Thistle sails fastest with draft aft round exit shape mainsail.
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Some jibs setup on straight forestays with little sag.
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Some sail with a great deal of sag, such as this Kevlar laminated T ten jib.
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No matter what type of boat or sails you have you always have the ability to change the sails shape and set up
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Mainsail Trim
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Mainsail controls Main Sheet Halyard Traveler Cunningham Outhaul Vang
Backstay
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Main Sheet What does the Main Sheet do? Controls Leech Tension
Pointing Ability Overall Power of The Sail
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Mainsail Trim The upper telltale is an excellent indication of mainsail twist When the telltale stalls the mainsail is overtrimmed, when it flows the mainsheet tension is correct
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Basic Rule - Mainsail upwind
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Mainsail Trim Oversheeting the mainsheet will close the leech, increasing weather helm and making the bow want to point up Easing the mainsheet opens the leech and decrease weather helm, making the boat easier to sail straight
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Mainsail Trim The mainsail is over trimmed when the telltale curls to leeward Slight over trim on the main puts the boat into point mode
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Main Halyard What does it do? Entry angle Draft position
Loose halyard= draft aft Tight halyard= draft foward
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Main Halyard NO BUMPS
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Traveler The traveler changes power in the mainsail by changing the angle to the wind The traveler will also affect pointing ability
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Traveler Adjust to keep help neutral Up in light air
Down as the breeze builds
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Cunningham Draft forward is a better heavy air shape, keeping the leech more open to depower Draft aft is a better light air shape, firming the leech for power
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J/24 mainsail - 10 knots true wind speed
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camber 16.7% 16.2% 13.1% draft 47.4% 42.8% 42.4%
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camber 16.4% 15.8% 12.5% draft 46.1% 41.2% 37.7%
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camber 15.6% 14.7% 11.5% draft 42.0% 37.8% 35.7%
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camber 13.9% 13.0% 10.1% draft 36.2% 34.6% 35.9%
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Controls shape in lower aft part of main
Outhaul Controls shape in lower aft part of main
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Outhaul A loose outhaul makes the bottom of the main fuller for more power A tight outhaul flattens the bottom of the sail and opens the lower leech
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tight outhaul 10 mph camber 8.4% 9.5% 6.0% mainsheet length constant
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20mm looser outhaul camber 9.1% 10.3% 6.8% 10 mph
mainsheet length constant
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40mm looser outhaul camber 9.5% 10.8% 7.4% 10 mph
mainsheet length constant
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60mm looser outhaul camber 10.0% 11.4% 8.2% 10 mph
mainsheet length constant
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80mm looser outhaul camber 10.2% 11.9% 9.1% 10 mph
mainsheet length constant
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Mainsail Trim Light Air Moderate Outhaul Loose Cunningham off
Vang Loose Backstay, loose Traveler up to boom on C/L. Mainsheet- Top Batten parallel Moderate Outhaul Max Cunningham loose Vang Snug, no slack Backstay, adjust power to keep boat flat Traveler, keep boat flat Mainsheet top parallel or slightly open
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Mainsail Trim Heavy Air Outhaul Max Cunningham, no wrinkles
Vang very firm Backstay on hard Traveler, down, below C/L Mainsheet, top batten open degrees
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Headsail Trim
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Headsail Trim Low aspect headsails sheet at an angle nearly bisecting the leech and foot High aspect sails sheet more directly up the leech Moving the lead forward will close the leech for power, moving it aft will open the leech to depower
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Headsail Trim Proper trim allows the wind to flow evenly on both sides of the sail, telltales flow aft Overtrimming stalls the windflow on the backside of the sail, creating vortices that spin the telltale
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Set sail same distance off spreader and base
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J22 Jib Good Set Up
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J22 Jib too tight
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Headstay Sag 1. Headstay sag increases depth in the headsail to add power 2. Sag can be controlled through backstay and shroud tension 3. Sag controls sail entry, deep for chop, fine for flat water
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Sail depth is controlled by headstay tension or mastbend.
Flatter Fuller
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Match Profiles
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Spinnaker Trim
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Spinnaker Trim A full shape is more stable and good for power in chop or when pumping A flatter shape provides more exposed area and is most effective in flat water
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Spinnaker Trim A high pole flattens out the top of the spinnaker and depowers the leeches A lower pole stabilizes the spinnaker and makes it easier to fly As a rule the clews should be equal height
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Spinnaker Trim Pole too high flattens the luff and moves the draft aft, closing the leech 2. Lowering the pole moves the draft forward and opens the leech
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Notice the different shapes due to the different pole heights…
These are the same design of spinnaker!!
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Spinnaker Trim As a rule, the spinnaker pole should be square to the wind Over squaring the pole means oversheeting the spinnaker
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Spinnaker Trim Lead forward tightens the leech and powers the foot with increased depth 2. Lead aft opens the leech and flattens the foot
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Asymetric
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Asymetric Tack line controls the luff tension and shape
Looser tack- rounder luff Tighter luff= less power
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Downwind Trim Too little vang allows too much twist and flattens the top of the main, depowering the sail Vang on decreases twist and makes the top of the main deeper and more powerful
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