CHAPTER 10 PAGE 36
Putting it All Together Trimming Tips
Most times when you head up the sails will need to be trimmed in to stop luffing.
Most times that you bear off, let out the sails to stay on the verge of a luff.
Sails work at their maxi- mum efficiency when they are on the verge of a luff.
When broad reaching or running, the sails may lose their ability to luff. Ease the sails out all the way to the shrouds (or perpendicular to the boat) to prevent over- trimming.
Wind
Sail Trim On a beam reach, trim the sails about halfway out–mainsail and jib almost the same– just on the verge of luffing. Keep the telltales streaming straight back. While steering a beam reach course, practice easing out the sheets and trimming them in while watching the telltales for signs of luffing.
When the boat heads up to a close reach, you will notice that your sails start to luff and the windward(inside) telltales flutter. Tis indicates that you need to trim in the sails. Te boat may heel more and the wind may feel stronger. When the boat heads down to a broad reach you will notice that nothing changes in the appearance in the sails. Tey will not start to luff. However, the leeward (outside) telltales may start to flutter, indicating that the sails are trimmed too tightly and not performing efficiently. Proper adjustment for overtrimmed sails means that you need to let out the sails to adjust to the new wind angle. Let the sails out just far enough to luff, then trim back in until the luffing stops and both telltales are streaming. Te boat will heel less, and the wind will feel lighter.
Starting and Stopping Your Boat Te first step in developing sound sailing skills is learning how to start and stop your boat. Starting is really very easy. Your centerboard must be down and the tiller should be centered. Now sheet in the sails just enough to allow the air to start flowing evenly on both sides of the sails. If you are sheeting properly, the telltales on the windward and leeward sides of the sail will flow back smoothly. Steer straight ahead and you are now sailing!
Stopping is just as easy as starting, and there are two ways to
do it. One is to simply ease the sails out until they luff and lose power. Letting the sails luff completely will put you in the safety position. Once in the safety position, you can make crew changes, adjust equipment, or just stop and rest. A second way to stop is to head up by turning the boat directly into the wind (the No-Go Zone). Tis is the preferred way to stop at a dock.
Avoiding Irons
Te boat needs to be moving well and turned fairly quickly to glide through the No-Go zone. Otherwise, the boat will stop in the No-Go Zone, and you will have to get out of irons.
Table of Contents
EASE TO STOP
TRIM TO START
EASE TO STOP
WIND
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