Practice sail from APS
- Thread starter OldDog
- Start date
jeffers
Active Member
Some of the practice sails use a slightly different cloth and as such will trim slightly different to a 'legal' sail (the Intensity for example has more resin in the cloth and lasts longer but requires more cunningham).
In reality it makes no difference in ultimate speed, that is still down to the loose nut attached to the tiller.
In reality it makes no difference in ultimate speed, that is still down to the loose nut attached to the tiller.
There isn't much in the way of extra funds in our sailing budget right now. My son and I have two boats that we race when we can. Neither is new, and like several of the other posts this week, one of our boats is an older one that we are upgrading a piece at a time -a block here, a cleat there. We added some blocks and a swivel to the original vang for a functional 15:1 purchase. The cunningham is 8:1, class legal, and will be finished when the new cleats arrive this week. The outhaul has been a weak point, but we have all the blocks and are just waiting for the new cleats this week and that will be done also.
For sails, we bought 1 new class sail (ouch), found 1 good, lightly used class sail, and our 'practice' sails are old tired laser sails. We can get out on the water and practice tacking, jbiing, starts, mark rounding, and general boat handling without much thought about aging an expensive sail, They don't have matching sail numbers either. For now, we're trying to keep our hobby as affordable as possible. New sails aren't in the program this year, but I think another 'practice' sail might be moving up the list. I'm leaning toward the intensity sail, rather than the APS offering because I've heard good things about the sail, but more because they're a lot less expensive. More than just for practice though, our local club racing will look the other way for things like that to encourage more participation.
For sails, we bought 1 new class sail (ouch), found 1 good, lightly used class sail, and our 'practice' sails are old tired laser sails. We can get out on the water and practice tacking, jbiing, starts, mark rounding, and general boat handling without much thought about aging an expensive sail, They don't have matching sail numbers either. For now, we're trying to keep our hobby as affordable as possible. New sails aren't in the program this year, but I think another 'practice' sail might be moving up the list. I'm leaning toward the intensity sail, rather than the APS offering because I've heard good things about the sail, but more because they're a lot less expensive. More than just for practice though, our local club racing will look the other way for things like that to encourage more participation.
torrid
Just sailing
If you're just starting sailing, praticing these techniques will improve your racing more than any sail. Doesn't really matter what sail you use.
That is true to a point, but on the other hand, trying to teach the subtleties of sailing upwind and grasping the fine line between when to point and when to foot is hard to explain with a sail that doesn't have enough shape to be at least a little competitive. Boat handling is most important, but learning boat speed and sail trim are also important.
Rob B
Well-Known Member
New sails are great, but if you don't know how to trim it it's not worth a hoot. If you keep at it long enough you'll learn that sails are like snow flakes. No two are the exact same, (yes even our computer cut class sails).
powergroove
Member
It is easier to trim a new sail....or at least tell that you made a change, whether it was a good one or not
Rob B
Well-Known Member
As long as you know what you're doing. Sailing in 5 knots of breeze with full vang ad outhaul on a new sail is no better than doing it with an old sail.....