Draft in the sail

[Charles Howard]

I follow the Eduardo setup Halyard location: 106"-107", Gooseneck 14" or 16”, enough outhaul tension to remove wrinkles, and I try not to over sheet. I have a new sail with tell tales, have good boat speed, but need just a little more. I sail against some very good racers. I can sail with them most of the time but I can not feel where the draft is in the sail. I know if I could feel this I could adjust to keep the power and speed up.

 

[chris williams]

It isn't possible to feel where the draft is. You can only see it by observing the sail. That said, there is not a lot of need to move the draft in a Sunfish sail. There is more to speed than draft. There are waves, keeping the boat flat, steering efficiently, clean air, not pinching or footing too much, etc. It is hard to diagnose via a message board - you would probably improve fastest if you ask the other racers to observe you and provide tips. Good luck!

 

[JohnCT]

Read the tuning article on "windline.net"
I think you have the sail too tight. And if you don't have an outhaul or cunningham rigged. Try it, it helps.

You can set up the sail looser on the spars for maximum power in light air, and fine tune when things pick up a little.