Heavy Air Sail Trim Question

T

TimClark

New Member
Well, today my dad was talking to a guy after the races about heavy air sailing upwind. The guy was saying that he was letting out the sheet in the puffs and then my Dad said it was better to keep it 2 blocked and feather ever so slightly...So the grand question comes up, who is right?

Tim
 
the director of the U.S Sailing center in martin county heard from the masters clinic that was held there that it is better to foot and let your sail out a little bit and keep the boat flat than to heel and feather. this is because what you make up in speed you recover in distance.
 
Keep the vang on super tight and let out the sheet. The sail will go out but not up. This will dump enough wind to flatten you out then pull it back in. Feathering works okay in flat water but rarely is the water flat if it is so windy you can't keep it flat. Best thing to do is hit the gym and muscle the boat flat
 
In Ben Ainslies book it says not to feather but to ease the sheet and bear away a bit when a gust hits. This is because when you feather you lose power and so can get knocked back by the waves, but if you ease and bear away you maintain the power and so can still climb over the waves
 
Always ease in the puffs unless you have the weight and muscle to keep it flat and powered when 2 blocked.
 
I've used both & unless the waves are stopping me quick gentle luff followed by extra hike to bear away as wind dies works for me. As a gust comes there should be a tendency for the apparent to swing aft & your object is to climb the ladder upwind. Bethwaites diag seems to recommend both. The most important is to react before the boat heels & tell you where yer goin.Choice , workout or save yourself for the workout'n fun on the reach.
 
I agree with ceweed, but also remember that every time you pinch you are basically turning into the wind and changing the gust from working for you to working against you.

which supports all the more the ease/flat theory.
 
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