reaching by the lee?

C

ChalmersP

Member
OK, so here's a good one! If you are going dead downwind, and you do not want to bear away and go by the lee or head up and go by the luff, could you trim in your sail and sail by the leach? I would think it has a better flow over the sail but would it be hard to hold it there? Has anyone tried this?

Well thanks
ChalmersP
 
DK Sailor said:
im pretty sure that wont help
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Well im thinking that if sailing by the lee is faster than DDW, then instead of going DDW you can sheet in your sail and sail by the leach! It sounds like it would work, but i never got a chance to try it today. Ill do my best to do its on Saturday!
 
I had some backward flow when reaching in really light air one day. It was really freaky and confused the sailors that I passed, who weren't moving at all. Not sure I could duplicate it on purpose.
 
I remember doing this sometime in the last 30 years. If you have a long enough mainsheet, you can let out the boom to the bow, almost on the centerline. As long as its not too windy, you can reach and even almost go to weather like this, with the leach leading. Obviously there is serious lee helm, but it can be done.
 
There's some confusion here. Your title is "reaching by the lee" but you say you want to go DDW ?
And isn't "sailing by the leach" or "reverse flow" the definition of "sailing by the lee". The direction you are sailing in isn't part of the definition, just that wind flow over sail is reversed. So if you sail DDW, yes you can sheet in a bit and get reverse flow but I doubt it will be faster than just the usual DDW square sail being pushed. I guess thats why people tend to bear away when by the lee and not sail DDW.
 
If you don't change the angle of the whole boat to the wind the "flow" of the breeze around the mast will not be the same. It's the "flow" of the wind around the sail and mast that makes by the lee faster than ddw. Even when you sail by the lee your sail should still not be out beyond 90 degrees unless it is a drifter and then only enough to get the sail to hold itself out. If you just trim in the sail while going ddw you are only choking it down. Overtrimming the sail while going ddw can be benefitial when it is really blowing, but otherwise you are only going to go slower.
 
The other part of "sailing the angles" that you're missing is that it's not *just* about the angle of the sail to the wind; it's also about the boat through the water and relative to the wind.

When you sail exactly DDW, you are on the heading that gives you absolutely the least possible amount of apparent wind. By heading up (or bearing down by-the-lee) you decrease your angle of motion relative to the wind, and thus create increased "apparent wind."

This is why boats "sail the angles" down wind and this is why the fastest course to the bottom mark is usually not DDW. The lighter the wind, the more you want to sail the angles.
 
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