Tag Archive for: Sail Trim

Luffing and sheeting in

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This animation below shows a dinghy that is sailing at about 45 deg to the wind. The sail is luffing (flapping) because it has been let out too far. When you sheet in, the sail will stop luffing and begin to drive the boat forward. Click on the “sheet in” button to see more about […]

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Points of Sail

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This is a points of sail animation for teaching kids how to sail a dinghy. This animation will be in our upcoming dinghy sailing ibook.

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How to Pull on a Line

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Here’s a quicky sailing tip that isn’t documented in too many places. And you might think it’s a bit basic but I’ve even seen old time sailing instructors doing this the wrong way. One day their luck is going to run out. Fortunately we got to you just in time. I was out racing last […]

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Do YOUR Job

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Yesterday we were out racing in our local sailing regatta. At the end of any regatta race we always have a debriefing on what we could have done better. Turns out this one works especially well in our work lives as well and so that was the topic of conversation over a few beers afterward. […]

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Leeway and a Bottle of Rum

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Leeway is just one of those things that is a law of the universe that we have to put up with. It’s just like gravity. Still with gravity – the advantage is that it’s highly predictable. And so then is leeway. Leeway is the sideways slip motion of our sailboat downwind from the pressure of […]

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Stopping Rounding Up Dead in it’s Tracks

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Rounding up is caused by many factors. One is too much wind and force aloft which tends to heel the boat over. This reduces the amount of rudder in the water and thus the rudder’s effectiveness. Another factor in rounding up is the center of pressure of wind on the sails is too far aft […]

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Trim the main sail

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When learning to sail the main thing we’re excited about doing is getting the boat moving, but as we become more advanced, we really want to understand the different forces on the boat and maximize the efficiency. Proper understanding of sail trim can help us achieve that. This post is a good example of exactly […]

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