Bluffer's Guide to Sail Trim

[Silkie]

I will shortly be crewing on a jaunt across the Western Approaches. A well-found vessel, convivial crew and the chance to tell the grandchildren I sailed to the Fastnet Rock - all well and good. However I understand that the skipper in question is a bit of a demon for the last quarter knot.

I've clearly left it a bit late to significantly advance my real knowledge of sail trim but hoped that peppering my conversation with a few well-chosen phrases might convey the impression that I know what I'm talking about.

Can anyone help?

[Nick]

Having just been taught for five days by a master tweaker and demon for sail trim I can offer the following basic hints:

a) Try to find out what all the relevant bits of string do and memorise them. The leads may be wildly eccentric and the colour coding imcomprehensible. The boat I have just come off, for example, had double line reefing led to coachroof jammers as follows:

First reef: For'ard line port, aft starboard
2nd reef: Aft line port, for'ard line starboard
3rd reef: Both lines starboard

Best if in doubt to ask "that's the yellow one?" rather than suddenly dropping the main under the impression you are slacking off the topping lift . . . (substitute any number of embarrassing scenarios here).

b) Don't put the kicker on when close hauled, but get it on once the boom end is outboard. "kicker on" or "kicker off". They may call it the vang.

c) When close-hauled or close-reaching use the traveller to adjust the luff of the main to the luff of the jib rather than using the mainsheet. Commands might be "come up on the traveller a bit" or "ease the traveller down".

d) Watch the jib telltales - these are your main guide to sail trim. They should be flying horizontally. Aft telltale is the most important.

Main telltales - make sure they are all flying - if only the bottom ones or only the top ones are then the twist in the sail needs to be adjusted (with the mainsheet when close hauled or close reaching then using the kicker when the boom end is outboard)

e) Don't harden the sails up too much when close hauled or close reaching.

f) If there is a call for the spinnaker, perhaps it would be best to make an appropriate excuse and go and hide in the heads until the kite is up . . . then come back and surreptitiously check out where all the bits of string go. On one boat I have heard about the Cruising Chute is know as the 'Shouting Chute' . . .

Hope this helps. Have fun . . .

- Nick

[Silkie]

Thanks Nick, and all the more valuable coming from a Yachtmaster. Congratulations on your recent advancement to this elevated level. Of course, we all knew the actual exam was just a formality!

Dave

PS - Why should you not use the kicker when close-hauled?

[Nick]

The boom is held down by the mainsheet when sailing close hauled or close reaching. It is only when the boom goes outboard and the mainsheet car is at the end of the traveller that you need the kicker to prevent the boom lifting and to maintain the right amount of sail twist.

If you put the kicker on as soon as you hoist the main (as many people do) then you lose the fine control of the mainsail shape that you get with the mainsheet when the boom is inboard.

So - when close-hauled or close-reaching, the angle of attack of the mainsail is controlled with the traveller while the twist is controlled with the mainsheet.

Once the boom is outboard the mainsheet can no longer be used efficiently to control the twist, so the kicker is put on to stop the boom lifting.

Or at least, that's the theory as I understand it . . .

With some boats where the mainsheet is nearer the centre of the boom than the end then the kicker may be largely superflous on most points of sail.