To install alarian

There are two factors that influence leeway. One of the most important is boat speed. Think of gently putting your foot into a pool. There is almost no resistance. Now do the same off the high dive. There is lots of resistance.

The faster your boat goes the more resistance there is to side slipping. So first you have to get speed, then you point. Sail trim affects the amount of helm on the rudder when sailing up wind. A little bit of rudder angle is actually beneficial, since our underwater foils are symmetrical. Use your tiller extension, even if you are sitting in the cockpit. The cramp in your fingers will be your first clue that you are not trimmed correctly. Think of the bottom of the wing as your boom.

So, one of the challenges of sailing an Alerion upwind is to get those lift arrows pointing as far forward as possible, without sacrificing pointing.

The reason we sail faster on a reach is because those arrows are aiming further forward as the boom is eased from the centerline. So, here are a few basic tips:. The conventional wisdom does not apply. So, never sail the boat with the traveler centered. As a result, the force vectors on the lower parts of the main are facing further forward.

A key thing to remember is that you do NOT want to change the angle of attack of the top third of the main, only the bottom two-thirds, hence the relatively tighter mainsheet. The big difference is that there is no overlapping jib to keep you from letting the traveler down. So, you benefit by getting the force vectors facing further forward on the lower parts of the sail and thereby reducing leeway.

The backstay allows you to control the power in the main. More backstay tension will yield a flatter and therefore less powerful main. If you have helm and your telltales are indicating that the sails are not stalled, pull in on the backstay!

Likewise, when sailing, as the apparent wind increases, you need a flatter wing sail in order to reduce lift. Too much lift translates into excessive heeling and helm on a sailboat.

See the diagram below:. As you pull on the backstay, you bend the mast. As the mast bends, the main will get significantly flatter, there by reducing lift. The photos immediately below show what happens to the mainsail with the identical amount of mast bend.

The jib outhaul allows you to control the twist of the jib and therefore the slot between the main and the jib. The slot needs to stay open to promote good air flow between the main and the jib.

The aft end of the jib boom should never be more than an inch or two inside the edge of the cabin top. If it is you are guaranteed slow. Just like the main: You want to keep the lift vectors facing forward.

Apparent Wind. There is a common misconception that there is not much you can do about the wind. While we do not have the ability to play god and turn 4 knots into 15, we do have the ability to tweak the wind, just a bit.

First, we need to define two types of wind. That part is pretty simple. Think of the difference between walking into a stiff breeze and walking with the breeze. Please look at the diagram below:. For simplicity, the diagram above, assumes that the boat speed will remain constant. In real life, an increase in Apparent Wind Speed will almost always result in an increase in boat speed, which is the goal. As boat speed increases, unless the boat is dead downwind, the Apparent Wind will move forward.

So, what is the practical application of all this? The change in angle alone will give us a bit more Apparent Wind Speed. The real benefit is that with the increase in apparent wind speed, boat speed will also increase, thereby moving the Apparent Wind Angle even further forward. So, you can slowly bear off, until you go too far. Then apparent wind speed will decrease, the apparent wind angle will go aft and you have to start the process all over.

Your tiller movements should be very slow and subtle so as not to have the rudder slow you down. First bear off a tiny bit to build speed. Skip to main content. This browser is no longer supported. Download Microsoft Edge More info.

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