Improving sail trim skills

[kirky1]

Hi guys

I came into sailing quite late, and don't understand much about sail trim, but I'm very keen to learn more about it. I do foredeck on a 40 footer.

I've started sailing dinghy hoping to improve my all round sailing, but more to learn about sail trim. Other than reading books, looking at videos, spending time on the water what can I do? Are there any decent simulators out there?

Many thanks, Kirk

 

[TLouth7]

Hi Kirk. Moving aft on the yacht would certainly help, perhaps ask if you can do a bit of trimming before starts or on training days or casual races?

Even if you are in the pit you can ask the trimmers to talk through what they are doing.

And good move getting into a dinghy, I suggest asking experienced sailors to look over your setup before you go afloat.

 

[ridgy]

I would highly recommend the book Sail and Rig Tuning by Ivor Dedekam. Then try and get out on a sporty boat with newish sails and play. I like to use the autopilot to reduce helm error and play around with one variable at a time.

 

[Ian_Rob]

I happened to be looking at this sail trim simulator yesterday: Downloads - North U

There are some accompanying videos on YouTube.

 

[Dknightsx]

I suggest asking experienced sailors to look over your setup

 

[Ian_Rob]

I happened to be looking at this sail trim simulator yesterday: Downloads - North U

There are some accompanying videos on YouTube.

I was looking at the free PC version and didn’t think it was too bad but having just checked out the iPad version which is £5.99 it gets terrible reviews so perhaps not……??

 

[wannabeeskipper]

I recommend:
- get a position in the cockpit of the yacht (learn by listening/doing)
- try to get a really good understanding of what twist is and why - it feeds back into understanding every other aspect of sail trim.
- you need two sails on your dinghy if you want to be able to apply dinghy learning (which is the best place to learn boat handling, starts and roundings) to a yacht.

 

[creeks]

- try to get a really good understanding of what twist is and why - it feeds back into understanding every other aspect of sail trim.

After many years racing "full-size" of all descriptions I started model yacht racing a few years ago. I've learnt more about twist and other aspects of sail and rig trim in those few years than I ever learnt in "full-size".
I think it's a great way of getting a better understanding of sail trim and rig tuning and it's also a 12 month sport so it provides racing opportunities during the close season for full size racing.
There are clubs all over the country sailing different classes of model yachts and the Model Yachting Association website has all the info:
Model Yachting Association Great Britain
(other than being an ordinary member of the MYA I have no other affiliation etc!)

 

[RJJ]

The Bible remains Bethwaite High Performance Sailing. For a simpler digestible view I remember Lawrie Smith's "Sailpower" being excellent; there may be a more modern version.

I would recommend thinking not in terms of "what shape should it be" but "what effect do I want the sail to have on the boat, and how do I achieve that effect?". Then you can have a sort of mental matrix of the wind modes for any yacht (ultra-light winds, underpowered, design wind, overpowered, survival) against sailing needs (pointing, footing/accelerating, reaching, broad reaching, running "hot" or running "deep").

Can't beat some dinghy sailing. I would try towards something with fewer strings; I cut my teeth in Laser 2s and the like; rather than 505s where the rig tuning can distract from what you're after. You can get a seat-of-pants feel for the effect of the sail on the boat because you hold all the controls and feel the effect within a second or two.