Sail trim settings for beating

fobos8

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Hi everyone

I do the foredeck on a couple of boats, and I'm trying to improve my knowledge and skills at main and jib trim.

I went out in a dinghy yesterday and had a blast. I just wanted to check on trim setting for beating.

The conditions were around 10-13 knots, with tiny amount of chop.

For pointing I sheeted the jib as hard as I could, put on as much vang as possible, pulled in as much outhaul as I could and sheeted in the main so it was as centred as possible.

Are these the correct settings for pointing/beating?

Cheers, Fobos
 

RJJ

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Hi everyone

I do the foredeck on a couple of boats, and I'm trying to improve my knowledge and skills at main and jib trim.

I went out in a dinghy yesterday and had a blast. I just wanted to check on trim setting for beating.

The conditions were around 10-13 knots, with tiny amount of chop.

For pointing I sheeted the jib as hard as I could, put on as much vang as possible, pulled in as much outhaul as I could and sheeted in the main so it was as centred as possible.

Are these the correct settings for pointing/beating?

Cheers, Fobos
Not a million miles off.

But better is to start by understanding what you are trying to achieve in different modes. All boats have a design wind, often around 10-13 knots, at which the ballast/crew/keel is fully deployed and the boat is optimally powered-up. Below that state, and above it, you want different things from your sails. Also in each wind condition you may want to point high or accelerate more.

So.

At design wind in a non-planing dinghy you optimise for pointing. This means your sheeting angle is as close as you can get without stalling the sails and also you reduce twist as much as possible. So sheeting hard is probably right...but how much is hard? As hard as you can and still have flow over both sails and foils. Refer to leech tell-tales.

I could go on. Best advise is to read selected chapters of bethwaites high performance sailing. You're asking for a quick answer "use lots of kicker" when actually it sounds as though you want to understand the effect of the kicker on mainsail twist, the effect of twist on the power and behaviour of the rig, and the effect of the rig on the boat in different conditions. It's a wonderful subject and I hope you enjoy it.
 

dunedin

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Regarding the dinghy, what type was it? Optimum settings will vary depending on type of boat - some go best to windward sheeted in tight and pointing high. Some, particularly trapeze boats, may want to use fuller sails and sail lower, seeking to plane upwind when breeze up.
 

TLouth7

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Often with dinghies it is possible to sheet the jib in too hard so it is completely flat. That might be the right answer for max pointing in perfectly flat water but it will give too little drive in any other conditions. Cracking the sheet off ~1cm often results in a much better shape.

The main of a dinghy being much bigger than the jib means that you don't tend to sheet it in as far as you would on a yacht - typically the boom should be anywhere from a couple of degrees below the centreline to near the end of the transom, depending on the boat and the conditions.

The three sail controls (kicker, cunningham, outhaul) are used together to create the desired mainsail shape. As a simplistic approach you have them all on enough that you can keep the boat flat when fully hiking, but no more. The balance between the three affects the shape of the sail - if you have creases in any one direction then the balance is off.
 

fobos8

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many thanks guys for the replies. FYI the dinghy was a RS Feva.

I'll have a read of the recommended literature.

People I've spoken to about correct trim for beating say things like sheet in hard, get the vang on tight etc etc, whack the outhaul on.

Thing is how do you know when you've sheeted in the jib or main the correct amount, got the correct amount on vang on etc. Is it just a case of looking at the tell tales?
 

mrming

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many thanks guys for the replies. FYI the dinghy was a RS Feva.

I'll have a read of the recommended literature.

People I've spoken to about correct trim for beating say things like sheet in hard, get the vang on tight etc etc, whack the outhaul on.

Thing is how do you know when you've sheeted in the jib or main the correct amount, got the correct amount on vang on etc. Is it just a case of looking at the tell tales?
Best way is to race in a fleet of similar or identical boats. You’ll soon work out what works when you need to catch the others, and you can pick up tips from other sailors.

If you can’t do that, read a trim book as suggested above and spend lots of time in the boat. You’ll soon develop a feel for what the boat likes.
 
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