Sail Trimming

[dlf]

This is a question for all the sailing experts amongst you. I have an Etap 21i that has a relatively broad beam, flat bottom and shallow keel. This means that if the boat heels to any excess, it loses grip when sailing to windward. I would like to know which is the most efficient way of counteracting excessive heel. Am I best to simply ease off the mainsheet or will reefing the mainsail be more effective. I am perhaps mistaken in thinking that if I reef the main, I am losing the sail profile to such an extent that the sails efficiency would be no better than simply easing the mainsheet. It is of course much easier and quicker to adjust the mainsheet to suit the conditions of the moment.

Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks

 

[vyv_cox]

Does the mainsheet have a traveller? Travelling out is more effective than easing the sheet, as the sail shape is maintained but the sail can be feathered as required.

 

[dlf]

Unfortunately, I don't have a mainsheet traveller.

 

[Leighb]

If you are only having to ease the main for the occasional gust then that is probably best, or use the traveller, however if you find you are easing the main a lot of the time then a well set reef will be far more efficient.

I do not know the Etap, but I expect it is a modern shape which is not happy once it heels too far and needs to be kept more upright than a heavier displacement long keeled yacht.

 

[flaming]

Unfortunately, I don't have a mainsheet traveller.

With no traveller the kicker becomes very important.

Do you have an adjustable backstay? If so this should be at max tension before you start easing the sheet.
So tension outhall, kicker, halyard and cunningham (if you have it) before easing sheet or reefing.

It's easy to forget the jib in these situations, but don't forget to tension the jib halyard, and move the car back as the breeze increases.

 

[wotayottie]

I had a fractional boat with the same sort of problem - a bilge keel,Hunter 26. There was no complete answer - you just had to accept that the boat wasnt designed for strong winds. Howevere I found the backstay was a godsend - cranking up on bacstay tension and bending the top bit of the mast rapidly de powered the mainsail.

try also using the flattening reef and main halyard tension to flatten the sail. Your boat will sail faster when upright so reef the main to match the wind conditions and leave the jib alone until you have balance problems.

and dont try to point too high.

 

[dt4134]

Just to add that if your heeling excessively or the hull form is contributing to weather helm beyond a certain angle of heel, and you've done all that Flaming suggests, don't forget to look at the size of the headsail. Change down, or furl a bit away.

It's non-intuitive that a headsail will contribute to weather helm, but on some boats it is an important factor.

I'd even go as far as experimenting with a storm jib and a heavily flattened full main.

If you have the energy & inclination try keeping the mainsheet uncleated and held in your hands and actively play it through each wave. That's what they mean about the main trimmer steering a boat to windward rather than the helm.

 

[Twister_Ken]

It's not just sail size, but sail shape. By adjusting control tensions (generally, upwards) you can take camber, and thus power, out of a sail. However, if the sails are stretched, there's little you can do except, this winter, take them into a sailmaker and ask if they can be recut to be flatter.

 

[bedouin]

In general if you are healing too much and the sails are correctly trimmed then you are carrying too much sail so you should reef. In most cases reefing the main should have no impact on the efficiency of the shape of the remaining section and so is preferable to letting the traveller down (or the equivalent in your case).

If you are temporarily over powered then easing the main, easing the kicker and so on can keep you upright in a gust.

 

[ReggieK]

For my Etap 21i I got a sailmaker to measure up and supply, for strong winds, a no. 2 and with this sail up and main reefed she sails beautifully, with no major heel. I also got a no. 1 which is battened and properly measured for the boat and this helps greatly upwind, compared to the genoa which came with boat from new.
I also have the mast well bent which also helps upwind.
However, with the "revolutionary" tandem keel you will always struggle to get upwind as close as the likes of the bene 21.7

 

[phildowney]

sailing to windward in a blow

hi
whilst most cruising sailors will reef at a certain point racers have a problem .

when they round the windward mark and put up the spinnaker the apparent wind drops by about 8 knots so the reef needs to come out. in practice on a well set up boat no one reefs until they have to and will go from light genoa down to a #3 before they even consider it.

a well cut #3 jib , full hoist and non overlapping is ideal for upwind in most conditions over 17 knots and the emphasis on a good sail here is deliberate, a blade type sail such as a #3 is high aspect and needs to have the draft in the right place this is quite a big ask on a dacron sail and and on a racer this is the sail to spend the money on and go hi tech since a bad one wont point.
the main should be flattened and the mainsheet or if one exists traveller eased when the helmsman asks in the gusts

it is important to have good sails and to have the jib car settings right at previous people have said.

a baggy main or the car miles out can make an otherwise nice boat fight you ... when you sort the car position out or whatever the difference can be staggering
applying this racing practice to a cruising boat, the first thing to do is look at the jib. the main dosent matter in strong winds since it is just a trim tab and dosent do much providing its flat and eased down the track.i would approach it by asking myself the following/

is the jib the right size?

is the draft blown to the back so bad that no ammount of halyard tension will pull it forwards where it should be?
if so a new sail or a recut is first port of call

are the tracks in the right place and do you check the car is in the right place as you sail?

( all telltales should lift together as you luff in moderate winds and in strong winds bring the car a bit further back to twist the leech off to depower the top of the sail but not so far that it flaps which will kill the sailcloth)

when the jib is sorted out i would turn my attention to the main

is the main full enough for power in light winds but still able to be got nice and flat when it blows?

are all the usual controls set up so the shape of the main can be changed at will ?

now and only now i would think about fitting a decent traveller, harken if you can afford it. it will make the main controllable way after you normally reef and will be useful for controlling mainsail shape across the wind range, this is a luxury item it costs a lot of money but it does make life a lot easier . or you can reef , not quite as fast or convenient but a hell of a lot cheaper

have fun

phil