tell-tales

[chappy]

I would just like some advice from any budding sailer about tell-tales.
I can get them to stream correctly on either side of the sail on a close hauled to a beam reach, but as soon as i come on to a broad reach to a dead run they have a mind of there own, is this because they are not effective on these two pionts of sail.
I have tried to ease the genoa out & i have tried to sheet the genoa in but the tell-tales still dance around!.
I do have a book on sail trim, but it does not say anything about the tell-tales on these two points of sailing, but i am led to believe that they are not effective but only on a beam to a close reach.
Please help, i'm a bit confused?

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[extravert]

What you say is right. The further off the wind you get the less effective they become. Deep than an apparent wind beam reach they don't help much, especially in light winds. By the time you have come round to a run, when the sail is acting more like a parachute than an aerofoil, they don't really work at all.

<hr width=100% size=1>Summer is what you expect - rain is what you get.

 

[AlexL]

I find the same. Basically the tell tales are telling you that you have non turbulent flow over both sides of the sail when it is acting as an aerofoil, i.e from close hauled up to somewhere around a beam reach.
When the wind is aft of the beam the sail is acting more like a bag to catch the wind and therefore will not have 'flow' over both sides but just air blowing into it. Obviously there is a transition period from these 2 states, but I find that on a broad reach the tell tales do not work. Also according to my sail trim book, the theoretical location for the sheet lead when on a broad reach is well outboard of the toe rail - which is obviously not possible, so some of the issue could be down to the sail having incorrect twist because it cannot be sheeted correctly.

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[MarkV]

I'm with the other two, into wind the sail setup is all about aerodynamics, smooth air flow, minimising drag. with the wind behind it is the opposite, catch the wind and hang on to it, maximise drag because it's the drag that's pulling you along, therefore lots of disturbed air and the tell tails shouldn't be flying, if they do you're doing it wrong.

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[racingron]

Tricky. On anything up to a beam reach you should be able to get them flying.

You need to rig an outboard lead (the spinnaker guy/sheet will work here if you have one) but also keep the genoa sheet on.

You then use the outboard lead to keep the clew outside of the boat and (if on a fetch) the sheet to control the leech (move the genoa sheet car forward to keep leech tension on - otherwise the upper leech will twist off way too much).

As stated before for broader than that it's hard and you should go to a cruising chute of kite or pole out the Genoa.

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[chappy]

Thankyou for all your advice, it has clarified a lot of things for me.

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[pcb]

Here is a good link on tell tales

http://www.wb-sails.fi/news/95_11_Tellingtales/Tellingtales.html

Regards

P

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[chappy]

Cheers pcb i shall log in & have a look.

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[ex-Gladys]

Close hauled is easy for tell tales because the sail is basically in one plane. As soon as you ease it (particularly jib) it twists - i.e. the top "eases out" more than the bottom. The solution is to reduce the twist in the sail. From my Tornado Cat days, that meant not easing the mainsheet as we bore off, but just easing the traveller. A mono hull is not so simple, since it is harder to get a large downward force to hold the boom down as it goes beyond the boat side.

The jib needs a barber hauler. Run the sheet through a block attached to a line and lead the line somewhere appropriate forwardf on the gunwhale. AS you go off wind, pull the block down to the gunwhale and you reduce the twist in jib.

<hr width=100% size=1>Larry Botheras

Anderson 26 "Amber"