goeasy123
Active member
Why don't the put telltales on the trailing edge of genoas?... like the ones on mainsails.
Telltales on Gennys
- Thread starter goeasy123
- Start date
flaming
Well-known member
They do…
Rappey
Well-known member
Some also have them across the sail.
Not sure I would want them as I don't need something visual to show me how bad I'm sailing !
Not sure I would want them as I don't need something visual to show me how bad I'm sailing !
[194224]
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The leech of a foresail can get quite a lot of harsh treatment during even the smoothest of tacks. There can be quite a bit of flogging and as it passes the mast one way then the other the telltales can get a bit of treatment.
vyv_cox
Well-known member
It's the leading edge of the genoa that lifts first. If the boat is pinching the forward telltales are streaming up but trailing ones are still flowing.
flaming
Well-known member
Leach telltales do a different job. They’re telling you if the flow is still attached as it reaches the back of the sail.
NormanS
Well-known member
Well, why don't you? It's not rocket science to sew some bits of ribbon onto a sail.
Stemar
Well-known member
And if you can't be bothered to sew, just get stick-on ones.
Force 4 Set of Sail Tell-Tales | Force 4 Chandlery
Force 4 Set of Sail Tell-Tales | Force 4 Chandlery
TLouth7
Active member
A genuine question - is it even possible for the leach to be separated without a separation bubble at the luff?
You need leach telltales on a mainsail because the luff is so affected by the genoa/slot that luff telltales would tell you nothing useful.
Spirit (of Glenans)
Well-known member
The ones across the sail come into use when you have reefed/ partly furled the genoa.
It's quite easy, after a bit of practice, to trim the sails with the help of the telltales.
The trick is, you then, observing the telltales, either steer to the wind shifts, or continually trim to maintain a steady course.
Minerva
Well-known member
Surely leach tell-tails on a Genoa wouldn't last particularly well - even when the sail is furled away, the tell tails would still be blowing in the wind and eroding away...
flaming
Well-known member
Oh very much so. If, for example, you are too car forwards then the top leach telltale will not be flying as the flow might enter the sail ok but will be asked to do too much by the sail and stall, resulting in turbulent flow and drag. In upwind the leach telltales are for the trimmer to gauge the twist and the slot (in conjunction with the main trimmer) the luff telltales are for the driver to point the boat properly.
Robin
Well-known member
I had much more difficulty with getting leech telltales on the main all streaming in tune but did the best I could, top one was a the usual bugger.
flaming
Well-known member
That's actually what you want. A good main trimmer, in upwind mode, wants that top telltale streaming only part of the time. The ratio of streaming to not depending on if you are in height mode or power mode. A good rule of thumb for best VMG is that you want it flying 80% of the time.
If you're going for max height for tactical reasons, giving up a bit of speed and VMG, then squeeze the sheet until you get to maybe 50% of the time streaming.
Once you're not trying to point, i.e you're close reaching, then look for almost always flying. In any sort of chop you'll be unlikely to get always flying as the motion of the boat is amplified at the top of the rig and can whip the top of the sail forwards and backwards, but if it's mostly flying then you're good.
If you're struggling to get the top telltale to fly once you are reaching, then try easing the kicker. Also pay attention to which way it is going when stalling. Lying on the windward side of the sail means you are under trimmed, Lying on the leeward side of the sail means you are over trimmed.
johnalison
Well-known member
This is all very good stuff but although I pay attention to the leach telltales I can't usually be bothered with the jib ones. I can't see them from the helm unless I sit downwind and peer up at the sail, which is not the most comfortable position to be in with a tiller. My boat, an HR 34, is not as sensitive to jib adjustment as its 340 successor, and I have learn how to set it in most winds well enough that I can judge the sheeting from the helm with only the occasional visit down to look at it.
goeasy123
Active member
OP here. I just ask as I'm watching yachts with bejezus big genoas sailing across the Ionian with a ton of drag slowing them down.
blush2
Active member
My thought exactly. Tell tails on the main have a limited life.
BobnLesley
Well-known member
Exactly! When our mainsail ones faded/eroded I cut away the remnants with the intention of replacing them, then didn't bother; it removed an awful lot of the frustration and aggravation from sailing.
Daydream believer
Well-known member
You mean that you cannot be bothered to set the sail properly. That is a bit of a poor admission to make, on a sailing forum. But to each his own I suppose
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Is it that hard to replace them after every 150 days of sailing?
