Walt wrote:
I don't know that I am either, but here's my $.02:

Most of the time you just set the traveler in the middle, and trim the
mainsheet as needed. With the traveler in the middle, sheeting the
sail all the way in brings the boom to the centerline - probably over
trimmed for most situations, so it's rare to sheet in all the way when
the traveler is in the middle.

Somewhat agreed, but you're not going to centerline the boom with the
traveler in the middle. Even if the sheet is pulled very tight, you'll
have to pull the traveller up at least a little bit to get the boom on
centerline.

The thing to remember is that the relative angle of the sail to the boat
is what's important. Always look up past the boom... the top batten is a
good indicator...


With the traveler let down somewhat ( a dozen cm for a dinghy,more for a
boat your size) as you sheet in hard the boom doesn't come all the way
to the centerline - it only comes in as far as the traveler position.
At that point, sheeting in harder doesn't pull the boom in - it pulls it
down, flattening the mainsail, bending the mast, and depowering the rig.

So I view the traveler as a way to depower when beating in higher winds.

Right... the traveller lets the main out without letting the upper
section get all floppy. The important thing here is that easing the
traveller instead of the sheet keeps the twist constant, and for
fractional rigs and/or backstayless rigs (like dinghies) it keeps the
jib luff tension more consistant.


Pulling the boom all the way to the centerline is probably over trimming
in most situations, so letting the traveler down was likely an
improvement, even if you let it down too far.

I dunno, lots of keelboats can carry the boom at or slightly above
centerline. Depends on the conditions and what he was trying to do. If
the boat's not overpowered then letting the traveller down is probably
not the thing to do.

... That said, we're probably
talking about speed differences of a boat-length or two per mile -
vitally important if you're racing, irrelevant if you're not.

I disagree... especially if pointing is an issue. The difference in
speed can be large, and with the effect on pointing, the difference VMG
to windward can be huge... several minutes per mile.


Also, the 8kts was the true wind speed, so we had about 10 over the deck.


8 kts is borderline planing conditions for me. Not light air at all.
Much more (well, twice as much) and effective depowering is the
difference between staying upright and going for a swim.

Here's where it's important to know the individual characteristics of
the boat. Walt, you're singlehanding an Albacore? I don't know much
about Donal's boat, I have raced a Beneteau First 34/7.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King