I think you are missing something. If you are beating against a
southerly wind, then you're heading either SE or SW. If you then turn
180, you'll be on a broad reach heading either NE or NW.

True.

But the plain fact is that there are a lot of things
on boats that have no counterpart in everyday life. If you want to talk
about them, then you need to know the right word(s).

If my wife turned to me in the boat and said "harden up" I'm afraid my only
reply would have to be: "Right here? Right now?" So, why don't you tell me what
it means? I have a feeling it has something to do with sheeting in the main or
jib to keep them from luffing, but I honestly don't know, and as you can see,
it means so much to me.

EdGordonRN wrote:

If my wife turned to me in the boat and said "harden up" I'm afraid
my only reply would have to be: "Right here? Right now?" So, why
don't you tell me what it means? I have a feeling it has something to
do with sheeting in the main or jib to keep them from luffing, but I
honestly don't know, and as you can see, it means so much to me.

Go from a reach to a beat. Opposite of 'bear away'.

Since you have a desire to eschew standard nautical terminology, what would
you call it?


--
Wally
www.forthsailing.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Go from a reach to a beat. Opposite of 'bear away'.

Since you have a desire to eschew standard nautical terminology, what would
you call it?

Hmph. I never knew that. Harden up. We were saying "head up." If we were on a
reach we would say, "head up a little" to change direction into the wind and go
close hauled. So, what does head up mean, then?

EdGordonRN wrote:

Hmph. I never knew that. Harden up. We were saying "head up." If we
were on a reach we would say, "head up a little" to change direction
into the wind and go close hauled. So, what does head up mean, then?

Not sure - it might mean the same thing, or it might mean the same as "luff
up" (point directly into the wind, such that the sails are flapping). Some
things seem to have more than one term, like "helm's a-lee" and "lee-o" for
a tack. My skipper usually says something like, "okay, lads, going now..."
(we're expected to know that our next maneuvre is a tack).

As long as you both understand what a term means, you'll be fine, but there
could be miscommunication if you ever sail with someone else - that's why
there are standard nautical terms.


--
Wally
www.forthsailing.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Wally wrote:
EdGordonRN wrote:

Hmph. I never knew that. Harden up. We were saying "head up." If we
were on a reach we would say, "head up a little" to change direction
into the wind and go close hauled. So, what does head up mean, then?

Not sure - it might mean the same thing,

While they're similar, there's a subtle difference between "head up" and
"harden up".

To head up is to turn the boat to windward. This might be done to
respond to a change in wind direction or speed - i.e. when a puff hits
the apparent wind moves aft allowing you to head up without re-trimming
the sails.

To harden up is go to a higher point of sail. This involves trimming in
the sails and is usually accompanied by a change in direction as well
(heading up). But not always - i.e. if you're on a reach and encounter a
header you might harden up without heading up.

That said, on a dinghy where you're constantly trimming and feathering
anyway it may be a distinction without a difference.

--
//-Walt
//
// http://cagle.slate.msn.com/working/040514/matson.gif

Walt wrote:

To head up is to turn the boat to windward. This might be done to
respond to a change in wind direction or speed - i.e. when a puff hits
the apparent wind moves aft allowing you to head up without
re-trimming the sails.

To harden up is go to a higher point of sail. This involves trimming
in the sails and is usually accompanied by a change in direction as
well (heading up). But not always - i.e. if you're on a reach and
encounter a header you might harden up without heading up.

Aha. Thanks for the explanation.


That said, on a dinghy where you're constantly trimming and feathering
anyway it may be a distinction without a difference.

Yup, I can see that.


--
Wally
www.forthsailing.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

While they're similar, there's a subtle difference between "head up" and
"harden up".

To head up is to turn the boat to windward. This might be done to
respond to a change in wind direction or speed - i.e. when a puff hits
the apparent wind moves aft allowing you to head up without re-trimming
the sails.

To harden up is go to a higher point of sail. This involves trimming in
the sails and is usually accompanied by a change in direction as well
(heading up). But not always - i.e. if you're on a reach and encounter a
header you might harden up without heading up.

That said, on a dinghy where you're constantly trimming and feathering
anyway it may be a distinction without a difference.

http://cagle.slate.msn.com/working/040514/matson.gif


Yes, I understand that. Thanks for clearing it up.

As long as you both understand what a term means, you'll be fine, but there
could be miscommunication if you ever sail with someone else - that's why
there are standard nautical terms

Agreed.

Harden up because the sheets will have to be tightened.

Cheers

EdGordonRN wrote:
Go from a reach to a beat. Opposite of 'bear away'.

Since you have a desire to eschew standard nautical terminology, what would
you call it?


Hmph. I never knew that. Harden up. We were saying "head up." If we were on a
reach we would say, "head up a little" to change direction into the wind and go
close hauled. So, what does head up mean, then?

But the plain fact is that there are a lot of things
on boats that have no counterpart in everyday life. If you want to talk
about them, then you need to know the right word(s).

EdGordonRN wrote:
If my wife turned to me in the boat and said "harden up" I'm afraid my only
reply would have to be: "Right here? Right now?" So, why don't you tell me what
it means? I have a feeling it has something to do with sheeting in the main or
jib to keep them from luffing, but I honestly don't know, and as you can see,
it means so much to me.

Good guess, that is what it means, in conjuction with the helm. This
would be said by a helmsman to let the crew know that he was turning
towards the wind slightly, and to pull the sheets in. Thus it's a
nautical phrase that would only be used in sailing, and it's not phony
at all.

DSK