NotPony wrote:
Feathering can be used to take a 'bite' up wind.
Always sail on the lifted tack. And when you do
get a puff, "ease - hike - trim" are the words to
live by. Generally, a puff is going to stall the
sail. Ease to re-attach the flow, hike to flatten
the boat, trim back in.


Ease to open the leach, yes.

A lot of people simply cleat the mainsheet & ride along, and only ease
when the boat is overpowered to the point of losing steering; that's
more what I meant.

If the boat is balanced & sailing well, close-hauled, and you get a gust
an don't move the tiller... the boat will heel over, the balance will
shift, and the boat will head up on it's own. Then if the gust dies, it
loses heel and the balnace shifts the opposite way... should bear away
back to the course it was on previously. This is not *the* fastest way
to sail, but it's faster than many helmsman can get the boat to windward.


: ... an afternoon of sailing a 14'
crew-ballasted centerboarder in 20
: knots will teach you more than years of sailing
a heavy 30 footer in
: much stronger winds.

Or, try a 17' Thistle.


Same thing

DSK

"DSK" wrote in message
...

:
: A lot of people simply cleat the mainsheet &
ride along, and only ease
: when the boat is overpowered to the point of
losing steering; that's
: more what I meant.
:
: If the boat is balanced & sailing well,
close-hauled, and you get a gust
: an don't move the tiller... the boat will heel
over, the balance will
: shift, and the boat will head up on it's own.
Then if the gust dies, it
: loses heel and the balnace shifts the opposite
way... should bear away
: back to the course it was on previously. This is
not *the* fastest way
: to sail, but it's faster than many helmsman can
get the boat to windward.
:

The kids all complain when we take their rudders
off, but at the end of the day, the ones who could
sail the course without a rudder are the one who
win.
:

DSK wrote:
NotPony wrote:

Feathering can be used to take a 'bite' up wind.
Always sail on the lifted tack. And when you do
get a puff, "ease - hike - trim" are the words to
live by. Generally, a puff is going to stall the
sail. Ease to re-attach the flow, hike to flatten
the boat, trim back in.


Ease to open the leach, yes.
When you get a puff, the apparent wind moves back (lift) because boat
speed becomes less as a percentage of true wind speed so you ease to
properly trim then hike to keep her flat then come up to the same
apparent wind as before. Most puffs can be seen as lifts.

A lot of people simply cleat the mainsheet & ride along, and only ease
when the boat is overpowered to the point of losing steering; that's
more what I meant.

If the boat is balanced & sailing well, close-hauled, and you get a gust
an don't move the tiller... the boat will heel over, the balance will
shift, and the boat will head up on it's own. Then if the gust dies, it
loses heel and the balnace shifts the opposite way... should bear away
back to the course it was on previously. This is not *the* fastest way
to sail, but it's faster than many helmsman can get the boat to windward.


: ... an afternoon of sailing a 14'
crew-ballasted centerboarder in 20
: knots will teach you more than years of sailing
a heavy 30 footer in
: much stronger winds.

Or, try a 17' Thistle.


Same thing

DSK