Roger,

[I'm about to expose my ignorance... not letting that stop me!] I've been
sail-racing once a week (for 4 or 5 months a year) for about five years, so
still have much to learn. Others will improve on these preliminary thoughts.

1/ Don't let the sail touch the spreaders even when as close-hauled as
possible.

2/ Under maximum close-hauling in heavy winds, a little backwinding of the
main just along the luff isn't the end of the world. That's not where most
of the propulsion comes from, and other factors may be optimized enough to
counter that "undesirable" one.

3/ A 140 genoa is a big sail for lots of short tacks. It may theoretically
be the "right" sail in light winds, but smaller sails are easier to manage.
How much crew do you carry?

4/ Along those lines, you mention "over-powering." Not the most efficient
(or safe) way to sail a boat.

5/ When you let go the tiller or steering wheel, it is normal for the boat
to round up to wind - and much safer than the converse! Having to hold a
little "weather helm" does add some drag, but I think is considered normal
performance and a good safety design feature.

6/ I'm not sure I understand your further statements (or questions?) about
sail trim, but you're right, it's a big topic. The very general approach is:
everything tighter in heavier winds, looser in lighter, and yet looser in
bigger waves. Then you get into the differences between full and fractional
rigs... :-)

Then, I was sailing with my father-in-law and asked whether I should make
some small adjustment to the jib sheet. He sounded surprised, and said "But,
we're moving..." (He's a cruising - not racing - boater...)

Charles

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====

"Roger Long" wrote in message
news
OK, I’m finally getting far enough ahead of the curve on the basics that I
can start thinking about sail shape. I can see from the replies to my post
on the backstay that I’ve forgotten a lot over 20 years of not sailing
much except in gaffers.

We have an impressive amount of main backwinding despite a wide headsail
sheeting base on our boat. I haven’t been able to fiddle and experiment
much because we are still spending a lot of time short tacking in confined
waters with a lot of traffic and it’s hard to play with sail controls when
new helmskids are wandering all over the place.

Our boat seems to go well with the 140 genoa just touching the spreader
tips and the foot along the lifelines. Is this too tight to expect a
smooth main? By the time the wind is strong enough that I need to ease
her in the puffs, the main is often completely depowered and flogging,
even with the traveler nearly amidships.

Is this the proper prescription for backwinding?

More stay and jib luff tension.

Genoa sheet leads farther aft to ease leech.

Main Cunningham (just added but not used yet)

Maximum vang tension to detwist main.

I’ve done some Googeling for "sail trim" but it sounds like there’s much
to be learned here.

BTW our E32 has a modified rudder so I don't know how the stock boats
behave but the handling of ours is superb. I've driven her down hard and
there is never a hint of the sails taking charge. She is a delight to
steer even when way overpowered.


--

Roger Long