"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Mast rake is usually the LAST thing to be adjusted vs. weather helm.
The first thing is draft position (halyard tension) then Backstay
tension (forestay tension), and Sail Shape, mast pre-bend, etc. etc.
etc.
Most 'cruisers' have NO idea how to shape and set a sail or what
shaping tensions (halyard,outhaul, etc.) to apply.


There is, no doubt, more than one way to skin a cat.

"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.

Ok Rich- thanks! I can grasp this one I hate runs; I'd much rather sail
on a broad reach. Outside of a race course or the examples you point to, I
can't imagine why anyone would do it.

"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.

Ok Rich- thanks! I can grasp this one I hate runs; I'd much rather sail
on a broad reach. Outside of a race course or the examples you point to, I
can't imagine why anyone would do it.

yet, twin head sails are often used. Is that because it is easier, or because
two huge headsails has more drive than one huge headsail and a main sail?

Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.


In article s.com,
Wendy wrote:

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...

I personally know a guy who spent 15 days of a 45 day Atlantic crossing
becalmed.

This is why the gods created diesel engines

Most long distance cruisers have set of nylon sails. Lin and Larry
Pardey
had
a nylon mainsail built so their boat wouldn't slop around in lite airs
(large,
lite sails in lite winds also means you can not point nearly as high, as
your
boat speed climbs relative to the wind speed).

Ok, this brings some questions to mind. In a cutter, would one do as well
to simply drop the main in very light airs and go with the staysail and
jib?
Or use the mainsail as well with, say, a preventer in case one was caught
off-guard, and simply relax a bit?

Strategising here...

yet, twin head sails are often used. Is that because it is easier, or because
two huge headsails has more drive than one huge headsail and a main sail?

Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.


In article s.com,
Wendy wrote:

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...

I personally know a guy who spent 15 days of a 45 day Atlantic crossing
becalmed.

This is why the gods created diesel engines

Most long distance cruisers have set of nylon sails. Lin and Larry
Pardey
had
a nylon mainsail built so their boat wouldn't slop around in lite airs
(large,
lite sails in lite winds also means you can not point nearly as high, as
your
boat speed climbs relative to the wind speed).

Ok, this brings some questions to mind. In a cutter, would one do as well
to simply drop the main in very light airs and go with the staysail and
jib?
Or use the mainsail as well with, say, a preventer in case one was caught
off-guard, and simply relax a bit?

Strategising here...

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 14:12:36 -0600, "Wendy"
wrote:


"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.

Ok Rich- thanks! I can grasp this one I hate runs; I'd much rather sail
on a broad reach. Outside of a race course or the examples you point to, I
can't imagine why anyone would do it.

There's an article on this in the current February SAIL magazine on
how broad reaches can be faster than dead downwind over a given
course. Racers learn this on warm summer nights while waiting for the
shore breeze to fill in.

The article is called

Cruising Tips
Tack downwind to avoid a sail-slatting slog.
By Fred Roswold


R.

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 14:12:36 -0600, "Wendy"
wrote:


"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Neither
Main and Genoa (or spinn) broad reaching off to *keep the apparent wind
up* and the sails ventilated.
There is NO reason in the world to run dead down wind (except at hull
speed) .... except to miss land or other hard objects.
Just look at the polar diagrams for just about any boat ..... for
downwind VMG a broad reach is the fastest overall, a dead run is the
ultimate slowness.

Ok Rich- thanks! I can grasp this one I hate runs; I'd much rather sail
on a broad reach. Outside of a race course or the examples you point to, I
can't imagine why anyone would do it.

There's an article on this in the current February SAIL magazine on
how broad reaches can be faster than dead downwind over a given
course. Racers learn this on warm summer nights while waiting for the
shore breeze to fill in.

The article is called

Cruising Tips
Tack downwind to avoid a sail-slatting slog.
By Fred Roswold


R.

Where and when did the term "fair winds and following seas" first appear.
Perhaps on a long tradewind cruise from the Galapagos to French Polynesia.
But I'm just one who sailed wing and wing for about twenty days on end.
Then on the other hand there is racing.

Where and when did the term "fair winds and following seas" first appear.
Perhaps on a long tradewind cruise from the Galapagos to French Polynesia.
But I'm just one who sailed wing and wing for about twenty days on end.
Then on the other hand there is racing.

In article ,
"Wendy" wrote:

"engsol" wrote in message
...
LOL..or a bad thing. There have times in my life that I should have
leaped.
BTW..for some reason I got the impression from an earlier post that you
fly?
If so, do you find yourself doing the "scan" thing...engine gauges (if
motoring), horizon,
sail trim, lines, charts, etc, every few minutes.?
Norm

Yeah, now that you mention it, I did scan! GPS, horizon, depth sounder,
horizon, genoa, horizon...

Wendy



Doesn't everyone do that?

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/