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Yet another staysail question


Tim

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While hurricanes are hitting other parts we have the dog days of summer here which means light and variable winds. So now I have the CS 17 staysail plans from Graham but how do I make one? Where do I get the nylon material?

Besides a staysail can anyone help with some light wind sailing tips especially tips that will get me up wind. Sometimes when the wind is very light I feel like I'm just sailing slowing back and forth on beam reaches. :oops: Embrassing when you have guests aboard.

We did get some wind for just a little while last weekend when I was out with two Vikings. Father and son from Sweden. Viking son took the helm for a while and as the wind picked up he pointed behind him and said something in Swedish. His father, not a sailer, looked puzzeled but as the boat heeled over I knew what he was saying and I climbed onto the rail. The exicitment was just too short lived as the winds soon died again and we never made it to our windward goal before floating and rowing home. Still a good sail but I just think I could do better with some help from the group.

Cheers, Tim

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Light air sailing will show your true skills. Limit movements in the boat to required tasks, try to maximize momentum earned with gentle helm inputs and focus on sail trim to get the most out of what's available. When the winds are light you can knock the drive out of the sails just by wiggling your butt. Finger tip control of the helm is important in trying to "feel" what's happening, which I can touch in the helm before I notice telltales, sail shape or heel changes. Keep the boat light, free of extra gear and accumulated stuff. Use your ears and check for subtle changes in the sound of water moving past the hull or pressure on the rig.

I try to pick a very calm day to take those who have never been on a sailboat out for the first time. They wonder how we'll get anywhere when "there's no wind" but then they look back and the dock is receding into the distance. I do this for a number of reasons, but mostly because I don't know how they'll react to heeling and they can experience the quite nature of the sport. Use your eyes too. You can see wind shifts, puffs, down bursts and the like in these conditions, then maneuver into position to take advantage of them. Inducing a slight amount of heel by sitting on the "wrong" side of the boat can help get some sail shape and the boat on her lines.

The biggest mistakes most make are to much movement in the boat, killing drive and over aggressive helm movement, which just puts on the brakes. Practice, practice, practice . . . this is one of those abilities that really requires a practiced touch.

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Sailrite at www.sailrite.com sells all sailmaking materials. After studying some pictures of my boat sailing with the staysail, I think that lowering the clew will make it work better. I expect to have the updated drawing available in about a week.

It is hard to give a lesson on light air sailing in a few sentences but you have a good light air boat and you will be well rewarded if you work on it.

When sailing to windward in light air I like to trim the boat down by the bow to cut down on transom drag and heel her to leeward so that gravity can help to shape the sails, this allso cuts down on wetted surface area. The sails should not be trimmed in too tight, keep still and sail her just a little full.

One of my favourite light air sailing memories was when I was crewing on J22. We got a bad start being blanketed by the big boats when the wind really died. Our skipper had us positioned to trim the boat right and to stay very still. We started to move, we slowly passed every boat in the fleet. You can imagine the frustration on the big boats as we slid right by their parked boats.

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