SVN solovelanet

55 SVN Solovelanet Global For this reason, we need to always have a little bit of twist in our sails otherwise top sections of our sails would be over-sheeted most of the time. The taller the rig, the more noticeable this effect. More twist creates a wider groove (more forgiving sail plan) and is better for getting the boat moving after a tack, or in light winds. More twist also depowers the upper aft sections of the sail which will reduce the healing force on a boat and decrease weather helm. Less twist creates a narrower groove as the sail is more inclined to stall. It will also increase the healing force on the boat which, in turn, increases weather helm. Decreasing twist in the leech of the sail does allow for higher pointing ability, although this height comes at the expense of a little boat speed. Setting the correct amount of twist on headsails is made using tell tales to set car positions. To assess the twist on the mainsail, we must look to the leech tell tales on the back of the mainsail. The leech tell tales show us whether the air is flowing cleanly off the back of the mainsail or not. If all they are all stre - aming cleanly aft then we probably have a little too much twist in the sail for most conditions. Sloop or cutter? In winds up to 30 knots a semi furled genoa is not particularly efficient, due to its big draft the heeling becomes too high. This could be enough for the con- ditions experienced by coastal sailors, and the same about the usual cruising mainsail with only two reefs. In the preparation of blue water passages the case for storm sails become stronger. The ideal rigging for offshore sailing is the Cutter with a permanent inner forestay. This stay can be used to hank on a staysail or a storm jib. A non overlapping staysail is useful as hevy-weather sail and can be used in quite strong winds (35-40 knots) before thinking to hoist a dedicated storm jib. Following the advantages of having the inner fore - stay, in a sloop rigged yacht become essential ha- ving a storm bag to hoist directly over the furled headsail, or a furling storm jib with cost-effective solution of a torque rope built in the luff and hoisted with a two-to-one halyard in order to get enough ten - sion to unroll easy. Reefing the main "If you are wondering whether you should reef, then it's already past time to do so". Reefing allows you to balance your sail plan with the prevailing conditions. Like every single evolutions on board, and especially in challenging conditions, you have to follow the VMT/TMV procedure: T he staysail is essential for long sailing trips, but should also be so for sailing near the coast. The use of this set back and small sail in strong wind provides more safety and comfort on board. When furling the jib in order to re - duce sails, the sail tends to form a ball, to rise and to move the centre of effort towards the bow, and these three conditions which are very detrimental both to the stability and to the ba - lance of the boat. The excessive draught cau- ses the boat to list more than necessary, and the increased distance between the centre of effort of the jib and that of the mainsail caused the boat to lose her balance. When the wind gets stronger, if we could close the jib comple - tely and open the staysail on a backward stay, we would have a very flat and small sail that would bring the centre of effort towards the centre of the boat and with a low tack.All these features together would make the boat easier to handle, the sailing gear would undergo less stress and even in the event of a high wave the boat would go up and down smoothly and wi - thout problems. The cruising staysail A cruise boat faces rough sea with a stron- gly reduced furling mainsail and a furled jib

• Cover