That seems to be the common theme, rig it till it looks right, but I just don't get out enough to be able to equate what the sail looks like on the beach with how it's feeling on the water.
And because I don't sail as much as I want to, the last thing I feel like doing is braving the shore break to tweak the settings by 5mm for a change that may or may not be better, or given the other 200 variables, noticeable!
So I'll always be a "numbers" guy, and I'm ok with that.
Select to expand quoteMJP68 said..
That seems to be the common theme, rig it till it looks right, but I just don't get out enough to be able to equate what the sail looks like on the beach with how it's feeling on the water.
And because I don't sail as much as I want to, the last thing I feel like doing is braving the shore break to tweak the settings by 5mm for a change that may or may not be better, or given the other 200 variables, noticeable!
So I'll always be a "numbers" guy, and I'm ok with that.
MJP don't let this stuff worry you. Most sails are designed with a set and forget downhaul and it's the outhaul that gets tweaked as needed or if the wind increases or decreases. this is because it's easy to tweak outhaul on the water, on the beach, where ever. for this reason it's typical to set the downhaul slightly positive and forget it.
personally was told this by Ben Severne, it's written in the simmer rigging guide, Goya make the same suggestions etc etc.. the point of this thread is to bring awareness to this stuff.I'm not saying don't back off downhaul in lighter winds or give it some extra in stronger winds but those choices are very obvious and get made when first rigging. Outhaul is generally about more subtle tweaks.
the "I do it by eye crew" have to do it by eye because they are mixing and matching gear so the numbers don't apply. part of the reason why there are markers on the sails is to allow for manufacturing tolerances which on masts are about 1%
