Re: 'Off-wind sail'


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Previous # Next ] [ Start New Thread ] [ TarBoard ]

Posted by David Bamford on December 09, 2006 at 21:47:45 from 220.253.110.233 user David.

In Reply to: Re: 'Off-wind sail' posted by PeterH on December 09, 2006 at 19:55:04:

A 'yankee jib' is one which has its foot at a steep angle to the deck, so that the cleww [the corner at the bottom and rear of the sail] is quite high off the deck. This means that most of the area of the sail is comparatively quite high up. When winds are gentle, almost absent, and a sailor is looking for alll the wind he/she can get, it will be stronger higher up, away from the influence of the surface of the water. A downwind or 'off-the-wind' sail will be cut to have more curvature, or 'belly' in it than a sail designed for upwind or 'on-the-wind'. The latter will have very little curvature, and be almost flat. The majority of sailing is done upwind, because of the perversity of nature, which decrees that wherever you want to go in a sailing boat, the wind will be coming from that direction. There are even cases on record of sailors changing the boat's course in order to sail away from the wind's direction, only to have the wind change its direction.
David.


Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
Eel-Mail:

Existing subject (please edit appropriately) :

or is it time to start a New Thread?

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

post direct to TarBoard test post first

Before posting it is necessary to be a registered user.


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TarBoard ]

Courtesy of Environmental Science, Lancaster

space