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Hello, Sailnet Racing Community,
Since a thread called "Twist" here last year, which moved into wider areas of racing sail trim, I learned a lot in a short time and my racing trim improved. In particular, on my boat, I get a much more balanced helm when up to weather by bringing the traveller way up high and easing the main, which results in a flatter sail but with more twist. But I do remind the crew, when doing this, to keep the boom below midline.
(I also often get to the crew to just ease the foresail sheet one inch from as close as it will winch in. It doesn't seem to hurt the tacking-angle, and gives better speed and balance, and less mainsail backwinding.)
I am quite sure that I recall that Steve Colgate in his book Performance Sailing and Racing says never to take the boom above midline.
An old salt at the club the other day disagreed with this, and for higher pointing and faster tacks, points the boom's aft end up towards the windward quarter. And he's a good, experienced sailboat racer, but is the only Soling in what we call our "large-keel" class (based on PHRF, not size), and has some trouble placing well on corrected time, but the variables in there are formidable.
Now, I have a 33 foot masthead rig ( US Yachts 33, huge foresail, takes a while to tack it) and he has a Soling, just under 27 feet, with a fractional rig and a self-tacking jib. I don't think that those are important distinctions for this question, are they?
Is there an always-correct answer to this? Can it ever work well to trim the boom above midline?
Thank you.
Charles
Since a thread called "Twist" here last year, which moved into wider areas of racing sail trim, I learned a lot in a short time and my racing trim improved. In particular, on my boat, I get a much more balanced helm when up to weather by bringing the traveller way up high and easing the main, which results in a flatter sail but with more twist. But I do remind the crew, when doing this, to keep the boom below midline.
(I also often get to the crew to just ease the foresail sheet one inch from as close as it will winch in. It doesn't seem to hurt the tacking-angle, and gives better speed and balance, and less mainsail backwinding.)
I am quite sure that I recall that Steve Colgate in his book Performance Sailing and Racing says never to take the boom above midline.
An old salt at the club the other day disagreed with this, and for higher pointing and faster tacks, points the boom's aft end up towards the windward quarter. And he's a good, experienced sailboat racer, but is the only Soling in what we call our "large-keel" class (based on PHRF, not size), and has some trouble placing well on corrected time, but the variables in there are formidable.
Now, I have a 33 foot masthead rig ( US Yachts 33, huge foresail, takes a while to tack it) and he has a Soling, just under 27 feet, with a fractional rig and a self-tacking jib. I don't think that those are important distinctions for this question, are they?
Is there an always-correct answer to this? Can it ever work well to trim the boom above midline?
Thank you.
Charles