Joined
·
119 Posts
Yesterday I took 2 guys, who claim to know how to sail, out for an evening of sailing. They were here from out of town and I know nothing about them or their background but they talked a good game. As soon as we got out of the harbor I let them take over the adjustments and the tiller. almost instantly the sailing came to a halt and we were just getting pushed all over the place. So much so that I thought that I might have a bunch of seaweed wrapped around my keel. I even brought my keel up and down to try to remedy the situation. Wind was variable ranging between 4 and 7 knots. I thought the problem was that they kept making the sails too tight no matter their angle to the wind. I took over after a while, loosened the sails and we were sailing fine. They told me the reason why they were unable to sail my boat is that my sails are too old and worn/stretched out and that I must know where the sweet spots are. Is this possible. I have never had anyone on board that knows anything about sailing before and I have only been sailing for 3 years No other experience except for watching youtube videos and reading a few books before I started. My boat is a 1977 fractional rig with a swing keel and the Darcon sails are original but seem to be in great shape to me. I would be willing to bet that I have had them up more these last 3 years than they have been up the entire time from 1977 to 2011 when I acquired the boat. If my sails are that bad I will plan on new sails as soon as possible instead of whenever I come up with the money. Now I just need to determine if they truly are bad. If I take them somewhere that sells sails obviously their opinion will be I need new sails. So how do I determine how bad they really are. Please keep in mind that I have no intention of racing and as long as I can get her moving I'm happy but I would love for it to be a little easier to get her moving.