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I confess, I'm confused about motorsailing. I hear it talked about a great deal, especially with ocean crossings and the like. I've tried motoring with the sails up a few times, and in my experience it doesn't work. I'm quire sure I'm not doing it right....
I've tried it as a means to burn less fuel, when the wind is light and I fire up the motor. What invariably happens is that the apparent wind under motor is dead ahead and boats don't sail directly into the wind do they? So the sails flop about and are useless.
In theory I can imagine it working if you had 10kts on the beam, and you motored forward at a few kts. The resultant apparent wind would still be off the bow enough to sail close hauled. But in that case, when you have 10kts on the beam, why fire up the motor at all???
I know I'm missing something fundamental here....
MedSailor
I've tried it as a means to burn less fuel, when the wind is light and I fire up the motor. What invariably happens is that the apparent wind under motor is dead ahead and boats don't sail directly into the wind do they? So the sails flop about and are useless.
In theory I can imagine it working if you had 10kts on the beam, and you motored forward at a few kts. The resultant apparent wind would still be off the bow enough to sail close hauled. But in that case, when you have 10kts on the beam, why fire up the motor at all???
I know I'm missing something fundamental here....
MedSailor