Sailing windward_____________________

Sailing windward, can be the most challenging part of sailing your model, it can take twice the time (often more) to cover the same distance tacking windward than going downwind. How well your model sails windward depends on many factors.

Not all sail types are created equal, some are by design, better at sailing windward than others, yet how well the sail is adjusted is just as important as the sail type.
The sail is trimmed for a maximum amount of attached flow. Air that is diverted over the sail area on the leeward side, grips onto the flowing air around it, pulling the sail outward (and thus the boat with it).

The shape of the hull, centre board and even the rudder are important, for they can generate "lift" to help you go windward, the shape of your center board is important.
It should be a well shaped, smooth foil, with a few coats of paint or clear finish with a smooth matte surface (not glossy).

The sail that has the best windward ability will be "flat" in sail terms, that means just a slight draft with plenty of attached (wind) flow.
  A slight draft that is also even all over the sail area, with little twist. In very light wind, the sail should have more draft.

Sail twist can be reduced with the use of a vang and long flexible battens, but not eliminated entirely, a slight twist is actually good.

It allows the top of the sail to reach out beyond the disturbed air coming around the mast. (aka. separation bubble) In strong winds sail twist will spill wind at the top of the sail and reduce heeling. Sail twist can be increased on your model simply by loosening the sail along the top half of the mast.

Bermuda type sails with a high aspect ratio (height vs. boom length) tend to do the best windward. They also are the least fuss when it comes to adjusting for peak performance.

You can get good windward performance out of a gaff rig too, but sometimes getting them adjusted just right can be a pain in the aft. ( I rig some models with gaffs because I like the looks of them :)  Following the Bermuda in decending order, I would rate the junk, sprit, gaff, lateen, and lug sail for windward.

For sailing your model windward, the best results will come when you keep the distance between you and the boat short, for you will likely have to do some tacking to get where you are going. The closer to the "eye of the wind" the more tacking you will need to do.

For the pilot of a small sailboat, when changing tack, after turning the rudder, the sail can be helped along by simply grabbing the sails boom and shoving it over to the other side as they shift their position in the cockpit.

Your model works more on the "self tending" method. Once the boat is guided into a turn using the control line, the wind fills the sail and moves it across to the other tack, you then trim the sail with control line tension and sail on, repeating this procedure in a zig-zag course.

There are mistakes that will always happen and not just to beginners. Coming about without enough momentum may cause the boat to stall with the bow directly to wind, you are now "in irons" you then start to drift backwards! You use the control line to let the boat drift back and turn to one side, filling the sail, then build up speed and momentum, and start over.

Pinching is when you try to sail too close to the wind, what happens is, your angle of attack is too close to, or right in line with the wind flow, the sail begins to act like it doesn't know what side the wind flow should be on, the windward side or the leeward side? And so the sail wobbles around in confusion. (called luffing) Similar to above, you fix this the same way.

Sail stalling is when you have too much wind on the windward side of the sail and not enough on the lee ward. The sail will look full and "right" but there is not enough attached flow on the leeward side, just a lot of swirling disturbed air. This can be corrected by easing off slightly on the control line, until the proper flow is attained.

Every model I ever made had its own unique sailing characteristics, (good, bad, and goofy) and so will yours, unless you make them all exactly the same.

Some models, like a few with lapping jibs that needed to be manually adjusted to change tack, require a different strategy for windward. Since they sail to windward better on one tack than the other, I sail windward for a long stretch, then, change tack and make up for leeway as fast as possible at a beam reach, change tack, and go back to windward.

Having a boat that will turn easy will improve your tacking abilities, manoeuverability is reduced with rudders and centerboards that are too large.

You will find a board that is turned back (raised) somewhat will help your boat preform better for windward too. You don't need the same lateral resistance as you do when sailing on a reach, plus there is less drag and it is easier to change tack when there is less lateral resistance forward.

There will always be times when you will want to let your boat "go the distance" and times when you don't have much choice, as when you are sailing from the shore.

Let's say you set your boat off on a windward course and allow the distance between you and the boat increase.

The model when travelling, is always going to make some leeway, and eventually as the distance becomes greater, the boat will tend to loose its point of sail.

Leeway, and heeling, is more pronounced when sailing windward. It will drift from close hauled to close reach and eventually to a beam reach. This is to be expected, and often makes sailing from the shoreline more interesting than letting it just shoot out at a beam reach.

If you are sailing windward and trying to go some distance a couple of things you can do to reduce leeway is, slightly tweak the rudder, not much, just a couple of degrees, this will tend to turn the boat to windward.

Another method is to try to keep up with the amount of leeway the boat is drifting, in other words if the model is making leeway to port, move to port along the shore with it, it helps to carefully lift the line out of the water as you do this. In this instance you can adjust the centerboard more forward rather than back, to insure you are not allowing a lee helm to develop.

A few points to remember for sailing windward.

•Adjust the sail flatter, unless the winds are really light.
•Keep at a short distance from your model, you have less distance to travel back and forth to change tack.
•Adjust your board, slightly raised (slanting back)
•Monitor your boats abilities, you may have better luck increasing, or decreasing the distance you sail on each leg of your tack (zig-zag)
•Don't try to come about unless you have enough momentum to keep going.

__Sailing Downwind___________________

When sailing downwind, sail shape is not important, since you are not manipulating air flow with a foil, its all about sail area.
Some say that running downwind is the slowest point of sail, its better to tack down wind at a broad reach, jibing (gybing) as you go. And its true, a boat will sail faster on a reach, but from a point A to point B objective, its wasting a lot of time going in the wrong direction. Little time, if any, is actually saved, and in stronger winds, jibing your model can lead to a knockdown if you are not careful.

There are a variables to consider, how high is the sail center of effort, does the hull have much planing surface at the bow, is there a following sea? (surfing down a wave can be very fast).

A boat will heel (pitch) forward sailing downwind, in extreme cases the bow can be driven under and water begins to flow over the deck. (-now that'll will slow ya down!)

The first thing you want to do is to raise up (or remove) your centerboard, you don't need it, its slowing you down, and its drag is pitching you forward.

With a single sail design, the sails center of effort is off to one side when set full abeam. This causes a helm imbalance that has a turning effect.

The simple way to deal with this is to position yourself in the water so that the control line gives you some helm control to keep the boat sailing on a steady course.

Another way, is to tweak the rudder a couple of degrees, fine if you will be sailing along a long stretch of shoreline.

With multiple sails, try sailing wing on wing, it not only looks dramatic, but the combined or total centre of effort (tce) is more "centred", and that means a straighter downwind course.

Lateen, and lug rigs already have a centre of effort that is more (inboard) compared to other fore and aft sails, so the turning effect is less.

You can also tack when you are running directly downwind at much greater distances than you can on any other point of sail using the line control method. I have changed tack from over a 50ft. distance, but a lot depends on the wind speed, strong winds make it difficult. This is done by giving the line a quick tug that hauls the sail in, and with luck, the wind will catch the opposite side of the sail.

For those who rig gaff sails, tacking downwind can also result in a goosewing gybe. That's when the top of the sail stays on one tack, while the foot of the sail has been moved to the other. It is caused by letting the boom rise too high when changeing tack, the remedy is to give the line a few light tugs, or switch back to the original tack and try again.

Another mishap that can occur when a sailboat is running is the gybing knockdown. This happens when you are attempting a turn that requires you to change tack. The force of the sail, once it switches over, causes the hull to turn too fast. The result is that the boat literally trips over its keel. (lateral resistance)

In other words, when running on a port tack trying to "hang a quick left" is not a good idea. In light wind this is not much of a problem.

To avoid this capsizing in heavy wind, ease into the turn so that when the sail does switch over, the hull will be aligned to a broad reach. Tacking downwind from one broad reach to another does not produce the same dramatic effect.
Or, you can take the long way home, by circling around and "come about" into the wind.

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__Sailing at close range_____________________

Whenever people are close by in the water, you should sail your boat at close range. Its a common courtesy that avoids others from bumping into the control line. But there are other reasons, as you will see, and a few pointers to keep in mind when you do.

Sailing at close range, (within reaching distance) lets you adjust your sail and board, you can get a birds eye view of multiple sail rigs, and make adjustments to fine tune your model to the sailing conditions.
- A nudge with the end of your spool, on a ‘stuck’ jib that wont change tack, for instance.

But don’t forget your wind shadow! The height of your body above the surface of the water will extend a ‘shadow’ of disturbed, turbulent air about five times that height in length over the surface.
You can use your wind shadow to your advantage when gusty winds threaten a knockdown, you simply move over to windward and block the wind. Strong winds are a good time to keep the model at a closer range anyway, if you do have a wind knockdown, there will be less time spent reeling in your model.

Another thing to be noted when sailing close, your body not only disturbs air, but water as well, when you move through the water (especially when above the waist) turbulenceforms eddies that can draw the model along whenever you are. This gives a false impression that the boat is moving under wind power alone when it is not. The effect is greatest when you are within reaching distance. So for those want to race, being close up off of the beam, or forward of the model should not be allowed.

'The tension you hold on your control line will let you trim the sails, the angle of the control line gives you control of the helm (direction).'

When you are up close, the line tension (under 1m ) needs extra attention, you need more precision to hold the point of sail.
- Let me add, you can also be more precise in trimming the sails and there is no ‘line drag’ holding you back. As the control line can be held above the water, take care when you are in shallow water (below the knee) that the angle of the line be held low. A high angle under tension can lift the stern, and when off to the side when heeling on a beam reach, can pull the model over.

Wave action can cause the surface to rise and fall, with the model going along for the ride, you need to move your hand along with it. The best part is you don’t get seasick.
When sailing at some distance there is usually some amount of ‘give’ in the line as it is trailing behind in the water in an arc. - Not so when the line is held a foot away from the stern, you need to be responsive to the water surface.

Close range lets you ‘make fast’ a sail to point it without using hand/line tension. - On most sailboats, a sails sheet is turned around a cleat to hold its position, in a way that the sheet can be quickly undone.- With your model, you can make fast a sheet in different ways, but you want to do this only at close range since when the sail is fixed, you risk a wind knockdown if a gust comes along. I use this method when ‘beating’ windward on those long stretches of beach where the wind takes you down to the other end in no time at all (downwind), but working your way back (to the towel, and lunch) seems to take forever. Holding sails at close hauled is not easy with line tension, the efficiency of fixed sails makes a big difference.

A peg can be used to hold a sheet in place. A ‘bight’ of the sheet is placed over the last step and the peg is set lightly down in place. In the drawing, the first models mainsail is made fast. For multiple sail rigs you can peg down all the sails or, as in the second, the jib is set to stay close hauled but the main sheet is free, giving you better windward, and the ability to deviate off course. -Note: The older model MkI does not have a mast step at the stern that you can set a peg into, but you can make a small plastic washer that the aft fairlead will hold down to the deck. The line that you want to make fast is then squeezed under the washer. For the MkIV (catamaran) a 1/4in tapered peg can be pressed into the ring suspended between the two hulls.

When beating windward with fixed sails, the angle of the control line still guides the models direction, it’s the ability to position the sail that is lost, so, you guide the model into the wind just until the sail starts to loose fullness, and then ease off to leeward. The model will tell you when you got it right. Switching the control line angle from port to starboard is easy enough when tacking, I switch from having the line running from spool to the other hand, to just the spool alone. Even when the sails are not fixed, this minimizes body movements that disturbs the water, and gives quick directional control.

__Distance Sailing_______________________

Letting your model sail off into the distance where, and when, you can is hard to resist. You should only do this when you have ‘clear sailing’ conditions, no people, no debris in sight. The wind close to shore may be different than wind further out. Geography disturbs wind, and with offshore breezes the wind will be stronger further out.

If you are sailing a monohull, be prepared to be retrieving it capsized, unless the wind is light. Once you run out of line, there’s not much else you can do but start winding it in. The sails haul in over the centerline when retrieving, that’s okay in light wind, but when you have variables, and the wind picks up, you let it sail back out again to avoid a knockdown and hope the wind subsides. And so, the game begins, reeling in, sailing out, reeling in...sometimes you win.

The line I use comes in a 110yd spool so, sailing out 330 feet is far enough for me. I have used longer lines, but you risk trouble with someone coming along in a boat, or going out for a swim. Besides, reeling in can get tedious after a while, and nerve wracking when a big sail plan gets capsized and starts to collect debris
...and you’re using a 6lb test line! :-0

"I find that the harder I work; the more luck I seem to have. - Thomas Jefferson