Sails and their setting

Sails and their Setting, March 1976.

Part 2

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Achilles 24 Information

Undoubtedly the finest aid to sail setting, and the cheapest, is to add woollen tufts to the forward part of the sail. Take three or so pieces of black wool about 12" long and pass each halfway through the sail 9" aft of the luff and in the middle of a panel sewing them in place; position them at equal distances up the sail.

You can see both halves of them when the sail is pulling correctly, the one on the leeward side is visible through the cloth. They should be flowing along the sail horizontal and parallel to each other. When you are beating to windward and cannot come closer to the wind without pinching, the helmsman can steer by the woollen tufts in the genoa. When sailing off this position, it is the crews job to get the woollen tufts to stand like soldiers by adjustment to the sheet.

Once the mainsail has been rolled down to the second batten (remembering to haul the leech aft) and the wind is strong enough to hold the gunwhale down, it is time to change down to a smaller headsail. There is no point in allowing Achilles to heel too much, as she will not go faster. It is well worth fitting a clinometer and limiting the angle of heel to about 25°.

In gusts of course, it is sufficient to ease off the mainsail sheet to keep the yacht in balance, but it is a mistake to hold on to too much canvas for too long.

Reaching is more easy. For a given wind strength you can carry more canvas and the sails can be made fuller by easing off the Cunningham Eye. It is always worth slipping on a special reaching sheet on a snap shackle block for the genoa. It makes the world of difference.

Running before the wind the same remarks apply but it always helps to boom out the genoa opposite the mainsail (assuming there to be no spinnaker). I always find it a great comfort to rig up a foreguy when running, it holds the main boom firmly in light winds and stops it shaking the wind out of the mainsail. In strong winds it prevents an involuntary gybe and saves your head being knocked off by the boom. A foreguy is simply a line running from the end of the boom which is secured to the forward mooring cleat, after which the mainsheet is tightened in. Do remember to detach it before you gybe though!

Never, never, never sail by the lee; it slows you down, it is inefficient and it is dangerous. Far better to tack downwind keeping 10 degrees windward of dead downwind and gybe when necessary.

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