Rigging the yacht using all the boat's normal equipment
By now, you will realize that there are many different designs of yachts and your AY Instructor will have shown you how to rig the one in which you learn to sail during AY Instructional Courses. After that, you will find that different yachts may have their own peculiarities, but basically follow the same principles despite differing mechanisms used to control a function or the yachts size.
Having absorbed the yachts sailing parts and experienced that sails will only work efficiently when set at a precise angle to the wind Go to L2 Sailing Photo Sequence Click Now it is time to move on and learn some further Boat Tuning hints on how the basic Sail Controls are used to transform their shape efficiently for the different points of sailing and wind strengths.
The Mainsail Outhaul and the Boom Vang or Kicking Strap are used to control the twisting of the main sail and the boom lifting when the wind is in the sail. Thereby maintaining the correct sail shape that the sailmaker has designed and built into the sail.
You know that each sail, whether mainsail, jib or genoa and spinnaker will set best when eased until it just starts to flap along the luff and then pulled in just enough to stop the flapping. At this point there is an even flow of air across both sides of the sail.
As an aid to sail trimming the Telltales or lengths of wool or nylon strips sewn onto the genoa or jib luffs and mainsail leech give a clear indication of whether the airflow at that point on the sail is smooth or stalled.
At another level of use, such jib luff telltales will indicate whether the Sheeting Angle is correct. If it is, all of the telltales will respond to a change in wind direction in unison. If the sheeting angle is too far aft, the top telltale will lift before the others and conversely if the sheeting angle is too far forward, the bottom telltale will lift first.
When close reaching a Barber Hauler can be rigged to lead the jib sheet further outboard thereby opening the slot and allowing an even flow of air across the sails.
Similarly, mainsail leech telltales indicate whether the sail is oversheeted and if sail twist is right for the conditions, such that all the telltales stream together. If the leech is too twisted the top telltale will stall first and vice versa. Boomvang, Mainsheet, Cunningham Eye and Traveler adjustments provide the cure.
Further rig tuning exercises like Raking and Pre-bending the mast, the tensions on Backstays and Runners and the technicalities of Tuning your Rig whilst underway can be conducted with the help of a professional Rigger to improve the yachts overall sailing performance.
