Posted by normfriberg (nfriberg@…>)
Saturday was a spectacular day on Long Island Sound, and our first day
sail on Freyja this season. She’s a Freedom 40 cat-ketch built in
1978. The wind was southerly, from 10 to 15 knots. It was close to
perfect, except for the threat of violent thunderstorms that never
materialized.
I was reminded that these old, heavy boats are not such dogs when the
wind is up. I was tacking within 100 degrees, which, though not
exactly Americas Cup standards, is not bad for a cruising boat. The
thing is, in light air, say less than 5 kts., the angle goes up to 110
degrees. Can someone explain to me why more wind yields a better
tacking angle (by compass)? I could probably find the answer in one
of the many sailing books on my shelf, but would prefer to hear it
from a sailor (and I’m lazy). Many thanks.
By the way, Freyja still has her wishbone booms (spruce) and aluminum
masts. The sails are attached to the round masts by loops of line
called bridles. They rotate to keep the luff aligned with the wind.
Norm Friberg
Posted by svfantasy@… (svfantasy@…>)
Norm,
I believe the reason is that you must have good speed through the water in order for the keel to have good lift to windward.
Jay Glen
F-40 CK
SF Bay
Posted by vtaiariol (borelmfg@…>)
Because of the apparent wind. Say the boat has a constant speed of
5kts. If the wind goes light, app wind angle shifts forward. If the
wind picks up, the app wind shifts back. So, in light air, at almost
any boat speed, the app wind will shift forward, increasing tacking
angle.
Regards,
Van
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “normfriberg”
<nfriberg@…> wrote:
Saturday was a spectacular day on Long Island Sound, and our first
day
sail on Freyja this season. She’s a Freedom 40 cat-ketch built in
1978. The wind was southerly, from 10 to 15 knots. It was close
to
perfect, except for the threat of violent thunderstorms that never
materialized.
I was reminded that these old, heavy boats are not such dogs when
the
wind is up. I was tacking within 100 degrees, which, though not
exactly Americas Cup standards, is not bad for a cruising boat.
The
thing is, in light air, say less than 5 kts., the angle goes up to
110
degrees. Can someone explain to me why more wind yields a better
tacking angle (by compass)? I could probably find the answer in
one
of the many sailing books on my shelf, but would prefer to hear
it
from a sailor (and I’m lazy). Many thanks.
By the way, Freyja still has her wishbone booms (spruce) and
aluminum
masts. The sails are attached to the round masts by loops of line
called bridles. They rotate to keep the luff aligned with the
wind.
Norm Friberg
Posted by Medium Al (hjulbyhavn@…>)
Leeway - you need some speed for the keel to do its job.