blacklionboy
New Member
does anyone have trouble getting stuck head to wind whilst tcking in heavy weather
heavy wind tacking
- Thread starter blacklionboy
- Start date
If you mean so heavy that you can't trim the main any further in than a reach when fully hiked, then what you have to do is this:
Come up to the wind as much as you can, keeping the boat flat and trim the mainsheet, but do not let the boat drop below normal displacement speed. Then steer fast through the turn and snap the mainsheet like you would for a gybe so it doesn't catch on the transom corner. You have to do all this fast, it will happen fast once you turn, so get ready to move. Think of it as a mini gybe.
If you try to sneak up to windward slowly, it's no surprise you stall because the boat speed has gone, there's nothing pushing you through the tack anymore and the heavy wind is pushing you backwards, equal force on both sides of the sail.
It could be you are on the light side or you may just need to get more comfortable with your tacking. If that's the case, try going out in 10 knots and tacking everytime the boat reaches top speed. Do that for a couple of hours and untill you feel more comfortable with how the boat behaves during tacking.
Come up to the wind as much as you can, keeping the boat flat and trim the mainsheet, but do not let the boat drop below normal displacement speed. Then steer fast through the turn and snap the mainsheet like you would for a gybe so it doesn't catch on the transom corner. You have to do all this fast, it will happen fast once you turn, so get ready to move. Think of it as a mini gybe.
If you try to sneak up to windward slowly, it's no surprise you stall because the boat speed has gone, there's nothing pushing you through the tack anymore and the heavy wind is pushing you backwards, equal force on both sides of the sail.
It could be you are on the light side or you may just need to get more comfortable with your tacking. If that's the case, try going out in 10 knots and tacking everytime the boat reaches top speed. Do that for a couple of hours and untill you feel more comfortable with how the boat behaves during tacking.
SAILWRITER
Member
Let your vang (kicker) out a bit just before the tack and pull it in after the tack. Let the main out after going past head to wind, sometimes a meter or more. Then pull vang and pull main back in and go! A tight vang makes the leech of the sail push the stern and pin you "in irons", into the wind.
gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
You mean like when I get my big fat self stuck under the boom??
More seriously? It is all about getting through the tack before you lose boat speed and...
One way to get there is to let the sail out and tack a little past as described above. Some problems with the wide angle tack:
Trimming the sail back in is exhausting and, if you were having trouble tacking, you were probably tired anyway.
It is sooooo vvery demoralizing to lose any of that precious upwind distance by reaching back off.
The entire situatiuon is usually rooted in the fact that you were tired and pinching in the first place. The difference between pinching and stopped is not enough to do a tack...(Of course in light wind you are always aware of having "enough speed to tack" or you get some speed first. But in big breeze clear thinking is not as available)
But when you are tired, wet, even cold...It ought to be simple to tack from one limpy tack to the other...But sailing, as with the rest of life..is just not fair.
so the frustrating and unfortunate truth??
If you are having trouble tacking...You need to get in better shape..
or quit being so old.
The first one is easier to repair. The second one needs delusions....Visit the Masters NA Champs in June and meet the delusional ones personally for advice!!
If you are too young to race...help with the other stuff.
More seriously? It is all about getting through the tack before you lose boat speed and...
One way to get there is to let the sail out and tack a little past as described above. Some problems with the wide angle tack:
Trimming the sail back in is exhausting and, if you were having trouble tacking, you were probably tired anyway.
It is sooooo vvery demoralizing to lose any of that precious upwind distance by reaching back off.
The entire situatiuon is usually rooted in the fact that you were tired and pinching in the first place. The difference between pinching and stopped is not enough to do a tack...(Of course in light wind you are always aware of having "enough speed to tack" or you get some speed first. But in big breeze clear thinking is not as available)
But when you are tired, wet, even cold...It ought to be simple to tack from one limpy tack to the other...But sailing, as with the rest of life..is just not fair.
so the frustrating and unfortunate truth??
If you are having trouble tacking...You need to get in better shape..
or quit being so old.
The first one is easier to repair. The second one needs delusions....Visit the Masters NA Champs in June and meet the delusional ones personally for advice!!
If you are too young to race...help with the other stuff.
R
Ross B
Guest
before you tack, ease your vang a bit
Getting stuck head to wind while tacking in heavy air probably means you have tried to tack with the sheet eased too far (and possibly swinging the boat thru a considerable arc with the vang on very tight if you were in the low 'reaching to windward mode')
Advice on 'super vanging' seems to be to ease the vang slightly to tack (easy to say but harder to do unless you practice a lot and have a new style vang). Alternatively you might try simply trimming to a higher line (and get the sheet in a bit) just before tacking - depends on whether the seaway kills your speed too much.
In survival conditions you need to ease the vang enough so you can still pull in the sheet sufficiently so it is drawing when you initiate the tack. doing so will also ensure the boom doesn't catch on the exit. If you then need to re-trim for super vanged reaching to windward on the next tack this can be a pain if you don't have the new 15:1 vang set-up.
Advice on 'super vanging' seems to be to ease the vang slightly to tack (easy to say but harder to do unless you practice a lot and have a new style vang). Alternatively you might try simply trimming to a higher line (and get the sheet in a bit) just before tacking - depends on whether the seaway kills your speed too much.
In survival conditions you need to ease the vang enough so you can still pull in the sheet sufficiently so it is drawing when you initiate the tack. doing so will also ensure the boom doesn't catch on the exit. If you then need to re-trim for super vanged reaching to windward on the next tack this can be a pain if you don't have the new 15:1 vang set-up.
Rob B
Well-Known Member
Also watch for a flat spot on the water. If you tack into a big wave it will stop you.
one other thing that may help is to make sure that you have all the cunningham you can get....this frees the leech a bit, which eases the weather helm effect slightly. At the same time, try easing the outhaul just a fraction from where you think it should be...dunno why, but it used to work!
Another thing that used to work for me as a kid was to keep the board up about 4 or 5 inches. I think it must've let the bow blow away slightly after the tack. you wont make any more leeway once the speed is up, and in any case its better than blowing backwards all the way back to where you came from!
Another thing that used to work for me as a kid was to keep the board up about 4 or 5 inches. I think it must've let the bow blow away slightly after the tack. you wont make any more leeway once the speed is up, and in any case its better than blowing backwards all the way back to where you came from!