This Kathleens husband Harold,...I'm not all that "experienced" as a sailor, but have, over the years, accumulated enough sailing knowledge and experience that Kathy and I can sail fairly well. A good analogy has to do with a watermelon seed; squeezing a watermelon seed between thumb and forefinger,...the thumb being the force of the wind against the sail, and the resistance of the centerboard being the finger. The forward "flight" of the watermelon seed (the boat) responding to opposing forces (thumb and forefinger) or, sail and centerboard.
Hi Harold, thank you for your comment, what a brilliant analogy of the water melon seed between the thumb and forefinger, a very clear description indeed! 👌🏻
Re. Lying to, get someone to show you how to heave to. Totally calm and in control, boom out of your way, you can not only swap places but have a cuppa and a sandwich - great skill to have!
Great to see you making progress and enjoying the sport. Thank you for sharing your journey. I learnt to sail in a wayfarer and absolutely love them but mostly sail keelboats now. You don’t have to worry about a centre board then! Small point, I think Dan occasionally says “main sheet” when he means “main sail”. Sheets are ropes. So when you say something like “lower the main sheet” - it should be sail. You raise and lower a sail. You pull in and let out a sheet.
The center board functions as a sort of fulcrum against the force of the wind. It levers against the windward water flow on its windward plane to keep the hull from sliding leeward and to help the center board to channel the boat forward. It also functions as a fulcrum against the turning of the rudder. If you are running downwind you can bring the center board up. The wind is neither windward nor leeward. If you are on a beam reach it needs to be fully down. Stay in trouble, my friends. YAAAHRRR!!!
So the centreboard is just to stop you sliding sideways as you demonstrated when you forgot to put it down. It’s perfectly ok to leave it fully down. So the forces on your boat can be shown as a set of vectors..... just think about a beam reach with the wind coming across your boat at 90 degrees.... without a centreboard you would just go sideways downwind. But the sail is like an aeroplane wing pointing upwards so imagine it’s at 45 degrees to the wind, with negative pressure in front of it and positive pressure behind as the airflow is deflected. The force from the sail will be 45 degrees from the line of the boat. Separate that into a forward and sideways vector and you have a force pushing you forwards and a force pushing you sideways which is resisted by the centreboard.... so you go forwards (well nearly anyway).
Brilliant, Thank you! That is really helpful. We were just talking over lunch about how broad a subject sailing is, it seems to cover all the basic educational subjects one needs in life!! ⛵️
Great to hear that you are going to have a go at racing in a GP14. Inevitably you will be crewing which is a great way of getting an insight into technical sailing and just how much learning there is ahead of you. Apart from the technicalities, what you are really going to experience, particularly in a GP is “hiking”. You will need to get comfortable putting your feet under the straps, sitting on the side of the boat rather than in it and then getting as much weight over the side as possible to balance the boat. When you are doing it properly, your bum will be well over the side and you will be balancing on the back of your thighs. Your primary job will be to keep the boat flat and not let it heal, “a flat boat is a fast boat” The level of hiking your helm is going to ask you to do may come as a shock so get ready for exercising those core stomach muscles. (I’m sure he will go easy on you, initially) Something else you need to think about with the oncoming winter months is clothing. What you experienced in the late district was what could be described as champagne sailing, light winds, warm weather with glorious sunshine. We’ve seen some additional lovely weather in October, but guess what, it’s all going to change. Sailing right through the winter months can be great fun provided you’ve got a good clothing. If the conditions are cold and windy, you can still stay very warm when you have good clothing and you’re working hard in the boat, and it’s a bonus if there is sunshine on your back. Winter sailing can be great fun even if the conditions look poor. Have a look online and invest in either a good quality wetsuit, socks, and boots, and headgear, or invest in a dry suit with a woolly bear. Gloves too, are a good thing. Personally I don’t wear them and haven’t done so in many years on the basis that wet gloves keep your hands wet and cold, whereas if you are warm your hands warm up too, but you have to go through the pain barrier of blisters before your hands toughen up. Good luck in the race 👍
Thank you! Yes, definitely crewing in the race, thanks for the heads up on likely events, it should be a lot of fun! We have also been looking into winter weather gear, like you say, wetsuits, boots etc as the cold is certainly coming and we need to be ready! Thanks again for taking the time to write and share the helpful information… 👍
I love your easy going approach to learning how to sail and find your videos so calming and somewhat opposite my more frantic approach to learning how to sail! To land on a lee shore, I have had some success just barging in toward the shore with as much momentum as I dare to carry, fully raising the daggerboard as I am approaching my landing point (but not higher than the boom), oversheeting the sails to slow down, and raising the rudder to launching height when I am about to reach my landing point. At the landing point, I turn the bow into the wind and when head to wind I ease all sheets, jump out, raise the remainder of the blades, and then move to the bow to hold the boat in usually waist deep water. If I am solo I beach the boat and retrieve the trolley otherwise my crew will get the trolley while I hold onto the boat. I put the boat on the trolley and push it up and onto the beach instead of pulling. You may want to undo any rudder downhauls before attempting (my boat hasn’t got any) and mark your daggerboard so that you know when it is fully up while in the cockpit. Using this method I have not needed to drop the sail until the boat is fully ashore. If I mess up and need to bail out I just put the daggerboard back down and head up (don’t gybe) pretending that I just launched before turning around and trying again. 🎉
Thank you, glad you are enjoying the videos, it’s not always as calming as it may come across! 😂 Your description of landing on a lee shore is brilliantly written, we could really picture it, thanks for sharing. 👍
When racing one needs to have as little centre board down as you can get away with. So when making a course have two marks lined up and notice if you are falling off down wind in which case more centre board to keep on track. As winds get stronger sailing down wind there is a danger of the craft oscillating which can become uncontrollable leading to capsize; this can be offset by pulling the main in and out to counteract the effect. Personally in strong winds I leave the board down as you do not lose that much speed but it helps to keep the craft more stable.
Thank you for your comment, Dan is crewing in his first race soon with a more experienced sailor so that will be interesting! We certainly like the idea of leaving the board down to give the boat more stability. Thanks again 👍
A couple of things... lets start with centreboard. Yes, up (at least a bit) downwind is good... as someone's said, the boat will pivot on the fulcrum where the the board meets the hull in the water. If it's up in a windy gybe, the boat can 'skid' across the water as it turns. In an proper upwind blow when you're struggling, you can raise it a little - you will slip further sideways, but the heel on the boat will be less. Five Essentials... this is actually a key bit of sailing knowledge, and I'm afraid they arent the ones in your vid - lol 🙂 Have a look at your Start Sailing book again C, T, B, S, B... Ask yourself 5 questions over and over in your head while sailing... Course made good - are you sailing the most efficient course you can? Trim - is the trim (fore and aft balance) correct? Balance - is the balance (side to side) correct? Sail - is the sail sheeted correctly for the point of sail and angle to the wind? Board - is the centreboard in the correct position for the point of sail? or as I like to do it... Can This Boat Sail Better? CTBSB? you're welcome ;-)
Probably the main issue at this stage is not so much being told how to do something "right", but more being given advice on what you might be doing wrong- although I prefer to use the term "ineffective", or "less effective". "Wrong" implies that you are somehow at fault, or incompetent, which is just not true. We were all there once. A good example is the centreboard. The "right" way to use itis tweaking it up and down for various points of sail. The ineffective way is to not put it down at all. So just put it all the way down, and until you become vastly more experienced, forget about it. Then you'll not be wrong. Problem solved .. (I also do weddings and bar mitzvahs...)
I agree. The only time you might be better lifting it is during a gybe in strong wind when allowing the boat to slide sideways will reduce the roll which could lead to a capsize.
Thanks Roger, we love the idea of ineffective or less effective than wrong!! That makes us feel a whole lot better! Like the idea too of keeping it simple until the experience and skill develops...
I'd agree with this 100% Think about it: (most) yachts have a keel (or keels) which are permanently down, which works fine on all points of sail, doesn't it? Failing to lift your centre board only becomes problematic in heavier breeze when you're going downwind and (especially) when gybing, when your boat can 'trip over' the centre board and capsize, or broach. Oh, and lift it when you're landing - obviously!
As someone who has just qualified as a dinghy instructor after being self taught and sailing for around 20 years. Having a basic understanding of the 5 essentials has really helped my own personal sailing progress/performance! Just remember: Can (CMG) This (Trim) Boat (Balance) Sail (sail settings) Better (Board)
Great stuff! It's so helpful to have these simple ways to remind us of the essentials in the moment, thank you! Congratulations on becoming a dinghy instructor! 👍
This Kathleens husband Harold,...I'm not all that "experienced" as a sailor, but have, over the years, accumulated enough sailing knowledge and experience that Kathy and I can sail fairly well. A good analogy has to do with a watermelon seed; squeezing a watermelon seed between thumb and forefinger,...the thumb being the force of the wind against the sail, and the resistance of the centerboard being the finger. The forward "flight" of the watermelon seed (the boat) responding to opposing forces (thumb and forefinger) or, sail and centerboard.
Hi Harold, thank you for your comment, what a brilliant analogy of the water melon seed between the thumb and forefinger, a very clear description indeed! 👌🏻
Re. Lying to, get someone to show you how to heave to. Totally calm and in control, boom out of your way, you can not only swap places but have a cuppa and a sandwich - great skill to have!
Great to see you making progress and enjoying the sport. Thank you for sharing your journey. I learnt to sail in a wayfarer and absolutely love them but mostly sail keelboats now. You don’t have to worry about a centre board then!
Small point, I think Dan occasionally says “main sheet” when he means “main sail”. Sheets are ropes. So when you say something like “lower the main sheet” - it should be sail. You raise and lower a sail. You pull in and let out a sheet.
Thank you for your comment, we certainly are enjoying the sport!
Yes, we both often say sheet when we mean sail! 🤣
The center board functions as a sort of fulcrum against the force of the wind. It levers against the windward water flow on its windward plane to keep the hull from sliding leeward and to help the center board to channel the boat forward. It also functions as a fulcrum against the turning of the rudder. If you are running downwind you can bring the center board up. The wind is neither windward nor leeward. If you are on a beam reach it needs to be fully down.
Stay in trouble, my friends. YAAAHRRR!!!
Brilliantly put sir! Thank you for that.
YAAAHRRR me hearties!!!
So the centreboard is just to stop you sliding sideways as you demonstrated when you forgot to put it down. It’s perfectly ok to leave it fully down. So the forces on your boat can be shown as a set of vectors..... just think about a beam reach with the wind coming across your boat at 90 degrees.... without a centreboard you would just go sideways downwind. But the sail is like an aeroplane wing pointing upwards so imagine it’s at 45 degrees to the wind, with negative pressure in front of it and positive pressure behind as the airflow is deflected. The force from the sail will be 45 degrees from the line of the boat. Separate that into a forward and sideways vector and you have a force pushing you forwards and a force pushing you sideways which is resisted by the centreboard.... so you go forwards (well nearly anyway).
Brilliant, Thank you! That is really helpful. We were just talking over lunch about how broad a subject sailing is, it seems to cover all the basic educational subjects one needs in life!! ⛵️
Great to hear that you are going to have a go at racing in a GP14. Inevitably you will be crewing which is a great way of getting an insight into technical sailing and just how much learning there is ahead of you. Apart from the technicalities, what you are really going to experience, particularly in a GP is “hiking”. You will need to get comfortable putting your feet under the straps, sitting on the side of the boat rather than in it and then getting as much weight over the side as possible to balance the boat. When you are doing it properly, your bum will be well over the side and you will be balancing on the back of your thighs. Your primary job will be to keep the boat flat and not let it heal, “a flat boat is a fast boat” The level of hiking your helm is going to ask you to do may come as a shock so get ready for exercising those core stomach muscles. (I’m sure he will go easy on you, initially)
Something else you need to think about with the oncoming winter months is clothing. What you experienced in the late district was what could be described as champagne sailing, light winds, warm weather with glorious sunshine. We’ve seen some additional lovely weather in October, but guess what, it’s all going to change. Sailing right through the winter months can be great fun provided you’ve got a good clothing. If the conditions are cold and windy, you can still stay very warm when you have good clothing and you’re working hard in the boat, and it’s a bonus if there is sunshine on your back. Winter sailing can be great fun even if the conditions look poor.
Have a look online and invest in either a good quality wetsuit, socks, and boots, and headgear, or invest in a dry suit with a woolly bear. Gloves too, are a good thing. Personally I don’t wear them and haven’t done so in many years on the basis that wet gloves keep your hands wet and cold, whereas if you are warm your hands warm up too, but you have to go through the pain barrier of blisters before your hands toughen up.
Good luck in the race 👍
Thank you! Yes, definitely crewing in the race, thanks for the heads up on likely events, it should be a lot of fun!
We have also been looking into winter weather gear, like you say, wetsuits, boots etc as the cold is certainly coming and we need to be ready!
Thanks again for taking the time to write and share the helpful information… 👍
I love your easy going approach to learning how to sail and find your videos so calming and somewhat opposite my more frantic approach to learning how to sail!
To land on a lee shore, I have had some success just barging in toward the shore with as much momentum as I dare to carry, fully raising the daggerboard as I am approaching my landing point (but not higher than the boom), oversheeting the sails to slow down, and raising the rudder to launching height when I am about to reach my landing point. At the landing point, I turn the bow into the wind and when head to wind I ease all sheets, jump out, raise the remainder of the blades, and then move to the bow to hold the boat in usually waist deep water. If I am solo I beach the boat and retrieve the trolley otherwise my crew will get the trolley while I hold onto the boat. I put the boat on the trolley and push it up and onto the beach instead of pulling. You may want to undo any rudder downhauls before attempting (my boat hasn’t got any) and mark your daggerboard so that you know when it is fully up while in the cockpit. Using this method I have not needed to drop the sail until the boat is fully ashore. If I mess up and need to bail out I just put the daggerboard back down and head up (don’t gybe) pretending that I just launched before turning around and trying again. 🎉
Thank you, glad you are enjoying the videos, it’s not always as calming as it may come across! 😂
Your description of landing on a lee shore is brilliantly written, we could really picture it, thanks for sharing. 👍
When racing one needs to have as little centre board down as you can get away with. So when making a course have two marks lined up and notice if you are falling off down wind in which case more centre board to keep on track. As winds get stronger sailing down wind there is a danger of the craft oscillating which can become uncontrollable leading to capsize; this can be offset by pulling the main in and out to counteract the effect. Personally in strong winds I leave the board down as you do not lose that much speed but it helps to keep the craft more stable.
Thank you for your comment, Dan is crewing in his first race soon with a more experienced sailor so that will be interesting! We certainly like the idea of leaving the board down to give the boat more stability. Thanks again 👍
great vid, you guys are gonna be massive
Thank you!! You’ve made our day!! 😊
A couple of things... lets start with centreboard. Yes, up (at least a bit) downwind is good... as someone's said, the boat will pivot on the fulcrum where the the board meets the hull in the water. If it's up in a windy gybe, the boat can 'skid' across the water as it turns. In an proper upwind blow when you're struggling, you can raise it a little - you will slip further sideways, but the heel on the boat will be less.
Five Essentials... this is actually a key bit of sailing knowledge, and I'm afraid they arent the ones in your vid - lol 🙂 Have a look at your Start Sailing book again
C, T, B, S, B... Ask yourself 5 questions over and over in your head while sailing...
Course made good - are you sailing the most efficient course you can?
Trim - is the trim (fore and aft balance) correct?
Balance - is the balance (side to side) correct?
Sail - is the sail sheeted correctly for the point of sail and angle to the wind?
Board - is the centreboard in the correct position for the point of sail?
or as I like to do it... Can This Boat Sail Better? CTBSB?
you're welcome ;-)
LOL - and now I've just seen 2 vids ahead 🤣
Thanks Tom! Learning the 5 Essentials has been super helpful and it's certainly a subject that the more we learn about it, and practise, the better. 👍
Probably the main issue at this stage is not so much being told how to do something "right", but more being given advice on what you might be doing wrong- although I prefer to use the term "ineffective", or "less effective". "Wrong" implies that you are somehow at fault, or incompetent, which is just not true. We were all there once. A good example is the centreboard. The "right" way to use itis tweaking it up and down for various points of sail. The ineffective way is to not put it down at all. So just put it all the way down, and until you become vastly more experienced, forget about it. Then you'll not be wrong. Problem solved ..
(I also do weddings and bar mitzvahs...)
I agree. The only time you might be better lifting it is during a gybe in strong wind when allowing the boat to slide sideways will reduce the roll which could lead to a capsize.
Thanks Roger, we love the idea of ineffective or less effective than wrong!! That makes us feel a whole lot better! Like the idea too of keeping it simple until the experience and skill develops...
I'd agree with this 100% Think about it: (most) yachts have a keel (or keels) which are permanently down, which works fine on all points of sail, doesn't it? Failing to lift your centre board only becomes problematic in heavier breeze when you're going downwind and (especially) when gybing, when your boat can 'trip over' the centre board and capsize, or broach.
Oh, and lift it when you're landing - obviously!
As someone who has just qualified as a dinghy instructor after being self taught and sailing for around 20 years.
Having a basic understanding of the 5 essentials has really helped my own personal sailing progress/performance!
Just remember:
Can (CMG)
This (Trim)
Boat (Balance)
Sail (sail settings)
Better (Board)
Great stuff! It's so helpful to have these simple ways to remind us of the essentials in the moment, thank you!
Congratulations on becoming a dinghy instructor! 👍