Mainsheet traveller options

Hi, I have never sailed one of my own yachts witout a full width traveler. If you want to  get sail setup to optimise your sailing its one important element. If your not keen I guess you may as well use a typical German mainsheet system and have clear space in cockpit.

I will try and explain a few of the many reasons for full width cockpit travellers.

Over a range of wind speed or velocity the wind at sea level increases as to go up [the mast], this is a fluid flow phenomena due to the friction between two fluids air and sea surface. Things influence this from actual wind velocity, to the roughness of the sea/air interface[ the ripples to -big waves].

This paragraph applies to upwind main sail trim:-

At low wind speeds the increasing wind with height is more pronounced than at high speed.

so to get the optimum angle to the wind at each metre going up the sail you need to change the angle of the sail to the apparent wind. At low speed that means allowing the main sail to twist of from boom to head of sail. As thevwind speed increase so does the change in wind spped with height less twist is required. maximum twist oftem means taking the traveller to the windward extent of traveller track, easing the sheet so the boom is some where near centre, the sail will twist off and tell tails show correct flow up the sail. In my H301 and H315[2007] I set the kicking strut so it can lift the boom and I use a cascaded Vang to adjust the boom height because the boom/stack pack is so heavy I cant get correct sail twist in ligh wind.

As the wind increases the twist is reduced and eventually we start to flatten the sail tensioning halyard and clew outhaul, at this stage about top F3 we are starting  bending the mast using cascaded backstay. Around F4 the first reef goes in and now we are setting main with traveler position to fly tell tales and with top batten tell tail on the edge of stall. In gusts we drop down the traveller to keep heel angle from excessively slowing the boat.

Right now for range of reaching sail angles the traveller may be run our to the leeward side to control twist on a reach, in my case I can regulate twist in combination with the vang.

Sorry I may not be explaining this clearly. It is how developed my sailing on fractional rigged small racing yachts, and I'm 79 yrears young now. It works for me.

 But if your not into tweeking to get the best out of your boat feel free to call me a sailing geek and walk away. 

If your interested then read some of the tons of work on sail trim, there is plenty to choose.

My go to text is Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing C.A Marchaj ISBN 0-229-11835-6

Perry

East Cowes

Comments welcome?

H315 [2007]Yacht Bloto-4