Introduction to Sailing

1. Introduction to Sailing Torrey Pines Sailing Club San Diego, CA March-April 2019 Instructor: Pete Politzer website: sailtpsc.com -- slides edited for the website --

2. Schedule Thursdays March 14, 21, & 28; April 4 6:00 – 8:00 pm Text “Basic Keelboat” published by USSailing $20, here and now

3. Outline • Ropes & knots • Sailing rules & safety • Local knowledge Plus: Lots of information about TPSC – membership, water lessons, … These classes will give you some of the principles of sailing; to learn to sail, you have to get in a boat – we can arrange that. • Introductory stuff • Parts of a boat • Making a boat go • Sail control, steering, getting from here to there

4. Things I won’t cover • setting up and putting away a boat • motors • docks – leaving and returning • anchoring • reefing a sail • man-overboard rescue • etc. – there’s not enough time in this class – these vary considerably, depending on the boat type and model – items better covered during the water lessons

5. Very briefly about theTorrey Pines Sailing Club ~50 years old! Roughly 70 members Cooperative organization – members do the work 8 boats at Shelter Island Marina Inexpensive Vlad will tell you more

6. Very briefly about theTorrey Pines Sailing Club ~50 years old! Roughly 70 members Cooperative organization – members do the work 8 boats at Shelter Island Marina Inexpensive Vlad will tell you more

7. Many kinds of sailboats

12. TPSC Victory sloop

13. ◊ Parts of a boat ◊ • Lots of nautical names & terms • Mostly historical origin: (some very obscure) • Very specific • Necessary for accurate & rapid communication For example: – a rope is what you buy at the store – when it’s on or near a boat, it becomes a line – when it’s used for something, it gets a specific name e.g., jib sheet, main halyard, …

15. build a boat – learn the main parts hull

16. forward directions relativeto the hull starboard port aft forward aft

17. steering oar

18. bow parts of the hull gunwale gunwale freeboard bow stern transom waterline transom stern (gunwale is pronounced “gunnel”)

19. – we need something to steer with; – then, something to control the rudder; – and one more attachment under the hull (why have a keel? – later) – finish the top of the hull keel cockpit cabin deck tiller keel rudder rudder

20. to make the boat go: sails; first, support the sails mast mast boom boom

21. to make the boat go: sails; first, support the sails; also, support the mast spreaders forestay backstay shrouds shrouds

22. finally – sails! main sail jib

23. parts of a sail head battens leach luff clew tack foot

24. primary lines which raise & control the sails j main halyard jib halyard main sheet jib sheets

25. ◊ Making a boat go ◊ • Downwind • Upwind • Forces • Sail trim

26. Sailing downwind wind – pretty simple – wind pushes on sail (think Viking ships or square-riggers)

27. Sailing upwind lots going on here wind windward leeward windward – toward the wind leeward – away from the wind

28. Sailing upwind lots going on here wind wind windward leeward windward leeward windward – toward the wind leeward – away from the wind

29. Sailing upwind • air flow around curved sail causes lift • (think airplane wing) wind lift forces

30. Sailing upwind lift force leads to both – forward force – sideways force wind

31. Sailing upwind forward force pushes boat forward (what we want) wind

32. • sideways force tries to push boat sideways through the water • resisted (mostly) by the keel • get slow drift to leeward (leeway) Sailing upwind wind

33. Sailing upwind • sideways force also causes boat to heel (tilt) • resisted by weight of keel and/or weight of crew on windward (high) side wind

34. Sailing directly into the wind wind • doesn’t work • “in irons” • boat stops • lose control

35. wind ”points of sail” “no-go” zone

36. wind ”points of sail” “no-go” zone port tack starboard tack close-hauled close-hauled closereach closereach beamreach beamreach broadreach broadreach run

37. wind some observations about points of sail • sailing close-hauled can be uncomfortable and requires constant tweaking – you may prefer a close reach • a broad reach is fastest and most fun • going straight downwind, the main blankets the jib – either head up a little – or put the jib on the other side “wing-and-wing”

38. ◊ Sail control, steering, getting from here to there ◊ • controlling and trimming the sails • sail adjustments • de-powering • heave-to

39. Controlling and trimming the sails • sheets: primary sail control • jib sheets are attached to the clew (aft corner) of the jib – there are two jib sheets; passing to the cockpit outside of the shrouds – one is used to control the position of the jib clew, the other is slack (depends on which tack we’re on) • for example: on port tack: port jib sheet is slack(passes through a block) jib blocks winches cleats starboard jib sheet goes througha block, around a winch,and is tied to a cleat

40. Controlling and trimming the sails • sheets: primary sail control • jib sheets are attached to the clew (aft corner) of the jib – there are two jib sheets; passing to the cockpit outside of the shrouds – one is used to control the position of the jib clew, the other is slack (depends on which tack we’re on) • after turning to starboard tack: now the starboard jib sheet is slack,and the port jib sheet controls the sail

41. block

42. winch

43. cleat

44. jib clew jib sheets block winch sheeted jib

45. Controlling and trimming the sails • The main sheet controls the position of the boom, and so the angle between the mainsail and the boat. • It connects the aft end of the boom to the cockpit. (Location varies from boat to boat.) • Usually in a block-and-tackle arrangement.

46. main sheet cleat

47. all together

48. There are many possible adjustments of a sail • Poor trim => lose power • Most basic: adjust sheet (position of clew) – first the sail will luff; bulge to windward at the luff Too loose: – then it will flap like a flag Too tight: – sail will “stall”; look good but going nowhere & too much heel Just right: – smooth flow => optimum performance

49. Tell-tales • There may be tell-tales attached to the surface of the jib, or main, or both.• Also at the leach (trailing edge) of the main. – windward tell-tale flutters – leeward tell-tale flutters – both tell-tales stream smoothly aft • With practice, you will be able to judge optimal trim by feel!

50. Tell-tales on window in jib