Ask SAIL: Trimming an A-sail Tackline

Author:
Brian Hancock
Publish date:
Jan 8, 2018

askSailNov01

Q: I fly an asymmetrical spinnaker from a sprit on my 35-footer and was wondering about how best to trim the tack line. I’ve seen cases in which other sailors have brought the tack of the sail all the way to the sprit, and cases in which there are a couple of feet of tackline between the sprit and the sail. Is there a right way and a wrong way? Should I be adjusting the tackline in and out depending on angle of sail or wind speeds?

— Amber Ratner, Parma, OH

BRIAN HANCOCK REPLIES

Yes, you should adjust the tackline for different points of sail and different wind speeds. If you are on a reach, you want the luff of the sail to be fairly tight, so crank the tack all the way down to the sprit. This straightens out the luff and brings the draft of the sail forward, which is what you are looking for. As you bear away toward a run, however, you want to be able to rotate the sail around to windward to make sure it gets plenty of clean air. So ease off the tack and let the sail rise up a little. That said, if you are sailing deep downwind in quite a lot of wind keep it cranked down. You want as much control over the spinnaker as you can get, and tightening up the luff will help stop it from oscillating to a point where you could get into trouble.

Got a question for our experts? Send it to sailmail@sailmagazine.com

Related

05-DSC_0638

A sail on Lake Tahoe has been on my bucket list since the day I first laid eyes on it, and come hell or high water, I decided I was going to someday charter a boat there. North America’s largest and deepest alpine lake, Tahoe sits at 6,225ft above sea level and straddles the ...read more

East-River-Rapids

I was never supposed to take my boat through New York City. After getting sucked backward through the Cape Cod Canal on my way south from Maine, when the speed of the current exceeded the maximum speed of my little electric auxiliary, I wanted nothing to do with Hell Gate and ...read more

LEAD-Celeste-in-the-Tuamotu

As a classic-boat sailor, I’ve long held that simpler is the better. I still think this is true: a simpler boat is cheaper, she has less gadgets to break down and there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you’re able to handle a bit of discomfort. Thus, for a long time, I sailed ...read more

01-LEAD-IDECsport_180919_032

Design and Technology

Although the 1903 defender of the America’s Cup, Reliance, was deemed a “racing freak”—the boat pushed design rules to their limit and couldn’t be beaten, at least in very specific conditions—designer Nat Herreshoff was nonetheless onto something. A century later, purpose-built ...read more

BVIFeetup

Three tips on managing the madness First-time charterers and first-time sailors aren’t at all the same thing. One group may struggle with beginner chartering issues, like sailing a multihull, catching a mooring or dealing with base personnel. For the other group, though, ...read more

AdobeStock_455372159

Sailboat Cruising

Even the dome of light glowing above the city behind us had disappeared as if swallowed in a gulp by Noah’s whale. The moon was absent. Not a star twinkled overhead. The night was so dark we could have been floating in a pot of black ink. The only artificial lights to be seen ...read more

00-Lead-549215sJL2uLEa

Every year, countless parents find themselves navigating the do’s and don’ts of enrolling their children in a summer learn-to-sail program for the first time. While the prospect of getting your kid on the water is exciting, as a sailing camp program director, there are a lot of ...read more

ntm

Some thoughts on a couple of recent developments on the U.S. racing scene that are more than a little at odds. To start with, congratulations to the US Sailing Team (USST) and its outstanding showing at the 53rd French Olympic Week regatta in Hyeres, France, with not one but ...read more

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE