I'm all ears.

It's a complete waste of effort if your boat's not tuned right.

Hilarious

It's like Groundhog Day all over again.

Well, you guys wonder why the sport is declining but neither of these terms is well understood or defined. There is no easily readable reference that helps the beginner much less the intermediate sailor.

This is all I set out to do, and I'm satisfied with the result:

http://connect.garmin.com/player/91690890

No pictures but I do have a witness.

BS

Sailing is in decline because people are too lazy to bother to take the time to learn. They want a magic setting or some miracle technique provided to them on an internet forum.

Anyone can learn to sail in a few hours and be more or less able to get back to where they started. It takes years though to be able to do it fast, and to compete at a high level most will never be able to generate the knowledge in combination with the feel.

There are a ton of books that give you all the information you need to be able to be a great sailor. Ricks right here is a very good one. They are books though, not snippet posts. And, you can read all you want, but you still have to covert that to practice and experience.

Does this help? (from here: http://ezinearticles.com/?Basic-Sailing-Techniques&id=3714857)

When interested in sailing a boat, the direction of the wind will determine the various movements associated with this invigorating activity. Before you attempt to take a vessel across the open water, you should first become familiar with some of the following important sailing techniques:

Steering and Turning

The techniques you use to change direction and steer a sailboat will become influenced by the direction of the wind. Some of the terms associated with direction changes or turns are referred to as tacking, heading up, heading down, or jibing.

Heading up (or luffing up) refers to the kind of steering where the wind is close to coming in direct contact with the front (or bow) of the sailboat. When you head closer to the wind, you need to "trim" the sails, which means bringing them closer to the center of the boat. When you head up where the wind is almost ahead, the sails will "luff," which means that they begin to flutter without any lift. If the boat becomes too hard to maneuver, then it enters a state called "in irons."

Tacking (or coming about) is one of the most basic of turning techniques of sailing, as it requires one to bring the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind comes across the opposing side of the boat. The boat then sails away on the opposite tack.

"Heading down" is known by many different terms, including "bearing away," "bearing off," "falling off," and "freeing off." This technique of sailing involves steering in such a way that the wind comes from closer to the aft of the boat. The method includes easing the sails, which means to let them out away from the center of the vessel.

Jibing (also gibing) is a turning motion that causes the boat to head down past the point where the wind crosses at the stern of the sailboat. The sails and boom then swing to the opposite side just before the sailboat sails off on the opposite tack. Exercising caution is highly recommended when jibing, as the sail and boom can cross the middle of the boat with great speed where misjudgment can cause a small sailboat to tip over. Improper jibing may also hurt passengers not paying attention, as well as cause damage to the rig of a larger sailboat. All of these circumstances increase in risk during times of strong winds.

Trim

An important part of sailing involves keeping the boat in "trim," which deals with steering, balance, and other aspects. First, you will "Course to Steer," where the boat is turned towards your intended destination by using the wheel or tiller. People may choose a specific bearing (such as steering 180 degrees), aim for a particular landmark, or base their course in regards to the wind direction. Trim refers to the fore and aft balance of a sailboat. The goal is to adjust the movable ballast in a forward or backward motion in order to accomplish what is called an "even keel." When traveling an upwind course in a smaller sailboat, passengers often sit in the front. Positioning of passengers means less when the sailboat is larger or weighs more.

When balancing, it is the port and starboard that is involved, where the aim is to regulate the weight in order to avoid unnecessary heeling. Trimming sails is quite important, as the sail should be pulled in until it becomes filled with wind. It should not exceed the point where the front edge of the sail (the luff) becomes completely aligned with the wind.

While this is just a taste of common sailing techniques, it is also advised to seek information on "running," "reaching," sailing upward, reducing the sails, reefing, hulling, and learning the different sail points



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3714857

No,I just need to remember not to pinch.

What terms? Rick White has an awesome book about sailing that got me started on the right foot and it's still available. There are tons of resources for this information.

Someone over on Sa commented that rather than going for the latest gear upgrade, you should get a coach.

Go to one of Rick's or Robbie Daniel's seminars. Maybe hire John Casey for a day.

I've said that a couple of times myself. You do need to know the basics of how to get the cat around the course - but a one week coaching session can take at least three years off your "learning on your own" experience pace. I had three days of help from Robbie Daniels earlier this year and my upwind pace on my a-cat and F18 is dramatically improved.

when i started the sport, I took a lesson, I read every article online i could find, joined a few forums, and sailed every week. Then i met good sailors and sailed with them. There were plenty of resources for someone who really wants to learn.

PS i think cat sailing is in decline mostly due to the barriers to entry into the sport (equipment costs, equipment tranport) and other sports that have lots of thrills, and no equiipment to tow

Yesterday, on a different thread, one of the guys suggested a thread specifically on tuning. So, I started the thread hoping to tune in, pun intended, and maybe pick up a few pointers. Then nature took its course...

I think if the inquiry was more specific, we would have something to discuss. These two inquiries are so general, it's on par with asking "how does the world economy work".

I'm sure I missed an inside joke somewhere in the beginning of this thread, but this post concerns me:

"...PS i think cat sailing is in decline mostly due to the barriers to entry into the sport (equipment costs, equipment tranport) and other sports that have lots of thrills, and no equipment to tow..."

In my experience, if any portion of sailing is in decline (BTW, lots are of segments are declining, while others are growing), it is all about one very simple (yet so complex) issue:

What are YOU doing to get new sailors into the sport, and to keep them engaged?

Notice, I didn't ask what your fleet is doing, or what your class is doing, or what your fairy godmother is doing; but, what are YOU doing.

The only time I've ever seen growth in our sport is when individuals step up (normally with help from other individual members of a fleet) and make things happen.

Learn-to-Sail days, and the sorts of things that bring in new blood, are the only thing that will grow the sport.

Fun races, and small, focused race clinics (with beginner-to-intermediate focus), with good social events (campfires are usually the best), are key to helping them grow, stay engaged, and form bonds within the group.

Equipment is still cheap if you're using the right platform.

If you have "graduated" up to a big, complicated boat, your only hope to grow that class is to draw off of intermediate or high level sailors from existing classes. This does not have a net gain, the overall growth needs to come from the entry-level classes.

Mike

Best way I've found in developing your own tuning "recipe" for your particular boat and sailing style is to sail and hang out with other folks. I've learned a few things on trim/tune/tactics from sailors in other fleets that can be applied (or modified) to the boat I happen to be on. The downwind trapping thing was new to me but showed serious speed on the 18s at T-winds. Had I not been there to see it, I wouldn't have been able to wrap my pea-brain around how that could be faster than driving deep downwind (VMG in living color)

I guess the other really good way would be to boat-whore. Looking at the folks who get nose-bleeds from standing so high on the podium you'll invariably find they sail a wide variety of boats, formats and venues. I would venture a shot of good rum that they developed their intuition on years and kilometers of hands-on time practicing, winning, losing, and working.

There is no magic number you can dial your boat to, so asking for settings is like asking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. What is your objective? Make the boat easier to handle (sometimes at the risk of going slower),faster (and oftentimes narrowing the performance "groove"), punch the chop better, etc.?

On a personal level, you've got the basics already in hand. The boat's tuned generally and now it's up to you and your "stick time". Worrying about your diamond wire tension (650# vs. 675#?) is less important than keeping the boat trimmed properly (pointy side up), making smooth transitions (tack/gybe, spin set/douse) and finding the best wind lane for your intended direction

Mmmmmmm, cookies...

All kidding aside, best post ever.

Sailing with other people, in different areas is the single best way to get past the "You don't know what you don't know" problem.

Sailing at large fleet, high-caliber events (NAs) is also key. It's been said that the experience gained at one week of sailing at these events is equivalent to a year of weekend regattas.

Mike

Jay, my sailing is what it is!

I was thinking more of general discussions on this board.
If tuning is basic to the sport then frequent review is appropriate.

Its too hard to learn sailing alone. I sailed alone for a year on a laser. I learned how to make it to a destination and how to get back home. But I never could get it to go as fast as I thought it should. I learned exponentially more at my first Cat regatta with a coach over sailing alone for a year.

I try making all of the Regattas I can, I just take it easy and try not to run into anyone and learn from advise I get. Last week-end I thought I had done great in a race (for me) until I got told you need to keep the marks on the port side (Doh!) but that is something I never would have learned reading online, because its not something I would have ever thought to look up.

My next big learning needs to be in knowing the right of way and making this N20 go faster down wind, nearly got passed by an TheMightyHobie18 on each downwind leg which is not good. haha.

Rounded the marks to starboard? Hint: Read the Sailing Imstructions...

Hint 2: As there are only an extremely few fast TheMightyHobie18 teams left in the class (like a few handfuls spread across the entire country), any time you get passed by an TheMightyHobie18 (on any point of sail) should be a sign to go back to the beach and consider golf. This simple rule of thumb applies to all boats down to (and including) H16s...

Of course, being a Wave sailor (and a slow one at that), I have little chance of passing one any time soon...



Mike