The discussion is excerpted from our conversation. One of the subjects he covered was trying out different types of seafaring rigs for a newly built wooden sailboat which could easily apply to a self-built wooden Trimaran. The going with article will lead us through the subject Making and testing sailing chicago rigs.
Did you know that chafe ranks as the sail-killer? According to sail makers, cruising and racing sails sustain lots of wear along batten pockets and where the mainsail touches the shrouds when running downwind. Ask your sail maker to beef up the mainsail with chafe patches. This can prolong the life of your sail for years to come.
By the way, a tiller is the steering control mechanism on smaller nautical boats. However take note, the tiller steers in the opposite direction you will want to go. For instance, if you push the tiller towards the starboard [right side], the boat will steer to the left or the port side.
So unlike a car, the tiller works just the opposite! On the other hand, a ship wheel works the same as the steering wheel on an automobile. So depending on how your sailboat is equipped with a tiller or a ships wheel will determine how you will steer with it. I would recommend learning how to sail with the wind for a while before tacking or seafaring upwind.
Wash and Dry Sails at Season's End and Check Hanks, Slides, and Slugs: Hose down your sails with fresh water and dry them on a clothes line. Or, drape them over a few lawn chairs. This simple bath removes salt crystals and dirt, which can chafe sail-thread if left unattended. Jib or staysail hanks need the care to keep from freezing up with corrosion at the piston. The same goes for your mainsail slides (external) or slugs (internal). Wash these fittings with fresh water to keep them corrosion-free.
And I should mention the blue type of polytarp material you get at Wal Mart isn't good. Stay away from that. However, you can buy white polytarp material from Polysails. They sell a kit which has everything you need, plus a lot of instructions on their website on how to build these sails. You can also get white tarps from Tarps.com. They have a white, 6 oz tarp that is very sturdy and durable. It's got good UV resistance and makes great sails.
You can even tape pieces of tarp together at first. Then go back and sew them later if you want ... Or just leave them taped together. Another great thing about poly tarp is that you can try different things to create different types of sails. You can add shape to different sails by way of "darts." There is a great essay on the Duckworks website about cutting "darts" in sails to give them shape.
Next, you'll need to turn or come about. There are essentially two ways to accomplish this, by tacking or turning upwind is one way, or you can jibe or turn downwind which is faster than a tack turn. The reason being is that in a jibe turn you have the wind behind you pushing the sailboat through the turn, as opposed to a turning into the wind in a tack turn.
Did you know that chafe ranks as the sail-killer? According to sail makers, cruising and racing sails sustain lots of wear along batten pockets and where the mainsail touches the shrouds when running downwind. Ask your sail maker to beef up the mainsail with chafe patches. This can prolong the life of your sail for years to come.
By the way, a tiller is the steering control mechanism on smaller nautical boats. However take note, the tiller steers in the opposite direction you will want to go. For instance, if you push the tiller towards the starboard [right side], the boat will steer to the left or the port side.
So unlike a car, the tiller works just the opposite! On the other hand, a ship wheel works the same as the steering wheel on an automobile. So depending on how your sailboat is equipped with a tiller or a ships wheel will determine how you will steer with it. I would recommend learning how to sail with the wind for a while before tacking or seafaring upwind.
Wash and Dry Sails at Season's End and Check Hanks, Slides, and Slugs: Hose down your sails with fresh water and dry them on a clothes line. Or, drape them over a few lawn chairs. This simple bath removes salt crystals and dirt, which can chafe sail-thread if left unattended. Jib or staysail hanks need the care to keep from freezing up with corrosion at the piston. The same goes for your mainsail slides (external) or slugs (internal). Wash these fittings with fresh water to keep them corrosion-free.
And I should mention the blue type of polytarp material you get at Wal Mart isn't good. Stay away from that. However, you can buy white polytarp material from Polysails. They sell a kit which has everything you need, plus a lot of instructions on their website on how to build these sails. You can also get white tarps from Tarps.com. They have a white, 6 oz tarp that is very sturdy and durable. It's got good UV resistance and makes great sails.
You can even tape pieces of tarp together at first. Then go back and sew them later if you want ... Or just leave them taped together. Another great thing about poly tarp is that you can try different things to create different types of sails. You can add shape to different sails by way of "darts." There is a great essay on the Duckworks website about cutting "darts" in sails to give them shape.
Next, you'll need to turn or come about. There are essentially two ways to accomplish this, by tacking or turning upwind is one way, or you can jibe or turn downwind which is faster than a tack turn. The reason being is that in a jibe turn you have the wind behind you pushing the sailboat through the turn, as opposed to a turning into the wind in a tack turn.
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