Post by viv on Nov 28, 2017 8:34:35 GMT -8
Hello Foiling Friends,
I hope you enjoy flying over the SL waters with this fun cat.
Following up on my previous post, here are a few tips and tricks which might be useful to push the performance further.
In this post, I will explain how unlocking the sails can be beneficial.
As mentioned before, the FS is a complex sailboat, and her behaviour changes as the wind rises or whether sailed with or without crew.
Another element will affect deeply the way to sail the FS: the choice to lock/unlock main and foresails together.
The lock function was introduced in FS version 2.0 as a way to simplify handling of the boat.
By default, the FS has sails "locked" together, which means that all sails are affected when you trim using up/down arrows.
This is simpler for the skipper, as both sails move together, trimmed to the same angle, just like the Nacra behaves.
However, keeping the sails locked has drawbacks as you cannot take advantage of the finer trim options. And indeed, one can sail faster after unlocking the sails.
To lock/unlock the sails, simply type "lock" in chat (or "/xx lock" if using a specific channel, xx being the channel number)
The lock visible on the mast instruments disappears and a chat prompt confirms the state of your boat, e.g. "Flying Shadow X V2.0: Sail lock disengaged"
Once the sails lock is off, up/dn arrows only command the main sail. To trim the jib and/or the spinnaker, you need to use pg-up/pg-down keys.
Alternatively, you may use the HUD as it has 2 separate sets of commands for main and foresails: left up/dn arrows for the main, right ones for the foresails.
Bigger arrows for fast trim, smaller ones for fine trim (1 notch at a time)
A third option is to set up gestures to control your sails. That's the way I do: I designed a set of gestures for both the main and the foresail with +/- 1, 5 and 10 increments for fine, normal and fast tweaking.
Trimming sails separately brings most gains when sailing solo, in medium to stronger winds, and especially upwind.
Indeed, that's the point of sail where the boat starts to heel much, to the detriment of foiling and boat speed.
As the wind rises, and with as little as 15-knots wind, there is actually too much power in the FS sails! Hence, excessive heeling.
Releasing some of the pressure in the sails will help to maintain the boat flatter. Letting the sails flap a little does just that, as the excess power goes off with the luffing
However, you need some power to move forward fast. Upwind, most of the power comes from the main sail, and as soon as it flaps, speed drops.
That is where unlocking the sails comes handy: you can now keep the power up by keeping the main tight, while releasing the excess power by letting only the jib to flap.
As you let the jib sheet go a little, you will notice the boat getting flatter (less heeling) and speed rising.
The amount of slack necessary depends on the wind strength: the more wind, the more flapping possible, but you need to experiment, checking the speedometer as you are letting the jib sheet go, 1 notch at a time.
With more extreme winds, keeping the same logic, you may want to let the main flap also, to keep the boat flatter and faster.
As a side note, keep in mind that this is a terrible way to manage your sails in the real world, as flapping sails will deteriorate faster over time.
A side effect of letting the jib loose is more stability upwind: the FS natural weather helm upwind tends to disappear, even turning into a lee helm when the discrepancy between main and jib is too big.
This may slow down tacking, but I do not have enough quantified measures to tell...
I have managed to sail across the whole Blake Sea from Second Norway to Nautilus with barely a touch on the helm, keeping the same bearing with just a little sails adjustment...
Have Fun and Keep Foiling !
I hope you enjoy flying over the SL waters with this fun cat.
Following up on my previous post, here are a few tips and tricks which might be useful to push the performance further.
In this post, I will explain how unlocking the sails can be beneficial.
As mentioned before, the FS is a complex sailboat, and her behaviour changes as the wind rises or whether sailed with or without crew.
Another element will affect deeply the way to sail the FS: the choice to lock/unlock main and foresails together.
The lock function was introduced in FS version 2.0 as a way to simplify handling of the boat.
By default, the FS has sails "locked" together, which means that all sails are affected when you trim using up/down arrows.
This is simpler for the skipper, as both sails move together, trimmed to the same angle, just like the Nacra behaves.
However, keeping the sails locked has drawbacks as you cannot take advantage of the finer trim options. And indeed, one can sail faster after unlocking the sails.
To lock/unlock the sails, simply type "lock" in chat (or "/xx lock" if using a specific channel, xx being the channel number)
The lock visible on the mast instruments disappears and a chat prompt confirms the state of your boat, e.g. "Flying Shadow X V2.0: Sail lock disengaged"
Once the sails lock is off, up/dn arrows only command the main sail. To trim the jib and/or the spinnaker, you need to use pg-up/pg-down keys.
Alternatively, you may use the HUD as it has 2 separate sets of commands for main and foresails: left up/dn arrows for the main, right ones for the foresails.
Bigger arrows for fast trim, smaller ones for fine trim (1 notch at a time)
A third option is to set up gestures to control your sails. That's the way I do: I designed a set of gestures for both the main and the foresail with +/- 1, 5 and 10 increments for fine, normal and fast tweaking.
Trimming sails separately brings most gains when sailing solo, in medium to stronger winds, and especially upwind.
Indeed, that's the point of sail where the boat starts to heel much, to the detriment of foiling and boat speed.
As the wind rises, and with as little as 15-knots wind, there is actually too much power in the FS sails! Hence, excessive heeling.
Releasing some of the pressure in the sails will help to maintain the boat flatter. Letting the sails flap a little does just that, as the excess power goes off with the luffing
However, you need some power to move forward fast. Upwind, most of the power comes from the main sail, and as soon as it flaps, speed drops.
That is where unlocking the sails comes handy: you can now keep the power up by keeping the main tight, while releasing the excess power by letting only the jib to flap.
As you let the jib sheet go a little, you will notice the boat getting flatter (less heeling) and speed rising.
The amount of slack necessary depends on the wind strength: the more wind, the more flapping possible, but you need to experiment, checking the speedometer as you are letting the jib sheet go, 1 notch at a time.
With more extreme winds, keeping the same logic, you may want to let the main flap also, to keep the boat flatter and faster.
As a side note, keep in mind that this is a terrible way to manage your sails in the real world, as flapping sails will deteriorate faster over time.
A side effect of letting the jib loose is more stability upwind: the FS natural weather helm upwind tends to disappear, even turning into a lee helm when the discrepancy between main and jib is too big.
This may slow down tacking, but I do not have enough quantified measures to tell...
I have managed to sail across the whole Blake Sea from Second Norway to Nautilus with barely a touch on the helm, keeping the same bearing with just a little sails adjustment...
Have Fun and Keep Foiling !