Changing Gears

Changing gears.

A commonly heard phrase referring to changing the way you sail a boat and set the sail to suit changes in wind strength. ‘Changing gears’ is something that has cropped up a lot in my recent coaching and as a consequence I have been pondering over the best way to explain it. This blog post is the result of my current thoughts.

 

What is it all about?

Essentially, at different wind strengths, to optimise your boat speed, it is important to alter the sail shape (or adjust controls to maintain the sail shape) and alter the way you sail the boat.

Keeping with the changing gears analogy I have come up with a few of the main gears and the difference between them. This is just a rough guide to help illustrate what I mean and may differ between sailors and classes of boat. This guide is with a Laser or Topper in mind, sailed inland. Some minor adjustments would be needed for coastal sailing to take account of the prevailing sea state.

Gear	Wind strength	How to sail the boat
1st	Drifting, not enough wind to fill the sail. Few ripples and glassy patches on the water.	·        Weight well forward. Trim transom out of the water ·        weight induced leeward heel to allow gravity to fill the sail ·        Prioritising speed ·        Sail set relatively flat, Kicker used to hold boom down
2nd	Enough wind to fill the sail, can sit on the side deck of a Laser. Constant ripples on the water.	·        Similar to above, leeward heel less. ·        Slight wind induced leeward heel to help give feel to the rudder. ·        Weight forward, trim transom just skimming the water. ·        Speed still the priority, but watch tell tales closely to try to gain height in any slight wind shift.
3rd	Sitting on the edge of the deck, starting to hike.	·        Boat flat or very slight leeward heel. Squeezing extra power from any gusts. ·        Transom just in contact with the water. ·        Sail set with more shape to give more power ·        Mainsheet increasingly used to keep leech tension. ·        Speed and pointing equally important.
4th	Hiking most of the time, occasionally having to spill wind	·        Boat flat or slight leeward heel. Squeezing extra height and power (if needed) from the gusts. ·        Transom in the water, wake should always be smooth. ·        Prioritising pointing ·        Increased kicker and some downhaul used to control excess power. ·        Mainsheet block to block as much as possible. ·        Pinch to control excess power.
5th	Slightly overpowered most of the time	·        Hike hard, boat likely to have some leeward heel. Try to keep this constant by power control. Pinch and ease the sail to do this. ·        Controls used to depower and keep the sail controllable ·        Pointing important, but the sailor must work hard to keep speed up to prevent the boat stalling.
6th	Windy	·        Read my post on windy upwind sailing.

1^st and 2^nd gears are for light winds, 3^rd and 4^th represent medium winds, while 5^th and 6^th are when the wind is strong. (See my previous post on upwind sailing for a definition of wind strengths)

For me I think I probably have about 6/7 gears and while they are different, when the wind is around the changeover point from one to another there will be a blend of the two.

 

 When to change up or down?

As a car has an optimum rev range, so does a boat have an optimum wind speed, or power range to change gear. As you get to 3^rd gear and beyond this will vary depending on the weight of the sailor, but the change from 1^st to 2^nd to 3^rd and back again should be at pretty much the same wind strength for a given class of boat regardless of sailor weight. Simply put when you could be sailing more efficiently in another gear, it is time to change. To start with you can look at other boats around you to see what they are doing, if there is a range of gears being used look to see who is sailing fastest. As you get more proficient it is possible (and desirable) to develop a feel of when to change gears.

How often to change gears?

As often as you need, which is more often that most sailors do…….

Unless it is strong winds, I often find I will be changing through 3 gears or more during a race. On any one beat, especially in light to medium winds, 10+ gear changes is not uncommon.

 

What happens if you are in the wrong gear?

I often see sailors sailing in 1^st gear when there is sufficient wind to shift into 2^nd, which would give them greater speed and stop the boat slipping sideways by bringing it flatter.

Another common mistake is getting into 3^rd gear, sheeting block to block, but then as the wind drops not shifting back into second. Although the boat points well as a consequence the speed is rubbish flow over the foils is reduced and the boat slips sideways. Ease the mainsheet slip into second and keep the speed up.

 

In summary. The best sailors will be continually adjusting their sails and what they do to suit the changing wind and water conditions. If the wind has changed and boats around you are moving faster do you need to change up or down?

Happy sailing

Andy

Squeezing a bit of extra speed from your boat.

Squeezing

In medium winds have you ever noticed how some sailors seem to manage to get more speed out of the boat, and gradually seem to be able to point higher? I certainly have, it has been something I have been working on for the past few years, and while I am definitely not a master at it, I think I can claim a level of competence.

This is something quite specific I am going to write about and is really a technique to look at once you have upwind sailing pretty well sorted and you are searching for that extra bit of speed.

Over the past weekend I was coaching a keen group of young Laser sailors, the focus was predominantly upwind speed, on Saturday constant heel was a phrase that often cropped up, and I talked about how you could feel the increase in pressure associated with more wind, through your legs and bum. By reacting to this it is possible to resist the push with your weight and squeeze the boat forward, and possibly slightly closer to the wind. On the Sunday I was in a Laser Radial doing some 2 boat tuning runs with one of the sailors. It was this that gave me a greater understanding of what is happening and the advantage it gave.

                                                         Two Boat tuning run.

To set the scene, we had both boats sailing upwind parallel to each other, both of us were sat on the edge of the gunwale but not hiking. Initially both boats were about the same speed, then we sailed into a small band of increased pressure, while the other Laser heeled slightly and was then brought flat, I felt the increase in pressure, in response rocked my shoulders outboard and resisted the push of the deck, this squeeze gave me a real sense of acceleration and I almost instantly gained about a third of a boat length. The other sailor had let his boat heel which wasted the winds energy and pushed the boat sideways ever so slightly. While he got up to speed by pumping his boat flat again that was distance he couldn’t make back up. 30 seconds later the same thing happened, and within a few minutes I had gained over a boat length of distance forwards. Additionally I had managed to point slightly higher in each wind band, so had gained about a boat width advantage directly upwind as well.

The technique

Essentially it is just keeping the boat flat (or at a constant angle of heel) however it is not quite as simple as that.

As you feel an increase in wind pressure, this is usually felt through whatever you have in contact with the side deck, resist the push and press the deck down using your weight. I like to think of squeezing the juice from Oranges, or squeezing a bar of soap between both hands. The net result is the soap shoots forwards. Often the increased flow over the foils allows you to steer ever so slightly closer to the wind as well.

A few Tips

Hiking pads can dull the feel so in lighter winds think, do you need to wear them, or could you get by without?

It is quite a subtle feel and movement, and will take practise to get your response exactly right to a certain amount of pressure. Try sailing along concentrating on the feel through the backs of your legs, you can even close your eyes.

Sit upright with a straight back, this will allow you to gain the most effective leverage when you lean back.

As the wind increases you may be squeezing the mainsheet in at the same time, and easing it again when the pressure has passed.

This is a technique for Medium winds, (See my earlier post for a definition of this.) and relatively flat water states. The technique will change as the wind does. In my earlier description from my coaching, I have described the light end of the medium wind spectrum. In slightly stronger winds when you are mostly hiking you may find that you don’t have enough weight to give to resist the push in the gusts. When this happens squeeze as much as you can with your weight and also use the rudder slightly to squeeze the boat closer to the wind to gain height.

Try lining up with one or more other boats and have a drag race upwind. Afterwards be open and chat where gains and losses were made, by sharing you will all get better.

Once you are starting to depower and having to spill wind regularly you need to change gears and adopt your strong wind sailing style.

 

Hopefully this should help you get a bit of extra speed sailing upwind, but the same principles can be applied on a reach as well.

 

Happy sailing

Andy