Jib Halyard (Spiller)

Heyo.

I've heard a lot of people talk about jib halyard tension and they think that might be a reason for poor speed and/or pointing. Any time the boat is unbalanced you create excess drag in the boat. This not only hurts speed through the water, but pointing too.

Since we are dealing with college boats where you can't change the pin placement, I say we should flush the maxim "mast forward for point, mast back for speed." It really doesn't apply unless you are in junior sailing, or sailing V15s...

If you are going to read no further a good basic key phrase is tension the jib halyard so that when you are sailing upwind in day's medium strength and you trim the main as tight as you would during the day, you should just start to see the leeward shroud become minimally slack.

Thats a good starting point, and for the majority of sailing we do this is "good enough."
So if you remember nothing else, pull on the halyard tight enough so that the leeward halyard starts to wiggle when you are at max trim.

BUT, if you really want to maximize your upwind speed and pointing you can take it a step further.

Here's what I do in an FJ.
First remember all these steps should be done in the average breeze (not a puff or a lull).
Second make sure when you make an adjustment to the following items, make sure you are completely flat, have both sails trimmed in to the same upwind angle, and be forward in the boat (weight positioning).

1. Get the boat flat and sails trimmed appropriately. If the boat heads up into the breeze, pull on more jib halyard. If the boat bears away from the breeze, its probably time to ease off the jib halyard. Imagine what tightening the jib halyard does to the entire sail plan, moving forward or aft compared to the CLR (centerboard basically) if you need a visual image.

2. Now you have the approximate halyard tension! Next is jib cars. I believe we have been having the jib cars too far forward in general. Slide your cars back and forward and look at how the jib telltales break. When the cars are back, the upper (inside) tales break first. When the cars are forward the foot of the jib is more round and the jib leech tension is tighter. Find a region on the track where the upper and middle telltales break evenly (at the same time)... This is a neutral setting. If it is very flat water, or in wind I think it is ok to set the cars farther back. If you are sailing in chop, or if your boat is a bit heavy, I believe you need extra power. This power can come from the jib by moving the cars forward a touch.

These are very minute changes. We are talking about 1/4 inches in jib halyard tension and 1-2 holes on the jib cars.

The jib cars can range from all the way back to 5-6 holes showing behind the jib car.

One thing to remember: Tightening the jib halyard will have one sure negative effect. It will narrow your steering groove and make the boat more sensitive, more responsive to tiny helm changes... and ultimately harder to steer. So when you are learning, its better to err on the side of too little tension. This will make the boats "groove" larger and the boat more forgiving.

Finally, anything any one person tells you about sailing should be taken with a grain of salt. You have to find your own way of sailing. What works for some people may not for others.

Lets push ourselves this week at practice!

--BTSpill