I have a mistral equipe 1998,when using an 8.4 sail in light wind 8 mph,when I tack the board turns and goes thru the eye of the wind,when using a 7.5 sail in same wind,it stops before going thru the eye of the wind,could this be bacause the 7.5 has a shorter boom length? I am not an expert,just an average back yard intermediate windsufer,and I dont race my equipe,but like to go fast,and criuse out of the harbor,enjoying the scenery,I sail in 5-30 mph. Also I find that tacking my equipe turns faster then gybing,when I gybe it makes a wide arc.
Thanks for any input Ed

Hey Ed, just a wild guess, but there are better experts than me: are you sinking the windward rail? Rear foot way back and forcing the turn? Grabbing the mast with front hand perhaps to help rake the rig back? Actually difficult to see that it would be easy on one and not the other.

With the 8.5, you may wanna practice the "front-to-back", that is, pull the sail even once it's passed the eye of the wind, almost pushing on the new tack. After practicing this, it gives new insights on how to 'force' the tack with the smaller sail.

I think you're right (and let's see what experts say) that shorter boom will make the tack a bit slower if not planing, but should still pass the eye.

Other than that, hey, you got it all right: getting about, a bit of speed in a wide range of winds, enjoying the waterways. Good stuff!

Hi Ed,
You are correct, a shorter boom length can make the tack slower, simply because it typically means there is less sail area moving behind the center of effort on the centerboard (the actual pivot point) when you rake the rig back. However there are several things you can do to change this. I'll list a few things that have a big impact on tacking speeds and what you can do about them.

- Distance the center of effort of the sail is behind the center of effort on the centerboard.
1. Rake the rig as far back as possible, including stepping back as far as you can at the initial part of the tack (allowing you to rake the rig farther back) but you need to be quick once you get close to head to wind to get back forward and around the rig.
2. Move the mast track back some. Normally the mast track is all the way forward going up wind, but if when your rig is raked all the way back does not put enough distance between the two center of efforts, then having the mast farther back to start with will add distance between them and make it come around faster. Experiment to find a good compromise between comfortable balance of the board going up wind, versus how far back you can run the mast track.
3. Centerboard should be fully down. Most people know this, but if the center board is not down all the way, then the center of effort of the centerboard is moved back. That's no good for a quick tack.

- Reducing the turn resistance
1. This is straight forward...the larger the fin, the slower it comes around. Big fins are great for off wind stability, and they help upwind performance, but the bigger the fin, the slower it tacks. If you have another fin that is smaller, put it on and give it a try.
2. Fin position, here again, like the mast track, finding a balance is the key. The farther back you put the fin, the slower it tacks. If you move it forward (depending a lot on what type of fin, shape, size, etc.) it may not jibe as well on a full plane, or track as well upwind. These are fine tune adjustments which you may not even notice, but they are factors.

- Technique and aggressiveness
1. The speed of the tack is more about how aggressive you are than any other factor. Going into a tack at full speed, moving both feet back on the board and cranking the rig back hard will bring it around very fast.
2. The longer you hold, the better off you are, but the faster you need to move (literally jumping around the rig) and this takes technique. To be successful you need to move your forward foot to the mast base at the last moment, throw the rig past you as you leap around the front, swapping positions of your feet and snap the rig as you arrive on the other side. It takes practice. It's not a "walk-around-the-front" kind of action. Watch some video's of the pro's to get an idea. Of all the solutions above, this will yield the greatest improvement in the speed of your tack, regardless what sail.

Good luck and keep up the sailing, always try new things, and above all...Have Fun

> but the faster you need to move (literally jumping around the rig)
> and this takes technique

This is the end result though. For the time being, take fewer and fewer steps and take it longer into the new tack. Ultimately you just about jump around indeed.

Teak boy,thank you for the advice on tacking,ok in strong wind I am sure you dont mean put the centerboard down all the way when tacking,I think that would be disaster,lol How do I actually know when the board goes thru the eye of the wind? When I tack,rake the rig hard all the way back,step to the rear,the board turns so far and almost stops.I used to grab my uphaul,and throw thre rig forward,and get around the mast
Thanks Ed

Ed, he must have meant everything-else-being-equal. I certainly don't believe you're going to start fiddling with dagger adjustments on the way, unless it's a 5-mile reach.

Tell us about your equipment exactly: sail brands, length at the clew for each, do you use 1 or 2 booms, do you adjust the boom when going from one sail to the other, what is the dagger position you use in 8 mph (I hope mostly down!), and so on.

The feeling should be the same as the 8-meter sail that works for you. Let's start in the beginning. When you say the bigger sail works, what do you mean? Do you mean you pass the eye, grab the uphaul (as you say in there), THEN move your feet around?

If so, do you feel you step around [jumping is for later] when the board is dead into the eye of the wind, or a bit passed? Do you use the uphaul then? Describe your hand movement around boom, and perhaps uphaul and mast. We'll take it from there, one step at a time.

> rake the rig hard all the way back

This can be a danger and can stop the board: if you go too far back with not enough board speed. The board turns too fast for its forward motion, the dagger ends up sliding across and stops the board's progress. It could be that it's OK with the 8-meter because enough speed to rake hard, but not the other.

To understand this one, just pretend raking all the way back in say 3 mph wind - you see right away that that wouldn't work. Go more gradually (larger angles) with not enough speed.

> Board stops

This happens also if you don't sink the leeward rail all the way into the turn - sorry I meant leeward in earlier reply, not windward. The sinking allows the tracking of the board in the water - everything else being equal, i.e. dagger, fin, rig motion. At 7+ meters in 8 mph wind, you don't want to leave the board dead flat as you turn.

It can also happen if the sail is not tight enough at the clew, making the sail a bit lose and interfering with your reading of the eye. Which in turns happens when you use the same boom system for 2 different sails, and the shorter sails ends up with the clew too far from the outhaul - is that the case for you???

This is freestyle Ed! What you describe is an advanced racing move in fair winds practiced by very few to get a couple more degrees out of a power tack. I've done it, I've seen at a race in the US, always impressive to watch and fun to do.

If wind picks up here, I might shoot a couple of flicks for us to discuss. Ironically, all of my home movies have freestyle tacks, not a single normal one