by PegLeg » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:33 pm
Doug
Consider how fast you are tacking and whether or not the flutter (luffing) is not just the result of having time to "flutter" because of the time available to do so. You can bet your sweet balast that the jib luffs every time it passes head to wind. You just may not recognize it as such in the "speed tack".
Also consider that "fast tacking" usually results in either using too much rudder and over shooting your desired heading or making a quick counter turn to stop the inertia. Both these rudder actions will slow you down.
Best would be to ignore the sail luffing when making a turn and concentrate on letting the boat round up and fall off in a smooth contiuous arc. This minimizes the rudder drag (water) which is a lot more than the sail luffing drag(air). It also leaves you about 2 boat lengths further up wind than a "quickie" does.
[}:)]