Telling Tales
by Jim Halay, Eagle Droppings Newsletter and Miami
Valley MYC Newsletter
A step in achieving boat speed is sail trim on the water using telltales. One of the problems model boat sailors face is that we are on the shore and the boats are on the water and the physical feedback of wind speed and direction is altered by the distance. The only reliable feedback we receive from our little yachts is the visual shape of the sails and relative boat speed. If we could only see the wind.
Well, we can see the wind by using telltales, The purpose of telltales is to allow us to see the wind passing by our sails so we can trim and steer our boats to maximize the efficiency of our sails, therefore maximizing boat speed. Telltales can be made of lightweight yarn, thin pieces of nylon cloth or similar material. They should be brightly colored so that you can see them at a distance and light enough to flow in a light breeze. Place two or three on the ends of the upper battens on your mainsail. The jib telltales are placed in pairs on each side of the sail about one third and two thirds up from the foot, favoring the upper portion of the sail, and about an inch back from the luff. I like to use different colors for the jib telltales because I use transparent sails and want to know which telltales I am looking at. Try to place the jib telltales away from any seams in the sails so they won't be fouled in light breezes. I purchased commercially available telltales from the Sail Cutter and modify them by cutting them in half and making them shorter (about 3"). They come with sticky back rip-stop nylon patches for sticking to the sails but any good cloth tape will do.
Once you have installed the telltales it's time to go out to practice and learn how to use them. Try and find a friend who has a boat of similar speed and ability and race on a beat to windward. You'll soon see that when your boat is trimmed properly and moving fast that the leeward telltales are streaming back parallel with the water. That's because the wind is flowing efficiently over the sails and generation forward motion. Now pinch the boat up into the wind. You'll notice that the telltales on the jib will point upward to the sky or twirl around and your boat speed will drop. Fall off the wind a bit and the nice backward streaming is restored, and so is your boat speed. Now, fall off the wind while leaving the sails adjusted for the beat to windward. The jib telltails will hang limp and not move very much. Again restore the direction of your boat to that "slot" in the wind and you will see the boat speed pick up when your telltails again begin to flow. Try the same drill with the boat on a broad reach. You'll soon find that the directional slot of most efficient sailing for any sail setting except for sailing downwind. Telltales will hang limp on your sails while sailing downwind.
The mainsail telltales are used simply to check whether the slot between the jib and the main is proper and the leeches are roughly parallel. If your sails are set properly the main sail telltales will flow straight out and parallel when the jib telltales are flowing. Practice sailing using telltales and sail trim becomes second nature allowing you to spend more time on tactics and watching for the competition.
My eyesight seems to deteriorate with age. A trick I've learned it to fix the jib starboard telltale a little [not much] higher than the port side. Then remember when viewed from a distance the higher one is the starboard side.
A step in achieving boat speed is sail trim on the water using telltales. One of the problems model boat sailors face is that we are on the shore and the boats are on the water and the physical feedback of wind speed and direction is altered by the distance. The only reliable feedback we receive from our little yachts is the visual shape of the sails and relative boat speed. If we could only see the wind.
Well, we can see the wind by using telltales, The purpose of telltales is to allow us to see the wind passing by our sails so we can trim and steer our boats to maximize the efficiency of our sails, therefore maximizing boat speed. Telltales can be made of lightweight yarn, thin pieces of nylon cloth or similar material. They should be brightly colored so that you can see them at a distance and light enough to flow in a light breeze. Place two or three on the ends of the upper battens on your mainsail. The jib telltales are placed in pairs on each side of the sail about one third and two thirds up from the foot, favoring the upper portion of the sail, and about an inch back from the luff. I like to use different colors for the jib telltales because I use transparent sails and want to know which telltales I am looking at. Try to place the jib telltales away from any seams in the sails so they won't be fouled in light breezes. I purchased commercially available telltales from the Sail Cutter and modify them by cutting them in half and making them shorter (about 3"). They come with sticky back rip-stop nylon patches for sticking to the sails but any good cloth tape will do.
Once you have installed the telltales it's time to go out to practice and learn how to use them. Try and find a friend who has a boat of similar speed and ability and race on a beat to windward. You'll soon see that when your boat is trimmed properly and moving fast that the leeward telltales are streaming back parallel with the water. That's because the wind is flowing efficiently over the sails and generation forward motion. Now pinch the boat up into the wind. You'll notice that the telltales on the jib will point upward to the sky or twirl around and your boat speed will drop. Fall off the wind a bit and the nice backward streaming is restored, and so is your boat speed. Now, fall off the wind while leaving the sails adjusted for the beat to windward. The jib telltails will hang limp and not move very much. Again restore the direction of your boat to that "slot" in the wind and you will see the boat speed pick up when your telltails again begin to flow. Try the same drill with the boat on a broad reach. You'll soon find that the directional slot of most efficient sailing for any sail setting except for sailing downwind. Telltales will hang limp on your sails while sailing downwind.
The mainsail telltales are used simply to check whether the slot between the jib and the main is proper and the leeches are roughly parallel. If your sails are set properly the main sail telltales will flow straight out and parallel when the jib telltales are flowing. Practice sailing using telltales and sail trim becomes second nature allowing you to spend more time on tactics and watching for the competition.
My eyesight seems to deteriorate with age. A trick I've learned it to fix the jib starboard telltale a little [not much] higher than the port side. Then remember when viewed from a distance the higher one is the starboard side.