Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

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Michel
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Location: Zaanstad, the Netherlands, EU

Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

Post by Michel »

Steve Haarstick's Freedom sail trim tutorial.
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Freedom sail trim - Steve Haarstick.pdf
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Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

unfetteredalexandria
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:57 pm

Re: Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

Post by unfetteredalexandria »

I was just looking at Steve Haarstick's tutorial recently, and I noticed that he never mentions the vang! Does this surprise anyone else? I have always treated the vang primarily as a control for flattening the main, primarily by taking out twist, which I try to do more and more as the wind picks up. Over the years, I've come across some guidance(1,2) that suggests doing this up to a moderate breeze, but then easing it off, and actually putting quite a lot of twist into the sail in a strong blow. The idea is to reduce side force up high, and keep the boat flat. I have not tried this, and wondering whether it has worked for anyone with a Freedom rig.

_____
1. Ross Garrett, The Symmetry of Sailing, p.99 (1st ed.)
2. http://academic.amc.edu.au/~gthomas/yac ... namics.ppt
1984 round-mast Freedom 25
Western Shore of the Chesapeake

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Hans
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Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
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Re: Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

Post by Hans »

For flattening the main I use the outhaul, which is on a winch on the boom, by hand you could never create the power necessary to flatten the main properly.
Also taking in a reef ( with the proper tension on the reef line) flattens the main. The vang does'nt flatten the main in my opinion but has effect on the twist only.
I use the vang always, esp close hauled and close reaching, when I make the twist with the best flow on the telltales in the leech. When I need to depower the main temporarily in those situations
I sometimes give more twist, f.i. when a squall is passing; when I need depowering a longer time I take in a reef and preserve proper sailshape.
When beamreaching and need to depower I sometimes gives extra twist to depower the top of the main. But better is to reef I think: better control over sailshape and less stress on the rig.
Hans Hansen, Makkum,The Netherlands.
Freedom 45AC #47 "Scherezade".

unfetteredalexandria
Posts: 128
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Re: Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

Post by unfetteredalexandria »

I asked Steve about this; here is his response:

Vang sheeting is effective on One Designs, but can break goosenecks, etc. as boats get bigger. This is especially true for boats with very large mains, like Freedoms. I like to have enough vang upwind to keep the boom from lifting too much when the sheet is eased, but not so much that the main sheet is not taking most of the downward pull on the boom.

RW Rawles
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Re: Steve Haarstick's Freedom Sail Trim Tutorial

Post by RW Rawles »

It's interesting reading Haarstick's manual. He's an authority with street cred. He knows more than I do. But . . .

I've owned my Freedom-38 for 23 years and I have buoy-raced for 13 of those years in handicapped classes. I have to say that by now I race by the seat of my pants, by feel. I may glance at telltales. I never adjust the hard vang, except to see that it has some play. (I've just replaced a fractured gooseneck!) Does that tell you something. Going to weather and tacking, I never touch the mainsheet, once it's dialed in for wind and wave conditions. It's all mainsheet traveler, outhaul, Cunningham, and mainsheet halyard tension, in that order. I get what I think is a lovely twist by sheeting traveler to weather. My winning groove is 15-25 knots. In this range, my Freedom has spoiled me: she pretty much sails herself. I never reef: loving my beautiful over-sized roach too much, I prefer to go in.

My two cents . . .

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