Sail Set Up

The Fiesta Owners Association

Sail Set Up Page

Sail tuning is a perilous subject on which to write an article, there are so many experts out there all telling you something different. There are also many books and articles on the theories of setting and fine tuning sails whether much good advice will apply to Fiesta's I do not know, however ! with every kit you receive an instruction sheet for setting up the yacht for sailing, this gives the basic idea for adjusting the kicking strap, the mast and the sails and basically enables the yacht to sail on it's own accord.

Though all Fiesta's come from the same moulds and jig, and the owner assembles the kit near enough to the instructions no two will ever end up the same. There will be a slight difference in the angle of the fin and mast to the water line, maybe the rudders are not aligned the same and the position of the lead bulb may not be exactly similar so each yacht will have different sailing characteristics.

This is what makes one designs so fascinating, except for cosmetic differences all look alike on the water and yet they perform slightly differently, some seem to sail so fast, while others tend to lag behind, why is this ? Well those going faster have more power and this power comes from the sails, But Hey ! you say, all the sails are the same, correct ! they are all cut on the same jig but they are not all set up the same and this is where you must learn about setting the flow and shapes to gain maximum drive from your sails, they are your only source of power, if you have an engine out of tune it will not run as efficiently or as fast as it should, likewise sails need tuning to get the best out of them.

So the basic requirement is to know how to set your sails for maximum performance, you can study the sail set up on those faster yachts to glean some ideas but remember they are set up for the trim of that yacht not yours, I like to hope that those skippers with the faster sailing yachts have a certain knowledge which they are willing to pass on to the less able, for a little practical help is worth a mountain of written words. Here are some basic hints that I use and hopefully will help you increase the efficiency of your yacht, the first part can be carried out at home before venturing onto the water.

1) View the mast from above, does it lean to one side more than the other if so adjust the standing rigging. Also adjust the backstay and jib luff up haul so the mast is reasonably straight (there is no curve set into the luff of the main on Fiesta sails).

2) Lay the yacht on it's side, on a table top is best, sheet in and view the sails from behind, the main boom should be one or two degree's off center line, i.e. sheeting post, the jib boom should have a gap of about three fingers between it and the mast.

3) Adjust the flow of the foot of the sails, this is accomplished by sliding the slip tubes along the booms until the main sheet curve in the center is about a thumbs width away from the main boom and the jib sail about a fingers width away from its boom, not a very scientific method I accept, we all have different sized hands, but it is a start.

4) With the sails still sheeted in, pull down the back end of the main boom with a finger and note the changes in the curve of the leech, (back edge of sail) when hard down the leech will be practically flat with almost no curve, when pushed up the leech is all curve and baggy, what you are aiming for is a gentle continuous curve from the foot to the head, once achieved tighten the kicking strap in this position. Now adjust the curve of the jib leech, this is done by tightening or loosening the leech line, try and match the curve of the main and just a fraction more, remember most of the drive of the sails comes from the jib.

5) Now pick up the yacht and swing it from side to side to fill the sails with air, if they fill to much and look a bit baggy then tighten the kicking strap a little and re-adjust the jib leech line accordingly. When I say a little I mean about 1/16th or 2mm at a time.

6)Now onto the water, give the yacht a gentle push away from you and see if it tends to turn to port or starboard, if so correct the trim on the rudder until it sails in a straight line, or near enough, point it now to windward with sails sheeted in and with hands off the transmitter, does it keep pointing or does it bear off or turn up into the wind.

7) If it bears off, first try opening the jib slot a little, if this does not succeed then slacken the jib up hauls and tighten the backstay, remember only a little at a time, re-tighten the jib up hauls and try again, this has the effect of moving the mast backwards slightly and should help the yacht to point to windward better, if it now points to high reverse the procedure to bring the mast forward a fraction.

8) If the yacht heads to windward to much close the jib slot slightly, if still not correct slide the jib boom slightly forward, if still no luck then reverse the procedure in 7 i.e. slacken the backstay and tighten the jib up hauls to bring the mast forward slightly. There are two possible scenarios once the yacht is pointing well, it may head into wind and just before stalling fall back onto the same tack and proceed sailing to windward, or it may pass through head to wind and then proceed on the other tack, you can tune to accompish either.

9) There are many theories concerning the amount of flow one should have in the foot of the main and jib, in winds of different strenghts, I have always worked on the principal of lighter winds more flow and stronger less flow, but I know others reverse this procedure and seem to have equal success. I am not sure the small sail area of a Fiesta is that sensitive to these very small changes but there is certainly room for experiment.

10) In our racing at Oxford it is not uncommon to have eighteen or more Fiesta's turn up for our Sunday morning events, some have sails that are all slack and billowy and one wonders how they are going to sail at all, while others have very little flow and with much tighter trim and look as if they are going nowhere and those who take the middle of the road who look as though they really mean business, but the winners come from a cross section of all these. Perhaps this is trying to tell us that if we can get a good start, sail a proper course, keep out of trouble, read the wind to be on the right tack at the right time, then hang the sail trim we are all possible winners anyway.