Is strong downhaul always recomended?

[ittiandro]

Since I sail mostly in light winds, my overriding concern is not to waste ANY wind power. From this perspective I wonder whether one should not make an exception to the “ golden” rule of a strong downhaul, which is normally strongly recommended..
In fact, when sub-planing in light winds, (12 knts or so) having the top of the sail loose down to the 2nd panel through a strong downhaul, as normally recommended, combined with a loose leech, unnecessarily depowers the sail, I think. This may explain why I always have to use very large sails ( 8.5 +) in order to get going in light winds.
However I am caught in a sort of catch 22 situation, because when I try to keep the downhaul to a minimum in order to have a tight leech, then the sail becomes very hard to rotate. Perhaps this is the lesser of the two
evils, after all, because I can always push out the sail with one hand. But even if it didn’t fully rotate, I wonder, would a sluggish rotation be a serious problem, compared to spilling precious wind?
I wonder whether any body has comments on this

Thanks

Ittiandro

[Sailboarder]

Depens on the sail design. My Kona 9.0 sail works well with very little DH, but you need to rotate it manually. The sail is designed to be used in different modes, planing and subplaning. I wouldn't use my Ezzy 7.5 with that little DH, it doesn't like it.

You are right that the loose leach dumps power, but it offers a much smoother ride. Sails that need a loose leach are often twitchy without enough DH.

Maybe you need a subplaning specific sail to be happy? I do... I use a 6.0 soft and light Dacron sail for very light wind and a 9.0 Kona for better subplaning conditions or mixed conditions. I also have a 9.5 Lion that I use when I expect to plane most of the time.

[isobars]

[NOVAAN]

Check your sail specs. Rig according to what they say. That said, Under down hauled sails tend to feel powerful but are heavy feeling, slow, hard to rotate and unstable. I find with most sails it best to down haul at least to middle setting and play with outhaul for more power. It will feel more responsive and stable with less drag. The bigger the sail the more crucial the proper down haul becomes

[bred2shred]

Are you sailing a long board, or a light wind planing board (formula, free-formula)?

For light wind planing boards, you want to downhaul the sail properly (loose leech) because the sail needs to be tuned for planing. Work on your pumping skills and use a large enough sail with an adjustable outhaul. If you don't downhaul enough, the sail will not pump properly and it will not settle in once planing.

If you're on a long board with no chance of planing, then you can ease the downhaul to tighten the leech, but you still need to consider that the sail needs adequate downhaul to keep the fabric in the luff tight and allow the sail to rotate properly.

sm

[adywind]

There is a middle setting which is the best one for light wind. The easiest way to find it is when you DH to the max and then release just enough to put your index finger thru the lines tightly between the pulleys.Two fingers loose is the minimum DH setting which is never recommended btw. You need at least that medium amount of DH to help the board lift and get planing easier.
What else you can do to increase your planing threshold is to put just a tiny bit of outhaul; keep your boom shoulder high or up and move the mast foot a finger back from center in order to keep the rig as upright as possible.
The rest is technik- body upright and stiff; arms extended holding the boom with fingers only and overhand grip; hands near the harness lines espatially the front one so you don't choke the sail but also the back one so you don't oversheet. Back leg slightly bent and the front one straight pushing down with the toes and lifting the heel to keep the board flat. Shlog upwind and look upwind until you spot a gust at which point you turn the board deep downwind and throw a pump or two. If you are still not going you better go get yourself a beer.

[jingebritsen]

caution when using cambered sails. the batten tips tend to break when one does not have enough down haul.

there are many clues one gets when one sails with too little down haul. a top heavy feel has been mentioned.

another more interesting sensation is when a gust hits and the planing hulls feel like they are being driven straight down into the water. as if there was a hand of god (wind god of course) pushing the tip of the mast and the entire kits straight down into the water.

the lack of acceleration is also notable. getting pulled out of the foot straps is yet another.

[isobars]

Yep --- like a well-known tight-leeched jump sail tuned for big air when used on a low-volume sinker.

[konajoe]

Well ittiandro,

There is a very simple answer. Read the rigging guide for your sail. What works for one sail won't necessarily work for another sail. And the guides sometimes change from year to year as the sail designers tweak their designs. So look for the rigging guides for each of your sails. Brand, model, and year. Hopefully, you have a guise that has visual indicators instead of just luff and boom lengths.

In the end, would you rather trust your sail designer or someone on a forum?

[isobars]

For me ... depends on what I'm after. The sail tuning tips we've seen here are educational, widely applicable, and so far remarkably consistent, and I've seen some laughable tuning instructions from manufacturers. Every little bit helps.