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Pointing or not, that is the problem.
The ability of a sailing boat is dependent on three things
1. Balance
2.Sail shape
3.SkillThe first item has been thrashed enough so lets condider the other two.
Sail shape
Pointing is the ability of a sail to generate adequate power to drive the boat forward with the lowest angle of attack between the apparent wind and the chord of the sail. This is basically determined by the sailmaker when the sail is made but it is important that the crew get the best out of the sail by adjusting the trim of the sail. This is done by adjusting the luff tension to keep the angle of attack low by not over tensioning. Flattening the sail with the vang also helps to flatten the sail and this helps to reduce the angle of attack. The downside of using the vang is that it is easy to overvang and close the leech and by flattening the sail too much the available drive is reduced. As is evident above there is no easy answer and each skipper work out the solution personally. This can only be done by sailing the boat. In this world you get nuthin for nuthin.
Skill
When sailing to winward the boat must be constantly kept at the correct angle to the wind.This is done by constantly luffing the boat into the wind by just enough to stop the winward tuft from streaming and the steering the boat back on course. This goes on constantly and assumes that the boat is properly balanced as previously discussed. Any hint of lee helm must be eliminated as it makes pointing impossible, slows the boat and increases leeway.
Phillip Johnson
Sabre 1644
Illegitimatti non carborundumPS Just get out there and do it
This is a bit complicated and perhaps we will put a more detailed article under “Sailing Hints”.
Ultimately you should be aiming for a ‘balanced’ feel on the tiller upwind when the boat is sailed flat. The reality is that you will probably have a little bit of weather helm. I suggest you also look at the sail control article under Sailing Hints… particularly the effect of leech pressure, twist etc on pointing ability.
Balance (in tune) occurs when ‘centre of effort’ (CE) lines up with the ‘centre of lateral resistance’ (CLR). Too much rake aft moves the CE of the mainsail aft and gives the boat weather helm. Moving the mast step forward, but with some rake will overcome weather helm and contribute to perfect balance.
Moving the centreboard aft will also have an affect.
Obviously, the converse ocuurs if you have lee helm.
The mast maybe raked aft in strong winds to lower the CE. As I said before, this is complex and there is no straight answer. What I can say from experience is that the majority of Sabres have their mast step somewhere between max aft and the midpoint allowed by the rules.The Vic assoc has masts for sale plus a number of fittings eg towel rail, boom plugs etc…see BOATS and EQUIPMENT section of this website and follow link to Fittings for sale.
John Dixon, Vic Measurer handles this. John and Phil Johnson whose email addresses are in the contacts sections can also help with your fitout issues.I’m nearing completion on my Sabre have put a layer of mat over the whole of the bottom as I had to use 4mm ply. I was going to just varnish with a UV resistant product to save on cost and weight. If the boat sails well I might put a more expensive finish on it at a latter date. Does this sound OK?
Could you please be more specific with how to sail the boat? If the mast step is forward with more rake, will this help the boat point higher and how do you sail it for different mast and rake positions?
Until recently, my mast position (centre of mast) was 2710 mm from aft of the transom. That was was on my old boat 1439 and my current boat 1611. I have recently experimented by moving it to the minimum allowable position ie maximum aft. The boat is still perfectly balanced…using the same rig tension, but the mast is raked slightly straighter (haven’t actually measured it).
At this stage, I think upwind speed and pointing ability are about the same but because the shrouds and mast are more in line, the mast has the ability to flop forward downwind.
Barry Eastgate
The closest you will get is the movie “On the Beach” -latest version which includes about 3 mins of footage with the 2 main characters sailing sabres.
Hi Andrew,
To my knowledge there are no training videos specific to Sabres currently in circulation.
I’m not sure if Yachting Victoria would have any footage of training camps that included Sabres.
Regards,
Maree Early
I noticed the questions on mast position and Mast rake. Over the past 28 years in the class I have noticed many variations amoungst the top boats. Some such as David Wood (a past Victorian champion and consistent performer) has his mast step forward and carries a fair amount of rake. Another is Maree Early who has the mast step well back and very little rake. Both have reasons for what they do and both go fast.
I have concluded that what is important is that the rake must match the step position. The difference is dramatic and I have a great photo taken at the finish line of both boats crossing together and you can easily see the difference in rakes.
What is more important once the rig is balanced is the way you sail the boat and how you set the sail.
Never say Never 1437Martin Sly uses 2 pack – doesn’t have to be marine…Sly often uses auto paint. I suspect it is harder.
He uses a wet on wet technique – both paint and varnish.
Like with all painting, preparation is the key.The Vic committee is currently seeking expressions of interest from anumber of clubs. We usually alternate between tp end and bottom end of Port Phillip. Clubs we are looking at are Sorrento, Frankston, a club on Westernport Bay.
g’day,
that wouldn’t be such a bad idea would it. i dunno if sabres would be light enough, or if its in the best intrests of the class. try it though it would be good publicity for the class and would be a good joke to show people. ive also thought about it. another idea would be a trapese and a rotating mast. and areoplane wings so it will fly around. also add on out riggers so it will be a trimaran. and put on a jib. and a mast head assemetric.nah seriously. if hydrofoils are what you want think about a moth. if your still keen on foils for a sabre i reckon you should fit them for one sail around but make sure you take lots of pictures
In my reply to Russell I omitted to mention that position of the mast will also affect the final mast rake to properly balance the boat.
I also should have added a bit of philosophy on the subject of boat tuning.
I you want to beat the champion you will need to do it bettter, not just copy their set up. It is most important to learn how to optimise your boats rig yourself. Copying someone elses set up will never teach you why certain things are done or not done. The modern theory of coaching seminars seems to get someone to do the hard work and then pinch their knowledge. While this theory appears time effective it makes its adherents into followers not leaders and only reinforces the grip that the champion has on the trophy.Here endeth the lesson
Phillip Johnson
Sabre 1644
Illegitimatti non carborundumI think this has been started by a very tall sailor from the bottom of the bay who should know the answer to this. However if I am wrong he will soon tell me.
There is no magic mast rake for a Sabre for the following reasons.
1.Most boats have slightly different hull shapes.
2.A variety of sails from different sailmakers with the same potential speed are used in the current Sabre fleet.
3.As sails get older the cloth stretches which varies the curvature of the sail and hence the centre of effort changes.
4.The sailing techniques can vary between individual sailors.The technique for determining mast rake is as follows.
1.Sail the boat perfectly flat to windward in a side deck sitting i.e. Not hanging out.
2.Let go of the tiller.
3.The boat should slowly but steadily turn into the wind.
4.The tiller should have a low but steady pressure to move to leeward.The boat must have some weather helm as described above when perfectly flat to cope with the times when a slight heel to windward occurs which is more often than you realise, particularly if you are keeping the boat as flat as possible. This can be caused when the wind speed drops at the end of a puff or the bottom of a wave.
A sure sign that the mast rake is not correct is an inability to point as high as other boats.
How about that Russell!!
