| In this lesson I will present a detailed perspective | | | | sets and to the middle set when there are three |
| on sail trim, introducing the use of tell-tales and | | | | sets of tell-tales. |
| more sail controls, while keeping the relative time | | | | Now, let's turn our attention to the mainsail. We |
| spent on sail trim to a minimum. | | | | will still use just our mainsheet for trimming our |
| Novices begin sail trim with the mainsail. More | | | | mainsail at this point, continuing to avoid |
| advanced sailors start sail trim from the most | | | | adjustment of the boom vang and traveler car. |
| forward sail on the boat. For a typical Bermuda | | | | We will center our traveler car amid ship and |
| Sloop, the most common rig today, that means | | | | leave it there. At this point, with the headsail |
| the jib or foresail. We will also introduce sailing by | | | | already trimmed, you are likely to see a big |
| the tell-tales—the little pieces of green and | | | | "bubble" along the luff of our mainsail where the |
| red yarn, cloth or ribbon hanging in about the | | | | headsail has turned the wind into our mainsail if |
| middle of the sail. To begin, we put our boat on a | | | | the mainsail is trimmed out. The goal of mainsail |
| steady course and while on that course we sheet | | | | trim is to get the mainsail tell-tales, located on the |
| the sail to the "all the way in" position. At this | | | | leach of the sail, usually along the battens, to |
| point, the "inside" tell-tales, those closest to the | | | | stream back parallel to the water. The procedure |
| centerline of the boat, should be pointing straight | | | | is similar to headsail trim above: start with the |
| back in line with the motion of the boat and | | | | mainsail all the way in and gradually ease the sail |
| parallel to the water, while the outside tell-tales will | | | | out until the tell-tales are streaming aft. As with |
| be flopping about. To properly trim our headsail, | | | | the headsail, they may all not stream aft |
| we will ease the sail slowly out. Eventually, the | | | | simultaneously. Try moving in and |
| tell-tale movement will change with the inside | | | | out—slowly—if you still can't get |
| tell-tales flopping about and the outside tell-tales | | | | them all flowing, concentrate on the tell-tales from |
| flowing back in a straight line parallel with the | | | | mid-sail to the top of the sail—that is where |
| water. When you have reached this point, stop | | | | you will find the strongest wind. |
| easing the sail and gently (and slowly) trim in until | | | | Lastly, let me point out that there are conditions |
| both sets of tell-tales are streaming aft. This is | | | | such as very light winds, wet sails, heading dead |
| the ideal trim position. One final note on headsails, | | | | down wind, etc., when the tell-tale trim method |
| many will have several sets of tell-tales and it can | | | | may not work. When you are sailing in these |
| be difficult to get all sets streaming aft | | | | conditions, my advice would be return to simpler |
| simultaneously. For our purposes, we will trim to | | | | rules of trim until you are ready for the advanced |
| the bottom set of tell-tales when there are two | | | | trim methods. |