How often do you trim them sails?

[stevensuf]

As i sailed , the longer i sailed the less i trimmed, whats the rush? well unless a cat came near! Anyways , the question be, how often do you trim, at what level do you get annoyed enough to go fiddle?

[nigel1]

Quite often, I enjoy the experimenting and see what differences it can make, and besides, it helps pass the time on passage.
I was out yesterday on the Mersey in a good F7 gusting 8, and had a great time messing about with the trim, especially as it was the first time I had used the staysail in conjunction with a deep reefed main.

[chuckr]

when we first started sailing back in 03 we did a lot - trying to get that extra 1/4 or tenth of a knot - always seemed to mess it up through -- now only when we really need to
on our atlantic crossing a couple of days did not trim at all - she was running good so why mess up with a good thing

[msponer]

I trim for the average conditions, and tend to only trim again if there is a new normal or new groove (that will last hours).

That said, I knew my first boat a whole lot better and was able to look at the conditions and nail the trim almost immediately. So it wasn't much work. I am nowhere near that with my current boat, but keep my workload the same, which means we are in worse trim.

[sailorboy1]

My goal is to get in the clear of other boats, land, rocks, etc. get the sails trimmed, set the autopilot and kick back! Till that happens we will screw around with the sails a lot, but a lot of that is due to course and wind changes near land.

[boatman61]

Only when the stitching goes...
then I trim off the fray before re-stitching...

[OldFrog75]

Since I sail on so many different boats and have so few "figured out", I'm always messing with the trim. Fiddle here, fiddle there. Sometimes it works; sometimes it don't.

I think it's because I enjoy racing so much that I'm always trying to improve performance - mine and the boat's.

[Greene]

Well there is a reason our boat's name is WRINKLES. We are having so much fun that the sails are blissfully ignored.

Mike and Brenda

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Only when the stitching goes...
then I trim off the fray before re-stitching...

boatman61 may be jesting a little here.

I trim as often as needed to keep sails from luffing because a poorly trimmed sail will wear out quickly and then I would have to get boatman61 to re-stitch it.

Maybe I spend too much time trimming (which to me includes adjusting the traveler which often does more than adjusting the sheet) but I can often get my boat to self steer or hold a course with little or no auto pilot by adjusting the sails and traveler.

Of course I have a big square top on a medium fast catamaran so an adjustment will often mean an increase in speed of a knot or more of SOG.

[zeehag]

when wind changes or when they have way too much hippie, err homeless people fringe on the sacrificial.....

[eyschulman]

It depends on why I am sailing on a given day. If its a two hour day sail I trim a lot and concentrate on performance. If I am out cursing and doing an 8 hour hop the trimming is much less. Since I'm a retired racer and as a hobby occasionally make sails for my boats I still probably trim a lot more than the average. For me getting there is not as important as the challenge of sailing to maximum efficiency. Actually now that I will never see my 75th birthday again I day sail on my sailboat and cruise on a motor boat. What I really like about being out on the water is that there is something for everybody the highly disciplined racer the laid back Gypsy ocean hopper and every body in-between.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by tomfl

I trim as often as needed to keep sails from luffing because a poorly trimmed sail will wear out quickly and then I would have to get boatman61 to re-stitch it.

Maybe I spend too much time trimming (which to me includes adjusting the traveler which often does more than adjusting the sheet) but I can often get my boat to self steer or hold a course with little or no auto pilot by adjusting the sails and traveler.

Sort of like this will but I never got my boat to sail that well for very long.

[Capt.Don]

More vang!!!

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by eyschulman

the laid back Gypsy ocean hopper....

That would be me. I'll usually watch it luff while I finish my beer. I often find that by the time I'm done, the wind is back where it was and I can just crack another cold one.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by ElGatoGordo

That would be me. I'll usually watch it luff while I finish my beer. I often find that by the time I'm done, the wind is back where it was and I can just crack another cold one.

I hear that.

Funny though when it applies to "when to reef" nobody says "Just wait, it will change back."