How do sailboats move upwind?
Jan 26, 2009 in
SailBoat Charters
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5 comments
Robert P on January 28, 2009 at 6:19 am
By vacuum, they are sucked forward. The keel keeps it from sliding sideways.
ricsudukai on January 30, 2009 at 4:16 pm
The keel resists sideways movement – the sails provide various forces depending on the trim and wind direction and the path of least resistance is generally forward all being well. It’s not a vacuum but a zone of lower pressure caused by the set and shape of the sails that provides the drive of the sails.
If you do not have any keel at all then moving upwind is almost impossible to any serious degree, you wil be struggling to achieve 10 degrees into the wind – a keel may improve this to 40 or 45 degrees.
Some links below to keep you busy, Good luck
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Lulu on February 1, 2009 at 8:01 am
A conventional sailboat cannot move directly into the wind, they have to “tack”. This means that they sail at an angle to the wind, and change direction regularly so the average forward motion is in the direction you want to go. For example, if the wind is blowing from the south and you want to go south, then you have to sail south-east for a while and then change to south-west for a while, and so on. The keel helps the boat to stay upright when the boat is at an angle to the wind and the wind is trying to blow the boat over.
Captain Bill on February 3, 2009 at 8:20 am
A basic rule of sailing is that it is not possible to sail directly into the wind—at least not for long. Generally speaking, a boat can sail 45 degrees off the wind. When a boat is sailing this close to the wind, it is close-hauled or beating (beating to weather).
The centerboard or keel prevents lateral motion and allows the boat to sail upwind. With a daggerboard, on a close haul the daggerboard should be fully down and while running over half way up.
Since a boat cannot sail directly into the wind, but the destination is often upwind, one can only get there by sailing close-hauled with the wind coming from the port side (the boat is on port tack), then tacking (turning the boat through the eye of the wind) and sailing with the wind coming from the starboard side (the boat is on starboard tack). By this method, it is possible to reach that destination directly upwind.
Richard C on February 6, 2009 at 1:49 pm
By taking a course a few degrees on either side of the wind direction, not directly into the wind, then making a zigzag pattern, the boat moves in the general direction of into the wind. It’s called tacking. If you’ve taken geometry, sailboats use the “resultant” force to move at angles to the wind direction. I hope this helps. Good Luck!