There's a bit of a difference between light weather sniggling down a river back on a dead run and one of those scary swirly ones at Salcombe - if you pull the pole back too far when it's windy the boat is wanting to bear away when you really don't want it to and you end up like this:

There's a bit of a difference between light weather sniggling down a river back on a dead run and one of those scary swirly ones at Salcombe - if you pull the pole back too far when it's windy the boat is wanting to bear away when you really don't want it to and you end up like this:

"When sailing on a run, the tell tales are redundant because the sail is stalled.  Unlike when on a beat or a reach, the sail is no longer working as an aerofoil to creat lift and instead you are using the profile drag to 'catch' the wind and push you along.  This means that you want it to create as much profile drag as possible when on a run so the boat speed gets as close as possible to the wind speed.  In essence, you want to make the surface area of the sails as big as possible so they 'catch' as much wind as possible.  In order to do this, you want the mainsail out right against the shrouds when on a run unless it is very windy and you are over powered.\r\n\r\nAs a general rule, the spinnaker pole should also be a 'continuation' of the boom (parrallel)for reaching or running.\r\n\r\nHope this explanation helps :-)"

"Thank you Alex, I'll give that a try. Pole back it is. \r\n\r\nChris"

"Merlins are good at going dead downwind and therefore unlike asymetric boats, you do not need to go reach to reach on a downwind leg as this is actually generally slower in a Merlin.  It is important to make sure you dont go by the lee and when heading dead down wind, and make sure to pull the spinnaker pole right back to get the sail out of the lee of the mainsail.  I would suggest experimenting a bit really.  But as a general rule, the quickest way dead downwind in a merlin is to point it that way.  Hope this helps and happy sailing :-)"

"What is the correct boom position relative to the spinnaker pole when on the run?\r\nWhen sailing downwind I understand that I should keep the pole at 90 degrees to the apparent wind (i.e. durgee), but what should I be doing with the mainsail boom? I have read elsewhere that I should keep the boom inline with the pole�?�is that right? Or should it be a little more in or out than that? \r\n\r\nThe situation that I am most interested in is when sailing on the river i.e. when you may be hugging a bank and therefore running square�?�.\r\n\r\nThanks in advance,\r\n\r\nChris"

"Thank you for the reply James and Alex. \r\n\r\nJames: Good tip re tell tales. \r\n\r\nAlex: Thank you for you explanation re the run. Downwind in a Merlin are you usually running square or heading up just enough to have the wind apparent wind at 90 degree/abeam?...or over the quarter? I only ask becasue I do not know what is normal in a merlin....head up just enough to get flow on the main?\r\n\r\nMany thanks,\r\n\r\nChris"

Try the Rutland training. Richard and his fellow coaches will explain all

In my opinion the mainsail should be constantly trimmed all the way around the race track for optimum performance. Put tell tales on the main sail especially just above the top batten and it makes it much easier to see especially downwind!

When sailing on a run, the tell tales are redundant because the sail is stalled.  Unlike when on a beat or a reach, the sail is no longer working as an aerofoil to creat lift and instead you are using the profile drag to 'catch' the wind and push you along.  This means that you want it to create as much profile drag as possible when on a run so the boat speed gets as close as possible to the wind speed.  In essence, you want to make the surface area of the sails as big as possible so they 'catch' as much wind as possible.  In order to do this, you want the mainsail out right against the shrouds when on a run unless it is very windy and you are over powered.

As a general rule, the spinnaker pole should also be a 'continuation' of the boom (parrallel)for reaching or running.

Hope this explanation helps :-)

Thank you for the reply James and Alex. 

James: Good tip re tell tales. 

Alex: Thank you for you explanation re the run. Downwind in a Merlin are you usually running square or heading up just enough to have the wind apparent wind at 90 degree/abeam?...or over the quarter? I only ask becasue I do not know what is normal in a merlin....head up just enough to get flow on the main?

Many thanks,

Chris

Merlins are good at going dead downwind and therefore unlike asymetric boats, you do not need to go reach to reach on a downwind leg as this is actually generally slower in a Merlin.  It is important to make sure you dont go by the lee and when heading dead down wind, and make sure to pull the spinnaker pole right back to get the sail out of the lee of the mainsail.  I would suggest experimenting a bit really.  But as a general rule, the quickest way dead downwind in a merlin is to point it that way.  Hope this helps and happy sailing :-)

Thank you Alex, I'll give that a try. Pole back it is. 

Chris

What is the correct boom position relative to the spinnaker pole when on the run?
When sailing downwind I understand that I should keep the pole at 90 degrees to the apparent wind (i.e. durgee), but what should I be doing with the mainsail boom? I have read elsewhere that I should keep the boom inline with the pole�?�is that right? Or should it be a little more in or out than that? 

The situation that I am most interested in is when sailing on the river i.e. when you may be hugging a bank and therefore running square�?�.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

In my opinion the mainsail should be constantly trimmed all the way around the race track for optimum performance. Put tell tales on the main sail especially just above the top batten and it makes it much easier to see especially downwind!

Try the Rutland training. Richard and his fellow coaches will explain all