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Play to Sail: Use Wind & Sails to Move a Boat to The Direction Needed

How to manage the effect of the wind on the sails to move your RC boat in the direction you need?
Focus: head to a destination keeping the proper points of sail
 

Radio Sailing Basics

 
Sailors harness the wind to move their boats, adjusting (trimming) the sails to keep air flowing over the sail to provide power. In a sailboat this force is harnessed into forward drive.
 
The curve of the sails (as in an airplane's wing) generates lift, that force, in combination with the effect of the keel, results in the boat being pulled forward.
 
First it's important to understand that your boat can't sail straight into the wind.
 

When the bow of your boat (the front side of the hull) is pointed directly into the wind, the wind only shakes the sails (imagine a flag flying) and it provides no driving force.
 
The "no-go zone" for your boat - where a sail is unable to motive power from the wind - extends 45° on either side of the wind direction.
 
In order to harness this power into forward drive, the sails must intersect and be kept into the wind at an angle.
Sail trimming allows you to manage the sails at the proper angle in relation at the direction of the wind and the point of sail.
 

Lear The Basic Points of Sail

 
You learn that the name of your route changes in relation of the wind: the points of sails are defined by the angle of the wind coming over the boat relative to the bow.
 
Imagine to be on your boat, looking straight ahead at the bow.
 
Running downwind (point of sail) points your RC boat straight in the same direction as the wind: the wind is intersecting your boat at a relative bearing of 6 o'clock (around 180° from the bow).
 
Sails right angle: letting both out to their maximum position
 
Let mainsail and jib eased out on opposite sides of the boat, as much as possible from the centerline of the boat, to expose the maximum surface of sails to capture the wind coming from back.
 

Broad Reach (point of sail): the wind blows over the boat's quarter, between the beam and the stern.  The sailing is heading you far off the wind (but not quite directly downwind): a bit further upwind, 135° off the wind.
A broad reach is faster rather than a point of sailing directly downwind since mainsail and jib receive more pressure from the wind.
 
Sails right angle: let your sails out a bit less.
 
Beam Reach (point of sail) moves your RC boat at the fastest speed: the wind blows on the side of your boat.
 
Sails right angle: let your sails out half way (each at a position of 45°)
 
Close Reach (point of sail): here you sail with the wind forward of the beam: it reaches your boat with a relative bearing of 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock.
 
Sails right angle: pulling both in a little
 
Let the sails out until they flap then bring them in just to the point on no longer luffing. They are let out farther than when close hauled.
 
Close Hauled or Beating (point of sail) to windward involves tacking your boat through about 90 degrees from close hauled to close hauled through the no-go zone (since about 40/45 degrees off the wind is about as close as you can sailing upwind).
  
Sails right angle: keeping pulled in
 
The mainsail and the jib are pulled in tight, and the boom is centered down the centerline of the boat.
 
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