Jib Car Setting Help Wanted !

[JuanCH]

Hello I would like to get some insgight on how to set the jib car correctly, do I need to sail close hauled and see the telltales if they all flick the same way??? Another one, in strong winds do I need to move the car a bit backwards to depower the jib??Thanks all!

[Ex-Calif]

There are a lot of factors involved in setting the jib/genny correctly for performance.

- What is the boat?
- Is the mast and rig in proper adjustment?
- Are the sails in good shape?
- Is it a jib or a genny we are talking about?

Sorry for the questions to your questions but it may help with a better answer.

- In general, yes. You move the cars back to depower the jib/genny

However with proper crew weight on board you should rarely (never?) have to depower a jib in winds up to 25-30kts. Although at the upper end of wind speed it can be an exciting ride.

- For performance it is usually ideal that the telltales (if placed properly on the sail) "break" at the same time bottom to top.

This will occur if the cars are in the right location, the rig is tuned properly and the sail is not blown out.

- To check the tells go out in 10 knots or so of wind. Set the sails close hauled with the tells all flying. Slowly head up and see which tells break first. If the uppers move the car forward. If you can't get the tells to break together (or near enough) likely your rig is out of tune or the sail is blown out.

It can be a real PITA to try and tune a sail that is bagged out. Basically you probably can't be satisfied.

I raced J24's for 2 season's (so am no expert) and there are several sail maker sites that have good tuning and trimming guides for these boats. The basics apply everywhere so I would Google and download a couple of them. I like the one from North Sails.

[bewitched]

For close hauled:

-Car back will tighten the foot & loosen the leach - good if the jib is overpowered.

-Car forward will loosen the foot & tighten the leach - good if the jib is underpowered.

-If the jib is the right size for the conditions, then as Ex-Calif points out, breaking evenly along the luff is a good start. (slowly luff the boat until the jib breaks to see this).

And then there's jib sheet to play with:
- Sheet in will flatten the sail and bring the draft back - good if over powered, good for pointing, not so good for speed

- sheet out will deepen the sail and take the draft forward - good for powering up, good for speed, not good for pointing

Halyard tension: loosen off until just before horizontal creases appear.

Off course, as soon as the wind builds, drops or puffs, then everything changes.....which keeps me occupied for hours....

But sometimes I just look at the sail and think...close enough..

[Heinous]

I'm certainly no expert, but I thought the car (fairlead, I'm assuming?) should be just forward of the position such that the working sheet bisects(equally) the clew/leech angle. Moving it forward decreases twist and increases power(also drag) and moving it aft increases twist and decreases power.

Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong.

[bewitched]

In principal you're right about the effect of moving the car forward and back. But the angle of the sheet very much depends on the cut of the sail and the strength of the wind. You'll get better sail shape by looking at the sail and seeing what needs to happen, rather than trimming on the basis of trying to get an equal angle between foot and leech.

But, yes, somewhere in the middle is probably a good starting point for most headsails