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How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

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Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#11

Post by mlhpdx »

jp57 wrote: post #6

I've been getting into sailing, solely for the purpose of cruising and sailing for fun with no interest in racing. As I've started talking to sailors, I've realized that you need to gauge whether you're speaking with a racer or a cruiser. Racers will claim these are not mutually exclusive categories, because of course racers can also cruise. But racers who cruise will ultimately talk to you like racers. Racers are, a…

I finished my first race Wednesday after a few years sailing casually. And, although it’s true that whenever there is more than one sailboat going the same direction it’s a race, being in a fleet on a defined course is much faster paced and precise. My analogy to driving is that cruising is being able to drive on empty roads, and racing is driving in traffic — it becomes about understanding the flow and rules spoken and unspoken.

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#12

Post by creeble »

mlhpdx wrote: post #10

The material seems dated. Modern yachts choose to be limited by displacement speeds but aren’t bound by them. New models that can rise on plane (like a speed boat) because of advances in materials and manufacturing are starting to proliferate (small sail boats known as “dinghies” have been doing this for decades but larger boats were limited by their heft). That’s not to even go into the wide ranging use of foils, wh…

Racing isn’t what used to be, but sailing very much is.

There are roughly two kinds of sailors: those who care about speed, and those who care about comfort. They have almost antipodal design requirements, but both kinds are very much sailors.

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#13

Post by szundi »

th0ma5 wrote: post #9
jp57 wrote: post #6

I've been getting into sailing, solely for the purpose of cruising and sailing for fun with no interest in racing. As I've started talking to sailors, I've realized that you need to gauge whether you're speaking with a racer or a cruiser. Racers will claim these are not mutually exclusive categories, because of course racers can also cruise. But racers who cruise will ultimately talk to you like racers. Racers are, a…

There's also a specific argument in selling the racing is a better way to develop sailing skills because cruising ideally may not challenge you.

[dead]

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#14

Post by lasermatts »

I've been super interested in sailing since moving to San Francisco and running around the marinas/Embarcadero.

Did some digging and found a sailing school that I haven't asked about classes (yet) https://www.spinnaker-sailing.com

There's even a school that offers boatbuilding lessons in Sausalito -- a bit too far/much of a time commitment for me! https://www.spauldingcenter.org/current-offerings

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#15

Post by iancmceachern »

lasermatts wrote: post #14

I've been super interested in sailing since moving to San Francisco and running around the marinas/Embarcadero. Did some digging and found a sailing school that I haven't asked about classes (yet) https://www.spinnaker-sailing.com There's even a school that offers boatbuilding lessons in Sausalito -- a bit too far/much of a time commitment for me! https://www.spauldingcenter.org/current-offerings

There is an after-school boat building thing that just started up in crane cove Park too

There are a ton of opportunities at South Beach Marina

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#16

Post by arnarbi »

lasermatts wrote: post #14

I've been super interested in sailing since moving to San Francisco and running around the marinas/Embarcadero. Did some digging and found a sailing school that I haven't asked about classes (yet) https://www.spinnaker-sailing.com There's even a school that offers boatbuilding lessons in Sausalito -- a bit too far/much of a time commitment for me! https://www.spauldingcenter.org/current-offerings

There are many sailing schools around SF, but one that stands out is https://www.cal-sailing.org/ - as it's by far the least expensive and low-commitment option to get on the water, and they have dinghies in which you'll learn very fast (but also get wet). Instructors are regular volunteer club members and mileage may vary, so make sure to go out with a few different ones.

Another good way to get started is to find crewing opportunities for casual racing on https://www.latitude38.com/crew-list-home/. Many skippers will take no-experience folks out for fun. (It may take a couple of attempts to find a skipper/crew you enjoy hanging out with)

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#17

Post by mmooss »

creeble wrote: post #12
mlhpdx wrote: post #10

The material seems dated. Modern yachts choose to be limited by displacement speeds but aren’t bound by them. New models that can rise on plane (like a speed boat) because of advances in materials and manufacturing are starting to proliferate (small sail boats known as “dinghies” have been doing this for decades but larger boats were limited by their heft). That’s not to even go into the wide ranging use of foils, wh…

Racing isn’t what used to be, but sailing very much is. There are roughly two kinds of sailors: those who care about speed, and those who care about comfort. They have almost antipodal design requirements, but both kinds are very much sailors.

Do you know of any good technical / physical comparison of the two, or just of the comfort designs?

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#18

Post by jaredhansen »

lasermatts wrote: post #14

I've been super interested in sailing since moving to San Francisco and running around the marinas/Embarcadero. Did some digging and found a sailing school that I haven't asked about classes (yet) https://www.spinnaker-sailing.com There's even a school that offers boatbuilding lessons in Sausalito -- a bit too far/much of a time commitment for me! https://www.spauldingcenter.org/current-offerings

Spinnaker might be great - I don't know them - but if you're in the market for sailing lessons in SF Bay I can highly, highly recommend Club Nautique out of Alameda[1].

The quality of instruction is very high, with a focus on safety and building a strong foundation of knowledge. Especially if you ever might want to charter in remote locations or sail across oceans, it's really an excellent foundation.

[1]https://www.clubnautique.net/school/introduction-to-sailing/

Re: How a yacht works: sailboat physics and design

#20

Post by oxml »

jp57 wrote: post #6

I've been getting into sailing, solely for the purpose of cruising and sailing for fun with no interest in racing. As I've started talking to sailors, I've realized that you need to gauge whether you're speaking with a racer or a cruiser. Racers will claim these are not mutually exclusive categories, because of course racers can also cruise. But racers who cruise will ultimately talk to you like racers. Racers are, a…

Spot on. As a racer, I can say this is mostly true. Although for me and many of the other racers I know, it's less about going deep into the optimization, sail choices, etc, and more about just being competitive. Racers don't always make good cruisers because they're always trying to go faster and push harder, whereas most cruisers want to slow down and enjoy the journey.
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