Telltales

[joao_g_fonseca]

Hi,

I'm experimenting with the telltales. According to the corresponding lesson, if you trim the sails so that they flow horizontally, boat speed will increase. I did that and got acceptable speed (4.5 knots).

But when I set the "Auto sail" option, the crew changes the trim, and the boat speeds up to around 7 knots. The thing is, then the telltales are fluttering around, they don't seem to "tell" that the sails are correctly trimmed...

Can someone explain?

Thanks,
João

[cbaldwin256]

it is true that you can sometimes let the sail out slightly more than the telltales are telling you. That way more of the sail force is being directed forward even if the sail if luffing very slightly. Also the telltales become less useful as you get on a beam to broad reach. That is because the sail drag is what is powering you. If you could take a screen shot I could confirm if there is a valid reason or there are some gremlins that have crept in somewhere!

[joao_g_fonseca]

Thanks for the prompt reply, and congratulations on this sailing simulator - it's very realistic!

I admit I was trying on a beam reach, and the telltales loose their usefulness, as you correctly pointed out. I tried again on a close reach, and the same thing occurs, although the speed difference is less pronounced.

I took some screenshots, but I don't see a way of uploading them...

Regards,
João

[cbaldwin256]

Under the tech support / bugs forum there is an FAQs with an email address there. Thank you!

[joao_g_fonseca]

Originally posted by cbaldwin256:

Under the tech support / bugs forum there is an FAQs with an email address there. Thank you!

I sent an email with the screenshots. Thank you for all the help