Depowering

Submitted by fs209 on Fri, 09/15/2017 - 21:50
Forums: 
Owning, Rigging, and Sailing the Flying Scot

I'd love to hear folks thoughts on depowering a Scot. My wife and I dont race, but we do enjoy sailing in a good breeze. However we've been caught more a few times out on the lake when the wind has picked up to about 15 or so, and we find ourselves overpowered. Never felt in danger, but its just a struggle. I crank on the outhaul as much as I can, and I move the jib sheet blocks back (although I'll admit that I've never noticed too much an effect). We hike out as much as possible, but neither one of us carries much weight. I don't have a Cunningham and I have no ability to reef. Id love to hear thoughts on the vang. Sometimes I read that the vang should be loose to allow more twist which spills the wind. Other times I read that it should be cranked on hard to flatten the sail. What about the centerboard? Will raising one third of the way help? Last, would adjusting the mast rake help? Again, our goal is not speed necessarily. We're more interested in rigging to tolerate more wind so we can stay out longer. Would appreciate any feedback.

young.stevenp@g...

Mon, 09/18/2017 - 15:12

I am primarily a keelboat racer but thoroughly enjoy racing Flying Scots.  With respect to the Scot, a flat boat is a fast boat so these depowering recommendations will also help you even though we use them for racing.
First if you have older sails they may be harder to depower because a baggy sail holds a lot of power in the breeze.  Not suggesting that you must have crispy new racing sails but the adjustments below won’t as be effective the older the sail.
"I move the jib sheet blocks back" - Moving the fairleads all the way back will flatten the bottom of the jib and open the top leech which depowers the jib.  The sail area of the jib is small compared to the main so this adjustment alone would be hard to detect which is why you might not notice it.
Jib Halyard Tension – If you see scallops in the luff of the jib increase your jib halyard tension until they disappear.  This will also help depower the sail.
Cunningham - If possible rig a cunningham it will help move the draft of the main sail aft which is especially helpful if you have older sails.
Main Halyard Tension – Make sure you have a full hoist with a significant amount of main halyard tension, especially if you are unable to rig a cunningham.
"I'd love to hear thoughts on the vang" - Upwind with the vang on hard, it will flatten the main sail significantly depowering it, but without a cunningham to move the draft aft the effectiveness will be diminished.  Off the wind you would leave cunningham on and ease the vang so the boom may rise and provide the twist to open the top leech of the main sail depowering it.  It is not a static adjustment, vang on upwind depowers, vang on downwind powers up the sail so it must be eased.
“I crank on the outhaul as much as I can” – This flattens the foot of the sail depowering it but without cunningham and vang it is not as effective.
Centerboard - "Reefing from the bottom up" was a foreign concept to me when I started sailing a Scot, but it works.  Raising the centerboard decreases the lift it provides and it will noticeably flatten the boat.  Upwind you will slip and not point very well (ask any racer who forgot to put down their board at a leeward mark rounding). Depending on how breezy it is and how far you bring up the board, you may find it difficult to tack.  This is something you should practice to get a feel for.
Mast Rake – I recommend setting your rig to the specs your sailmaker recommends and leaving them there.
Hope this is helpful and interested to hear how it works out for you!  

fs209

Sat, 09/23/2017 - 09:58

Thanks for the replies-- this is super helpful. Sounds like we're on the right track, but we're at the point that some upgrades are needed. Will make installing a Cunningham this year's off season project and see how that helps. 
Regarding the vang, Sean's description of the "ugly dance" sounds pretty familiar and nicely describes what we experience. If I can summarize, it sounds like the decision on the vang is a balance between boat control and spilling wind. Cranking on hard on the vang will help with boat control ...but only up until the point where the boat is still overpowered... at which point easing to spill wind will help to depower, but we will lose some control. 
 
Will definitely try these suggestions out and I'll try to post what we've found to help the most in case others have the same questions. Thanks for all the help!

seanodonnell's picture

seanodonnell

Mon, 05/12/2025 - 17:34

m

abl1111

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 10:57

Great synopsis as I sail in heavy wind a lot ( it's that or don't sail at all ).  To add to the challenge, I deal with shallow water areas that add another dimension of weather helm as the centerboard is sometimes lifted almost all the way up to get over a sandbar in 15-20 mph winds.
I cannot stress the value of a reef system and reefing.  It really helps to depower things.  And, if I'm alone, which is how I sail more often than not, in anything over 15-17, it makes the sail much more comfortable.  Either way, the only point of sail that I have issue with is beating and pinching which it seems I need to do a lot to navigate islands etc to go where I want.  Otherwise, I love flying on a beam in heavier wind.  
I learned a lot on this discussion regarding vang, which I use often, and it seems incorrectly.  Centerboard - which I have just started to use differently to reduce helm.  Jib adjustment - I like the idea of loosening to reduce the pressure in the slot and on the main - helping to keep pressure more forward. I'll try some of these new tactics and hopefully heal less, have less weather helm and be able to sail more efficiently.
One thing I do not have is a cunningham - sounds like a great tool !
Thanks
 

fs209

Tue, 08/09/2022 - 11:28

Hi all, 

Thought I'd provide an update (albeit 4 years later) that might help some folks. I did in fact end up installing a Cunningham as suggested. If you're not having too much fun when the winds get up to 15 or so like us, I highly recommend this upgrade/modification to your old boat!!! It made a world of difference and made our sailing much less stressful. Interestingly, we found that after adding the Cunningham, vang adjustments seemed to have more of a noticeable effect, as one of the earlier posts alluded to. 

karafiath

Wed, 11/07/2018 - 17:23

If you really do not want to bother with installing a reef for those windy days then you can consider dropping the jib and raising the centerboard about 1/2 way. There will be weather helm on the tiller and you will need to make sure to have speed for coming about, but the boat will be much more manageable. Re-connect the jib halyard so that two wires will be supporting the mast from the front. I would however recommend a reef. The factory version is the delux way to go, but I have sailed without any problems with less hardware and less expense.  Ask the sailmaker to install a gromet at the foot of the sail near the outhaul and that will save you the cost of a pulley. Also I use a vee jam cleat for the reef line, located on the boom near the gooseneck.
 I hope this helps  Gabor Scot 3512

Rick Lyons

Mon, 08/08/2022 - 15:05

Someone said the cunningham moves the draft aft when applied....The cunningham when applied moves the draft forward not aft. The further the draft moves aft of the original design the slower and worse condition you will be in in high overpowering winds. Also when applied relatively hard in overpowering winds it helps open the leech up or twist it open high in the sail making the sail more forgiving. 

ron.wright53's picture

ron.wright53

Fri, 02/21/2025 - 22:37

I am new to the class. I have a reefable main available.  Is it legal to reef the main in a regatta?  Thank you.

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Honeybadger

Mon, 03/31/2025 - 13:54

There is a video on the site from this weekend where a "reef" technique was discussed for racing.