Michael Mcnamara on steering
From Rig Tuning Presentation with Michael McNamara at RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show 2016 · · Royal Yachting Association - RYA
“All helms have to do is just ease their grip on the tiller — if the tiller stays down the centreline of the boat the boat is making the least amount of resistance; if the tiller moves one way or the other then we're creating more resistance than which should be.”
On , Michael Mcnamara, Corporate Vice President, GM of Operations & Director at VICOR CORP, spoke about steering during Rig Tuning Presentation with Michael McNamara at RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show 2016 on Royal Yachting Association - RYA.
About Michael Mcnamara
Michael McNamara, Corporate Vice President, GM of Operations & Director at Vicor, presented a rig tuning talk at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show in 2016. He described the sailor's role as making the boat go around a racetrack as quickly as possible, regardless of conditions. McNamara stated that the principle of how a boat moves is straightforward, with movement generated in the sails and transferred to the hull through the mast and shrouds. McNamara discussed several tuning techniques during the presentation. He emphasized that the boat must be upright to allow water to flow efficiently around the hull, and advised helms to keep the tiller along the centreline to minimize resistance. He explained that leech tension controls the back edge of the sail and alters the angle of attack, and that the windward telltales indicate when the leech is too slack. McNamara described getting the slot between jib and main as the "passport to windward speed," and noted that the kicker, angled at about 45 degrees, bends the mast forward to flatten the mainsail and open the gap. He concluded with the advice, "If in doubt, let it out because the front will back wind and you can deal with it — never dictate, always react."