Reduction
Crew weight can be a factor on a small or light boat. If the helmsman and/or the crew shifts their weight to the upwind side of the boat, known as hiking, the centre of gravity will change as their body weight reduces the heel.
Sail trim is the primary cause of heeling; the most common way to reduce heeling is to reduce the amount of wind in the sails. There are several ways to accomplish this
- “Spill” the wind by easing the sails
- Come up into the wind, thereby putting less wind in the sails
- Flatten the sails which reduces the force of the wind
Unbalanced helm is a byproduct of excess heel. The design of the sails and the hull of the boat combine to cause the boat to “head up” into the wind. As more force causes more heel, the boat “pulls” as it tries to head up, causing a difficult helm called weather helm. This condition is exacerbated by excess heel and measures put in place to reduce heel will reduce weather helm. Lee helm, the opposite of weather helm, is actually corrected by some additional heel, one of the few cases in which excess heel is beneficial.
Read more about this topic: Heeling (sailing)
Famous quotes containing the word reduction:
“The reduction of nuclear arsenals and the removal of the threat of worldwide nuclear destruction is a measure, in my judgment, of the power and strength of a great nation.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)