Dart 15 Forums

Hi,

I’m new to a Dart 15 (or indeed any cat). I find that I’m unable to set the main so that both windward and leeward telltales fly properly at the same time. I’ve tried various combinations of main sheet and traveller, but nothing seems to induce the windward telltales to fly properly. My most recent attempt was in pretty light winds, with virtually no batten tension. I have noticed that the mast always seems to twist such that it may be causing turbulence across the face of the sail.

I suspect that either the shrouds are too loose or the sail may simply be old - it looks to be in good condition, but the previous owner said he’d not replaced it and thought it might be original.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Peter (sail number: 1344)

The mast should be able to twist when you tack so that's right. Loose battens are also not an issue and many people sail with loose battens.

You should be able to get the top set of tell tails working most of the time when going to windward or on a beat but with an old saggy sail you may struggle. The answer is to not worry about the windward ones too much - the leeward ones should always be flying.

You want the mast more or less upright and a bit of movement in the rigging. This table of Shanklin boats from a few years ago may help. https://www.shanklinsailingclub.com/con ... ements.php - at the time Keith, Erling, Geoff and Paul were winning everything.

Hi Liam,

Many thanks for this and particularly the table of info. It will be good to compare my setup with those figures.

Might also be an excuse to get a new sail, we’ll see.

Thanks again.

Peter

I think you may get windward/leeward tell tales flying horizontally together very rarely and not so that you can hold them that way for long & you're better off looking at the water/race course/other boats for the concentration it will take.

As Liam suggests, concentrate on the leeward tell tales flying horizontally with the windward ones just starting to lift. if you're sailing with the jib use that as your burgee/tell tale..

Downwind you are as well off using a wind indicator from the bridle wires and keeping an eye on your burgee at the same time.

It's only when you get going on a broad reach the tell tales are worth looking at.