I am a beginer sailor and i have been watching all of your videos on sailing and youv'e answered pretty much all of my questions. I like that you explain things very well, slow and clear. Iv'e learned a lot just by you. Thanks a ton

All instructional vids should be like this a straightforward and common sense approach.

I really like these videos and the punchline of this video is spot on, but there are a couple of BIG AND IMPORTANT ERRORS in this video. (1) The first is his statement that tensioning the backstay on a fractional boat will not increase headstay tension, when in fact it will add a lot of tension to the headstay. This is something that's easy to measure, is related to headstay 'sag', and sailmakers use adjustment in the amount of headstay sag to make jibs more versatile. (2) The second is his statement that tensioning the backstay on a masthead boat will not bend the mast, when in fact how much it'll bend the mast depends on the mast and the backstay adjuster. I'm currently racing on a 37-foot masthead boat that gets about 4 columns (~24 inches) of mastbend when the backstay is on fully and we reduce bend from the maximum by playing the checkstays.

Thank you for this presentation - before that I did not know how to use the backstay adjuster in our advantage. Very professional.

Great explanation and love the style of narration. Great job!

Settled a discussion we were having last race. Great video. Thanks!

Thank you, clear and concise on answering my basic questions. Now I have the foundation to go into more depth.

This is over the head of some but I feel in principals this feeds other realms. To learn this in theory will help you in other ways not foreseeable. The guy is clever and a good teacher who conveys knowledge in a most palatable way.

Great series of instructional videos PP!

Nice explanation, thanks. Only one important matter was missing though. You shouldn't apply backstay without increasing main luff tension because draft in mainsail moves aft which is just the opposite of what we need. First of all is to apply Cunningham tension BEFORE applying more backstay tension.

As always - very informative! Thank you!

Great videos, very informative, excellent visuals.

This was VERY helpful! Thank you! I like your attitude!

Great videos mate... A very solid effort, that will help a lot of people.

Thanks so much for this excellent explanation! Very clear now. And a beautiful boat with a first rate helmsman.

An excellent video on the back stay adjustment. I can't wait to try it. What I don't have, and could really use, was some sense of how much to bend the mast. My boat has an adjustable back stay but it hardly move when I haul on it.

Very informative with a nice humourous touch.

Awesome video. I love the commentary at the end.

You make it easy to understand. Great video lesson. Thank you.

Great Video, Thanks for taking the time to inform and help others.

Thanks for sharing, great video and information.

First class video.... most informative, many thanks.

awesome videos...Keep it Straight and Simple....way to go!

Genius . . . what a gift for teaching. Thanks!

Thanks for posting. I'll try this out on my Knickerbocker One design this week. Its got a huge main and a fractional rig, so this should help in stronger winds.

Superb explanation. It makes a complex concept simple. Many thanks.

This is an awesome job. Thanks! Been trying to get into racing J/24's and had no clue about backstays (came from 420's)

I went from sunfish and other little lake boats to windsurfing...completely addicted to windsurfing, then to beach catamarans, now looking for my first big sailing yacht..30 to 35. Just trying to understand fractional rig versus mast head. With my background...I'm definitely going to look for a fractional rig sailboat! Having the option to make adjustments versus no option to make adjustments...I'm going to choose the option to adjust! Thank you for the video

Tensioning the backstay not only flattens the sail, it also creates a twist, a wind release, high in the Backward. This will also create less tilt

Great videos very easy to understand. Thanks

Great explanation, thanks!

Good video, nice explanation, easier to understand, tnx a lot!

Excellent videos, much more informative than expertvillage. Thanks!

Great explanation i understand it now thanks very much. From a keen learner.

Hey man, Thank you. You are good at conveying information. :) Make more instructional videos please. :)

very imformative and enjoyable narrative..

Thanks for the clear explanation.

Great stuff...thanks

Great video.

very good explanation.

Legendary. Dudes👍👍👍❤️❤️

Terrific video. In a sea of youtube vacuous videos here is a helpful clear presentation thanks

good video - as you say try it out on your own boat. Thanks for posting!

Great Vid. Thanks

thnx for answer my question i was searching some answers and u gave those :D:D thnx grtz lip

Too much useful, thank you a lot !

Great explanation, thank you. It’s hard for me to understand how curving back the mast actually flattens the sails, though, I know that’s what it does. It seems like that would create more of a camber.

Thanks for explaining..

Great video.....was able to comprehend some complicated material. I have watched several of your videos and like the way you illustrate the subject or object you are talking about. The only thing I had trouble with is sometimes understanding what angle or direction the illustration was referring to. Thank you

i your video....very clear and helpful. thank you...

Nice explaination , thx my boat is fractional rigged . didnt knew the benifits . now i know :)

Use this on my RC boats. outstanding results.

Thank you!

NOW! I finally understand this adjustment. Thank you so much for the instructional video.

Great video and explanation. I raced with some guys who would sometimes always tweak the backstay first on the windward runs. I would perhaps have had a reading of the knots before and after the backstay adjustments to show velocity change. Also, a shot from the base of the mast straight up to show the bend might have been good.

For simplicity sake assume the boom, and the points where the mast meets the forestay and deck do not move. While backstay tension moves the masthead down and aft a little bit, the majority of the mast's length is bowing forward. You get more stretch parallel to the triangle's shortest side (foot) and just a little slack along it's longer sides. I suppose the ratio gains you an advantage, be really just focus on the idea that the sail is flattening horizontally which is how the wind blows.

good info , thanx

really great video. I have a question - I have two adjustable backstays (running) going from the top down to the port and sboard on the stern - there is also a fixed backstay. The boats is not a fast 7.5 metres - . I am supposed to adjust the stays every time i tack or jybe - this is a real pain, is it necessary?

Thanks for sharing....

Awesomeness

Well..for a casual sail, yes, why not? But truth is its best to adjust it as the wind increases or decreases, or if upwind or downwind, right? If you can, why not sail better? Some Back Stays are a pain to adjust and I have sailed in boats where yu need to wind a wheel or use a handle to adjust it..those I see your point, but if you have a fast adjusting one, its just another useful tool to use. Thanks

I personally find the "accelerated air -> depression/slowed air -> pressure" explanation counter-intuitive. The cause and effect seems to be the other way around: the wind is blowing against the sail, the sail blocks the air from escaping, thus air pressure builds up. On the leeward side the sail blocks the air from coming in (the one trapped windward's), thus depression builds up (perhaps then the air from a higher pressure region rushes in, resulting in an accelerated air flow).

thxgood simple and useful

good video - thank you. one query please if my boat is heeling excesively i usually let the main sheet down the traveller. I normally adjust the back stay at the start of the sail for the expected wind conditions and do not adjust it thereafter. would you agree with this approach?

Gracias

yes, it could be badly tensioned, or badly adjusted. You should still notice the mid mast section go forward..its subtle, but goes. Also, when the mast tip tips aft, the sail leech maintains the same length, so when you sheet in, the sail will flatten as well.

Mta bom!

I have an in-boom roller furling system so I can reef my sails in a few seconds. I havent had to mess with my back stay ever. I also dont really care how long it takes to get somewhere, as long as my beer sypply lasts i'm cool.

This seems backwards. I would think that tightening the backstay (bending the mast backwards) would allow the sail to fill with more wind which would cause more draft in the sail ... much like releasing the tension on the outhaul allows more wind in the sail resulting in more draft. Would appreciate any help with my understanding this better.

Fantastic videos. Thank you. What can I do to flatten the main sail with a masthead rig. And, why have a back stay tensioner on a masthead rig? Many thanks!

Hello. Thanks for your explanation, In rough seas If stand at the shroud And look up I see the mast bending ( fractional rig ) I assume it’s when gusts of wind hit the head sail and pull on a forestay. Is this ok ? I am Worried the cost flexing will break the mast ? I also have stay sail hailyard that i tension to limit the bending ( no inner forstay but a stormstail on a luff rope)

Can you reef with backstay tension on?

if you say so, who am I to contradict!!...(me and all the other people racing boats around the world, from the America's Cup to the smallest club organized event)..

I'm not sure that pulling the back-stay decreases camber. What I have noticed is that it opens the upper leach of the main thus spilling off more air. The effect is the same as what you say though: depowering the main.

Thanks for your videos, they are great. QUESTION: I just tried how the backstay tension affects the mast shape in my fractional-rig boat. I did this without sails - I suppose it doesn't matter. Tensioning the backstay only bent the very top of the of the mast. I hardly noticed any bending below the point where the forestay is attached to the mast. (Is my mast/rig badly trimmed?) So that being the case, wouldn't the effect in sail performance be about increasing twist and thus reducing heeling?

At 4:25 you say sthg like "less camber -> less lift -> less sail efficiency". By sail efficiency do you intend the L/D ratio? Because I would guess that, like a wing with no flaps, the efficiency is better with low camber. Sure there is less lift but also much less drag. And indeed you say at the end of the vid that in strong conditions, the boat will be faster. Would this be possible with less sail efficiency? Fantastic vid BTW, thanks a lot !

Interesting, but the comment that increasing tension on the backstay on a fractional rig does not increase the tension on the forestay is incorrect - a simple resolution of forces can show this.

tensioning the backstay brings the tip of the mast down, and shrinking the triangle created by the clew, tack, head........how does this tighten the sail? Wouldn't it loosen it? I am newbie, please explain. Thanks for the vid!!

My husband did this On the 24 Foot O day and popped the chain Plates In the 3rd world We hat to go to a machine shop To get replacement part Made

how does tensionin the backstay also tension the luff? Wouldn't the sail collapse if the tip of the mast is pulled down and back?....which is what tensioning the backstay does.

Mast top rigged boats, when done right (like Swans :)), will bend the mast easily with a hydraulic tensioner. Trying that with hands even with a pulley is not going to work.

surly, tension the back-stay will bend the mast causing more "Belly" in the sail

A favor do vento você solta o backstay ?!

no..just in the Swahili version you see here..sorry. I have one in Zulu, but the whistles sound bad on tape

So, the backstay cannot be adjusted on a masthead rig?

a small bend in the mast is not gonna change anything much.

The backstay on a full head rigged boat doesn't bend the boat, that would mean that the backstay and headstay and the chainplates and fittings are stronger than the backbone of the boat. The backstay would still cause the mast to bend back just like a fractional rig.

air does not go faster on the leeward side,

Colonel Hans Landa as a narrator

What I saw was a boat overpowered (with too much sail up)....unless you are racing of course - racers do all sorts of crazy things and put up with discomfort to win. Rail in the water is not a comfortable way to sail.

Awesome video. I'm gonna go beat the hell out of my neighbor now!!

To much misleading info Flat sails can be more efficient and full bellt sails can be more efficient depending on conditions....

wrong

A little boy at the helm without life jacket and with the boat over heeling🙈 An arrogant and pretentious narrator 🙈 You must be kidding 😂

Thank you!