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At a stable angle of heel (for a sailboat) and a steady speed, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces are in balance. Integrated over the sailing craft, the total aerodynamic force (FT) is located at the centre of effort (CE), which is a function of the design and adjustment of the sails on a sailing craft.
Sailing. Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites —to propel a craft on the surface of the water (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ice (iceboat) or on land (land yacht) over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation. From prehistory until the second half of the 19th ...
A boom vang (US) or kicking strap (UK) (often shortened to "vang" or "kicker") is a line or piston system on a sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape of the sail. The Collins English Dictionary defines it as "A rope or tackle extended from the boom of a fore-and-aft mainsail to a deck fitting of a vessel ...
AAW An acronym for anti-aircraft warfare. aback (of a sail) Filled by the wind on the opposite side to the one normally used to move the vessel forward.On a square-rigged ship, any of the square sails can be braced round to be aback, the purpose of which may be to reduce speed (such as when a ship-of-the-line is keeping station with others), to heave to, or to assist moving the ship's head ...
Running rigging. Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vessel—as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and bowsprit. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged.
In sailing, heaving to (to heave to and to be hove to) is a way of slowing a sailing vessel's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the vessel does not have to be steered. [1] It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, or to wait out a strong or contrary wind.
A wingsail, twin-skin sail[1] or double skin sail[2] is a variable- camber aerodynamic structure that is fitted to a marine vessel in place of conventional sails. Wingsails are analogous to airplane wings, except that they are designed to provide lift on either side to accommodate being on either tack. Whereas wings adjust camber with flaps ...
Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments, usually in a three- or four-sided shape. A sail provides propulsive force via a combination of lift and drag, depending on its angle of attack, its angle with respect to the apparent wind. Apparent wind is the ...