How To Sail: Raising The Mainsail -- Sailing Basics Video Series

[@markdwestwood]

Excellent video thank you

[@Muthafukpockets1317]

I am now a level 1 rookie sailor.

[@edsarkisian4434]

Excellent explanation- well formatted!

[@NautilusSailing]

Many thanks!

[@tootoo2020]

Clear concise great vid

[@patwalker1409]

Wow! I just learned more in a few minutes than an hour or two on the water.

[@NautilusSailing]

Excellent, that was out goal.

[@nikolaucznaum4312]

Brevity! you can't beat it. :-)

[@faditgeo]

Well I think you missed a key step in the process of hoisting and lowering the mainsail : the boom lift line if present. It certainly affects your sail's shape when hoisting plus can be dangerous to start lowering the main while boom lift line is loose - especially in boats without boomvang self supporting system.

[@NautilusSailing]

Well spotted! Yes, the topping lift is definitely a consideration with sail shape when it is adjustable.

[@allaheadflank]

great camera work!

[@woodenfences]

Thank you for the clear and detailed explanation about what needs to be done and why, when raising or lowering the main sail. The procedure might be very obvious to somebody who has done it countless times, but to the beginner it can be confusing. One question: what about the Topping Lift? My instructor tightens it *every time* after easing the vang and the main sheet, and untightens it after the sail is up, before pulling the vang and the main sheet back into position.

[@NautilusSailing]

So glad you enjoyed the video! Great question on the topping lift. So if you set it correctly, you shouldn't need to adjust it. It should be tight when the mainsail is flaked and holds up the weight of the boom. However, when the mainsail is up, it should naturally go slack as the sail lifts the boom a little. Hope that helps!

[@georgegrigoriades6134]

Excellent series of videos ! Just discovered your channel. May I ask which Jeanneau yaught you use in this particular video ? Thank you

[@NautilusSailing]

She was our 439 named Journey in most of the videos and a 449 in this video.

[@Kelly-ps3ew]

Excellent video. Thanks!

[@AR-bc4ds]

Great video

[@PauLondon]

Thanks. Very well explained.

[@paulwilliams3494]

Thank you, simple and clear which was most helpful at my early stage of learning the ropes ( whoops, sheets 😂).

[@NautilusSailing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@biblestudytoday]

Informative. Thank you so much

[@everest_CFA]

Excellent video! Really appreciate you sharing

[@deweypug]

2:11 Outhaul is misspelled! Great vid, thanks!!!

[@NautilusSailing]

Yeah, that was a charter boat. At least it was labeled. Thanks for the feedback.

[@theyshouldhavenevergivenme5439]

What if the sails are wet when you have to take them down? Do you take them out again when in dock after the rain to dry them or no? Cheers

[@NautilusSailing]

Yes, good point, sometimes it's also good to spray them off with freshwater if the jib gets some saltwater spray from a spicy afternoon sail.

[@justinf1343]

Very informative, but when lowering the main do you not need to release the vang to remove boom tension before releasing the halyard and lowering the main?

[@NautilusSailing]

Hey Justin... No need to release the vang when you start lowering the mainsail. The boom vang will go slightly slack as the tension of the mainsail stops lifting the boom. We find once the mainsail is down, we usually have to tension the boom vang to keep the boom from swinging.

[@Chebab-Chebab]

Once it's up, do you autopilot forward, then turn into the wind so the sail catches?

[@NautilusSailing]

Good question... So we usually have the boat in autopilot as we raise the main, just to keep the boat perfectly into the wind (unless you have a big crew). Once the main is up and you've set the halyard tension correctly (which you do while the boat is still into the wind), you can then take it out of autopilot, and fall off to your point of sail.

[@stephenhaley4324]

Might I ask. I am interested in a one man sailable sailboat. 25 or so feet foot overnight and weekend use. I saw one much like I would buy however it had a flat top single sail this person was using on lake Arlington in Texas. It seemed to work very well. I asked him how much he cut it down, he said one third of the original height. What is this called if it has a name and is it really easier to set sails and sail and to drop sails bo oneself. Thanks gramps.

[@NautilusSailing]

Hey Stephen... 25 foot sailboats are a great size for sailing solo and being able to spend a night aboard! Hmmm, tough to tell what cutting down the sail would do to performance. Sometimes sailmakers are able to trim sails from larger vessels.

[@stephenhaley4324]

Thanks for the info. The boat I saw with a cut down sail was a CatBoat it appears. The guy took one third of the sail off from the top. Seemed to run across the lake as fast as any other. I'll keep looking around. Maybe run into one and get to speak to the owner on specifics including what it may do to performance. I'm not looking for speed, just reliability and manuverability and safety.

[@yulayogaonline]

How to retention boom vang and main sheet to get rid of wrinkles ? Thanks a lot

[@NautilusSailing]

Good question. So when you've raised the mainsail and tensioned properly, there shouldn't be any wrinkles at that point. The boom vang is typically the last thing we re-tension, and you'll want to tension it so that the boom is parallel to the deck of the boat (you don't want the boom lifting up or it will negatively affect your sail shape). Hope that helps!

[@SOLDOZER]

Why only ease the mainsheet 24" inches or so? Is this even effective at doing anything as far as raising it? Seems like it would just add danger by letting the boom swing around.

[@NautilusSailing]

Yes, there is a danger in easing the main, so we always keep everyone down, or forward of the gooseneck if they're jumping the halyard. The 2' or so helps keep the sail over the boom so the battens don't catch on the lazy jacks on the way up. The helms-person needs to keep it in the wind, but with any shiftiness, the couple feet helps provide a cushion to adjust, too tight it will hang up.

[@levishumway4841]

What about the topping lift?

[@NautilusSailing]

Great question Levi! So on most boats these days, especially charter boats, you may not even have to touch the topping lift (many charter companies are actually switching to cables that are not adjustable for the topping lift!). If a topping lift is set correctly, it holds up the boom when the mainsail is down, and has enough slack when the mainsail lifts the boom, and the sail is trimmed, so that one doesn't need to adjust it. There are times on some boats where the topping lift may need to be adjusted!

[@beckeywatson8565]

@@NautilusSailing So I release my topping lift once the main is up but before I tension the boomvang?

[@NautilusSailing]

@@beckeywatson8565 Hey Beckey... So once your mainsail is fully raised, the mainsail will be lifting your boom up. At this point your topping lift should be loose and you can then adjust your boomvang. Once your mainsail is up and your boomvang tensioned, your topping lift should still be fairly loose so as not to affect sail shape.

[@jamesclements9448]

Is the person at the boom also attempting to flake the sail or just holding tension so that the person at the mast can flake?

[@NautilusSailing]

Good question James... So yes, the person at the boom is also helping to flake. That person is helping pull each flake towards the back of the boat, so that the sail is stretched and doesn't have any crinkles in it, and then helping create the flake to each side.

[@wadeogden4033]

What type of boat is that?

[@NautilusSailing]

That is a Jeanneau 439 from 2012. We sold that boat in 2020, it was a great sailing boat. We took it from Croatia to Costa Rica, then shipped it to La Paz.

[@marshalkrieg2664]

I recently bought a 17 ft ODay sailboat. I know nothing about how to rig it, it is sitting in my driveway. I need a video designed just for my type of boat, a video that is crystal clear, idiot proof. Thanks.

[@NautilusSailing]

We really don't have much for that type of thing. If you search KZbin for "how to rig + the type of boat" in your case the O'Day 17, you'll find rigging guides and one will be good. Fair winds!

[@garrytilbury7357]

Hi, I am 'trying' to understand your prompts on this educational video. your 'video' is full of 'contras'

[@crunchycrispybacon]

And the cunningham?

[@NautilusSailing]

Great question Gabriel! So most sailboats (especially charter boats and larger vessels) do not have cunninghams, which is why we didn't address it in this video. The cunningham is another good way to achieve proper tension along the luff of the sail.

[@christnhvv256]

Who here lives in the grove and wouldn’t mind taking me out. i’m a rook but know all the terms

[@2011Matz]

You don't "raise" a sail. you hoist it and set it. Raising implies lifting not setting.

[@Snookbite24]

God I hope newbies don’t watch this. This video is so specific to rig setup and should not be used for general knowledge

[@hughlawson1051]

Nobody wants to wait through a long introductory sequence in these videos. You are not producing a TV show.

[@NautilusSailing]

Yes, we realized that. Thanks for the feedback. In 2019 it seemed like a good idea. Now, not so much. It's not possible to replace the videos now, just skip 30 seconds.

[@hughlawson1051]

@@NautilusSailing I didn't notice the date. I'm glad my entire history is not immortalized on video.

[@jonathanxue3568]

Hater.

[@nicholas8997]

Or just get a motor boat xd

[@NautilusSailing]

Ha! Ha!

[@KaifamGaming]

Really?