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    DOC3 SailAreaCalculations

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    Koral Toptop
    This document discusses how to calculate sail dimensions and areas for different types of sails on a sailboat. It provides formulas using letters like J, I, E, and P to represent measurements like mast height, boom length, and sail dimensions. The area of main sails and mizzens is calculated as (luff x foot)/1.8, while jibs and genoas use (luff x foot)/2. Spinnaker areas are calculated using multipliers times the luff and foot measurements.

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    DOC3 SailAreaCalculations

    Uploaded by

    Koral Toptop
    69 views2 pages
    This document discusses how to calculate sail dimensions and areas for different types of sails on a sailboat. It provides formulas using letters like J, I, E, and P to represent measurements like mast height, boom length, and sail dimensions. The area of main sails and mizzens is calculated as (luff x foot)/1.8, while jibs and genoas use (luff x foot)/2. Spinnaker areas are calculated using multipliers times the luff and foot measurements.

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    Sail dimensions and sail area

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    DOC3_SailAreaCalculations

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    This document discusses how to calculate sail dimensions and areas for different types of sails on a sailboat. It provides formulas using letters like J, I, E, and P to represent measurements like mast height, boom length, and sail dimensions. The area of main sails and mizzens is calculated as (luff x foot)/1.8, while jibs and genoas use (luff x foot)/2. Spinnaker areas are calculated using multipliers times the luff and foot measurements.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    69 views2 pages

    DOC3 SailAreaCalculations

    Uploaded by

    Koral Toptop
    This document discusses how to calculate sail dimensions and areas for different types of sails on a sailboat. It provides formulas using letters like J, I, E, and P to represent measurements like mast height, boom length, and sail dimensions. The area of main sails and mizzens is calculated as (luff x foot)/1.8, while jibs and genoas use (luff x foot)/2. Spinnaker areas are calculated using multipliers times the luff and foot measurements.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Sail Dimensions and Sail Area

    Calculation
    Fore sail and main sail dimensions are universally referenced with the letters 'J', 'I',
    'E' and 'P' approximating to the length of the foredeck, height of the mast, length of
    the boom and the height of the main sail - but more accurately defined further down
    this page...
    Yacht designers need these sail dimensions to calculate thought provoking stuff like the sail
    area/displacement ratios of their creations, and sailmakers need them before they put scissors
    to sailcloth.
    If our sailboat's sails were perfectly triangular then, as every schoolboy knows, their area
    would be 'half the height, times the base' - but with the possible exception of a mainsail with a
    straight luff, generally they're not.
    Here's how it works...

    Main and Mizzen Sail Dimensions


    These are almost right-angled triangles except for the curvature of the leach (the 'roach')
    which increases the sail area. It's usually calculated as:~
    Area = (luff x foot)/1.8, or
    Area = (P x E)/1.8, where:~
    'P' is the distance along the aft face of the
    mast from the top of the boom to the highest
    point that the mainsail can be hoisted.
    'E' is the distance along the boom from the aft
    face of the mast to the outermost point on the
    boom to which the main can be pulled.
    For the mizzen sails on ketches and yawls, 'P' and 'E'
    relate to the mizzen mast and boom.
    For more heavily roached sails, the increased area
    can be accounted for by reducing the denominator in
    the formula to 1.6. Clearly calculating sail areas isn't
    going to be an exact science...

    Jibs, Genoas and Stay Sail Dimensions

    For a working jib that fills the fore triangle - but no more - and
    with a foot that's parallel to the deck, then you've got a 'proper' rightangled triangular sail, whose area is:~
    Area = (luff x foot)/2, or
    Area = (I x J)/2, where:~
    'I' is the distance down the front of mast from the genoa
    halyard to the level of the main deck, and
    'J' is the distance along the deck from the headstay pin to the front of
    the mast.
    Genoas, by definition, have a clew which extends past the mast
    and are described by the amount by which they do so. For instance a
    135% genoa has a foot 35% longer than 'J' and a 155% genoa 55%
    longer. Areas are calculated as follows:~
    Area (135% genoa) = (1.44 x I x J)/2, and
    Area (155% genoa) = (1.65 x I x J)/2

    But these formulae don't work for a high-cut with a raised clew.
    It's still a simple calculation though, once you know the length of the luff perpendicular (LP),
    the sail area is:~
    Area = (luff x luff perpendicular)/2, or
    Area = (L x LP)/2, where:~
    'L' is the distance along the forestay from the headstay pin to the front of the mast
    'LP' is the shortest distance between the clew and the luff of the genoa.

    Spinnaker Sail Dimensions


    Much like calculating foresail areas, but with different multipliers for conventional spinnakers
    and asymmetric spinnakers...
    Conventional Spinnakers
    Area = (1.8 x luff x foot), or
    Area = (1.8 x I x J), where:~
    'I' is the distance from the highest spinnaker halyard to the deck, and
    'J' is the length of the spinnaker pole.
    Asymmetric Spinnakers
    Area = (1.65 x luff x foot), or
    Area = (1.65 x I x J), where:~
    'I' is the distance from the highest spinnaker halyard to the deck.
    'J' is the distance from the front face of the mast to the attachment block for the tackline.

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