Basic Skills of Dingy Sailing version 1.

The overall goal of dingy sailing is to sail in balance, so that safety, performance and enjoyment are enhanced. By learning and continually improving your skills in
these seven basic skill areas, competent boat handling in a medium breeze is just around the corner, even for a complete beginner.

Skill Area Exercises Other Considerations

1. Hiking
Driving position Focus on sitting outside the gunnels. Hiking is a simple skill to
learn. The important thing is to
Basic hiking skills If there is not enough wind for boat helm and crew to hike out on the same side, the get comfortable sitting outside the
crew can practice hiking out on the leeward side. Try crossing feet and locking heel boat, in all wind conditions, to be
against the tank. Feet should not rest on centerboard trunk. Gunnels should be under prepared for in stronger winds.
thighs.
2. Footwork
Crew Practice stepping across the boat without sitting and without looking at your feet. Feel Effective footwork is both easy and
for the edge of the tank. Ensure feet are always positioned to the outside of hiking important to learn. The important
straps. things here are to maintain an
athletic stance, to stand during
Helm Practice stepping across the boat without sitting and without looking at your feet. Feel maneuvers and to feel for the boat
for the tank and for the thwart. Ensure feet are always positioned to the outside of hiking with your feet, while keeping your
straps and that the foot closes to the bow is touching the thwart. head up and focusing on the water

3. Tiller Handling
Tiller movement On a beam reach and looking ahead, bear off 10 degrees, head up 10 degrees…repeat, Tiller exchange often presents the
but with subtler direction changes. Helm must sit outside the gunnels, so that an biggest initial challenge for new
appropriate angle is maintained between tiller and extension. sailors, but it doesn't need to. The
key to a simple and effective tiller
Tiller exchange Sail upwind, close hauled, tacking as soon as the boat is up to speed. Repeat at least exchange is to make the exchange
ten tacks. Always look over shoulder to ensure there is room to tack. after you have crossed the boat and
Now that you have worked your way upwind, bear off to a broad reach and then gybe. are headed in a straight line again.
Watch the jib as you bear off. When it collapses/backwinds, gybe the main. Tiller
mechanics are similar to tacking.

Practice maintaining steering control through tiller exchange by doing "run-to-run" gybes
while keeping the boat going in roughly the same downwind direction. Helm and crew
should cross the boat, ending up on opposite sides to maintain boat balance.

4. Sheeting
Sheeting/Feathering In 6-10 knots, while hiking, practice sheeting in to make the boat heel a little, then sheet Sheeting is an ongoing process
out to flatten…repeat a dozen time or so. while sailing, as the wind is
constantly changing, both in
Trimming. On a beam reach, have the crew ease the jib in and out to discover how much the sail direction and velocity. Be sure to "re-
goes out to luff and how much trimming in it takes to stall the jib. power" in the lulls, not just depower

5. Wind Awareness
Sensing wind direction Without looking at indicators, estimate where wind is coming from. Look at birgy to Wind awareness is very much a
confirm. "feel" thing and is the result of
experience. Good sail trim is key to
Velocity changes While sailing upwind, crew and helm should look for wind on water. Estimate how many understanding the wind direction.
seconds until the puff hits. Count down. See who's estimate is closer. Indicators on land are less effective.

6. Boat Knowledge
Rigging and boat Set-up Set everything medium. Magic box/rig tension should be snug but not super tight. A general knowledge of rigging and
Cunninghams should not be too tight either. Main outhaul must be loosened prior to boat set-up is needed for balanced
releasing main halyard to avoid stretching the foot of the main sail. and well controlled sailing. There
seem to be many ropes in our
Vanging In medium conditions, some vang is necessary to stabilize the boom and avoid Albacores, but after rigging a few
excessive sail twist. No vang tension is needed in very light wind. times using the "JTown Rigging
Guide" rigging should be fairly
straight forward.
7. Teamwork

Helm and Crew positioning Have crew move 6 inches left and right to discover impact on heel. Move 12 inches and Teamwork includes verbal and
see the difference. visual awareness between helm and
crew, as well as physical
Helm/Crew coordination Maintain flat boat while having helm move around. Crew must move to off-set the effect coordination between helm and crew
of the helm's movement. to adjust to changes in sailing
conditions and to execute
maneuvers.