Originally Posted by brucat
Originally Posted by Andinista
From the hobie pdf page 7 above, the best tacking and gybing angles for that polar would be 100° and 100°. (points at 50° and 130° on the plot).


Those polars show straight-line speed, not VMG. Depending on the conditions, it may very well be better to sail higher/deeper to get around the course faster.

On a Hobie 16, I have seen that when the wind shuts down, and the race isn't abandoned, the best course downwind is as straight to the mark as you can go without gybing.

Mike


And they're also only for 10 knots (I think it was 10) of boat speed. As the wind speed changes, the polars change for each boat.


Jake Kohl