How to Raise a Boat Sail
Before you go out into the open sea on your little sailboat, there’s one important task you must master: raising the boat sail. The mainsail is the primary factor which gives a vessel most of its speed, and without it you’ll have a difficult time traveling very far. Here’s how to properly raise a boat sail.
What You’ll Need:
Boat
Mainsail
Crew
Crank
Procedure:
Familiarize yourself with the boat first. Remember that even if boats have similar structures, they can have their own peculiar system and rigging. Every time you’re sailing a new boat, check its system first. Know all the important lines found aboard, even before you get under the sail.
raised sail
Find out where the sheets are for every sail. Find out where the halyards and other lines are, too. The sheets work by pulling the sail outwards and inwards, decreasing or increasing its luff. The halyards work to lower and raise the sails.
Before raising the mainsail, point the boat into the wind first. You’ll know you’re doing this right if the wind directly comes over the bow, towards the cockpit. The wind indicator on top of the mainmast will point forward, while the telltales fly backwards. Pointing the boat towards the wind stops it from moving too much, and also makes the sail easier to raise.
You now have to release the vang sheet, the boom vang and the cunningham. The vang is the one that holds the boom downwards nearer to the deck. If you forget to release it, raising the sail becomes harder. The cunningham pulls the sail downwards on the mast.
Let your crew know that the sail is being raised. Otherwise, you might put one of them in danger of getting hit by the boom when the sail is lifted.
When the crew indicates they’re ready and in position, give the order for the mainsail to be hoisted. If your boat is larger, you might need to use a crank to pull the halyard. If your boat is small, though, you can just pull the halyard through a cleat, as the mainsail is raised.
Keep raising the sail until the top of its groove in the mast is reached. Check if there’s a luff or crease running vertically at the front, just near the sail’s mast.
Remember these steps when you put up your boat’s sail. If you do these, you’ll be smoothly sailing into the open sea. Bon voyage!