User's Manual

The most challenging
direction is steering closer to
the direction from which the
wind is blowing or into the
wind. In order to sail your
landsailer close to the wind,
you must trim the sail much
more closely to the center of
the landsailer. If you are
racing upwind, the best pilots
will be able to find the
balance that will allow you to
sail as closely to the "no sail"
zone as possible.
To find the no sail zone
you can bring the sail
all the way in to the
center of the landsailer
and gradually steer
more and more into the
wind until the sail
begins to flap like a
flag, and loose the
wind. This is known as
"luffing." When the sail
is luffing, it has no
pushing or pulling
power. You can also
lose sail power by
steering more and more
away from the wind
without moving or
adjusting the sail until it
stalls.
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Harnessing the Wind
When you are ready to sail, the first step is to determine from which way
the wind is blowing. Use the ribbon, known as a "telltale" attached the
top of the landsailerís mast to determine wind direction.
Most days, we can observe the force of the wind pushing objects such
as leaves blowing and flags flying. But, with the right equipment, such
as an airplane wing or a sail, which works very much like an airplane
wing, the wind can be harnessed to push and pull things in many
different directions - even into the wind!
Going into the wind (upwind), when the wind blows over the front end of
an angled sail, it divides and meets at the back end of the sail. Because
the wind on one side travels a farther distance around the curve of the
sail, and the wind on the other side travels a straight line, it creates a
low-pressure zone along the curved side of the sail. This force pulls the
sail, and the landsailer, attached to it forward, or towards the wind
changing the angle of the sail can change the amount of low pressure
the sail creates. When the sail is correctly angled into the wind, the
resulting force drives the sail forward at its maximum speed towards the
wind. Going downwind, the sail is no longer being pulled by the wind,
but it is actually being pushed.
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