Blackmagick Sails

Jib Twist

We have talked about leach twist elsewhere, but just how important is jib twist? Here we will look at it again in more detail. There are two very important factors that will help your boat go fast to windward, (apart from good sails) the jib boom sheeting angle from the centre line and the jib slot all the way up to the top of the sail! The former should stay where you set it,  but the latter one will not! In the above photo I have set the jib leach twist to approx. what I would like to see on my boat out on the water, but this is not where I set it on land before launching it! Even in moderate airs this gap or slot is going to get bigger once the boat is sailing. So in the second photo below I have set the slot to what it may have to look like on shore before sailing, please note this is approximate, as different settings are required for different weights of wind.

The difference in these two photo's might appear almost insignificant to the inexperienced eye but these boats are about mm of ajustment, not cm or inches! That gap between jib boom and lee side of mast is appox. 60mm buy the way, but the fullness of mainsail has something to say about that. The amount of twist in the top half of your jib is what is going to make or break your pointing ablity, trust me! Take a close look at the top skippers in your area if you're not sure, this is a very important factor in going fast to windward.

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