Why do so many modern cruising boat designs have hard chines above the waterline?
Send your answers to george@bwsailing.com. A winner will be selected randomly from the correct answers and will win a one-year subscription to the digital version of Blue Water Sailing magazine.
Many thanks to all readers who sent in answers to last week’s question. The winner this week is Todd Lawson, Oakland, CA, who emailed: “The phrase when in doubt, let it out could refer to your dog whining by the back door or it could be advice on the amount of scope you have on your anchor rode, but on a sailboat it usually refers to sail trim. All too often, sailors will over trim the mainsail and jib which reduces performance and increases heeling. The trick in sail trim is to set your course and then trim the sails until they just stop luffing along the luff. But don’t over trim and if in doubt, just ease the sheets a bit.”