Sail Windows

[Chip Hindes]

Another answer somewhat off topic. I've done a fair amount of night sailing/motoring and I've not found the standard nav lights, even those on the big boats, to be a problem to night vision.

On the other hand, the 3 bazillion candlepower spotlights some of the powerboaters like to flash you with on the erroneous assumption it will allow them to continue to go way faster than they should can be deadly. Almost as bad are the Carnival-type passenger cruise ships; they're typically lit up like the Fourth of July and can toast your night vision from several miles distance. You need to learn to never look directly at them. A couple good things: usually no problem determining which way they're headed even though it's hard to distinguish their runnnig lights, and there's no way one will sneak up on you and suddenly appear because you weren't paying close enough attention.

Another problem is picking out actual nav lights (including channel markers) from all the bogus, background "noise" light typical on the coastline or (worse) on the river.

[Catigale]

Ill never forget heading down the Hudson to Catskill at nautical twilight, and seeing a peculiar set of ATON lights which were not on the chart. I headed straight for them, trying to find them on the chart, confirming position from other buoys, until I realised it was a 1000 foot long barge coming dead ahead, with tugboat behind......

Quick right turn and BF 50 headed for shore at 10 knots, out of the shipping channel....

[Frank C]

Still off-topic -
when I mentioned that nav lights would screw-up your night time vision, it was in reference to a previous post, from which I deduced the use of a night-scope. How else could one use a sail window at night?

In fact, repeating my earlier skepticism, I'm dubious about the entire concept. That's prolly because I asked a local sailmaker about it soon after I got my new boat. He suggested I first learn to sail the boat, ask again in a year or so. When I asked him why, he said he hates cutting a hole in sails, and that once installed, most people never use it ... just not very effective.

[Night Sailor]

I see mostly small dinghy racers using windows. Small sail, cheap to repair or replace; racing requires being competitive with deck sweepers and agile crew. A few very light weight bigger racers have them but I don'tknow if they actually use them. Coming out of the bag cold and getting wet or salt spots on them, the view is always distorted anyhow.

I have never seen a window on a serious cruising boat. The big drifters and downwind twin headsails have high cut clews for several reasons. Visiblity forward. Avoiding full length lifeline. Won't drag wave tops in heavy following seas or rolling conditions.

I don't have a problem with my stock Mac 150 on the furler, but if I did I'd have the sail recut so the clew was high enough to give me visibility foward. I did this on a previous larger boat and could barely tell the difference in perforance. A half a knot at most.

[Chip Hindes]

I'm dubious about the entire concept.

Theres the nut of the problem, IMO. Any detailed discussion of sail trim invariably starts with sail construction in which warp and weft, the direction of the weave in the sailcloth, is very important vis a vis the cut of the panels. Why take a sail that, according to many, is not of very high quality in the first place, and damage it by in effect, cutting a big hole in it? The fact the hole is papered over with a big hunk of vinyl doesnt mean much. Vinyl has no warp or weft; its too stiff when its cold, too loose and floppy when its hot.

He suggested I first learn to sail the boat, ask again in a year or so.

Good advice.

I'd have the sail recut so the clew was high enough to give me visibility foward. I did this on a previous larger boat and could barely tell the difference in perforance. A half a knot at most.

Are you sure about that number? I can't imagine any but the most lackadaisical day cruiser would accept that kind of penalty. I certainly wouldn't.

[Night Sailor]

Chip,
I only had a speed log, and a knotmeter on the sounder back then, GPS was all new and extremely expensive, besides being subject t frequent outages and military tinkering. It could have been off a full knot. I accepted an apparent half a knot decrease in speed for the safety of seeing better in traffic situations. I am a coastal cruiser who wants and tries for boat speed, but going from 8 knots to 7.5 or even 7 didn't concern me for all my ruhumb lines were short, a few days at most. Snags, old gas or oil platforms, fishermen in small boats with no lights on are scary things to come a few feet from at night.

Now that I'm not as young as I used to be, I care less about boat speed or long slogs. The journey under sail is the thing, not getting there in a hurry. If needed, the 50 horses on the stern will get me to a destination in good time, but it takes some of the peacefulness out of it.