Customer Reviews

A Manual of Sail Trim

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If you've got a couple of seasons of serious sailing (racing) under your belt, and you're looking to improve your mastery of sail trim, this book can aid in understanding. This is not the most approachable read, but it's equally true that there is detailed knowledge here that you just won't find anywhere else.

Another reviewer pointed out that the book is organized by sail controls, not by conditions, or shapes you want to achieve. But it's very important to point out that great information about desirable sail shapes and how they are appropriate to various conditions IS contained in the book. For instance, my understanding of how much sail twist to put in, based on wind strength and water smoothness comes from applying what I read in Walker.

Here's how it works for me.

Sail a bunch. Reach a threshold. Read Walker. Sail some more. Think. Sail some more. Attend a sail-trim seminar such as the one held by Kame Richards, in the Bay Area. Sail some more. Talk things over with guys I sail with. Sail some more. Improve. Repeat.

You can't get better at sailing just by reading. No book can do that for you. But Walker is one way to get the in-depth knowledge you'll need to continue to improve.

Don't let the term "vector" cause your brain to immediately turn off. Remember, "vector" is just a fancy word for a force applied in a specific direction. And we do use a few of those in sailing ;-)

Walker's sail trim book is a cookbook of sailtrims. I found the information that I had lacked from this book so it is useful for sail racers. The organization of the book is poor - information conserning some topic is hiddened to 2-3 places and is difficult to find due to poor table of contents and short of index. The book is mostly for dinghies(?) because vang sheeting was always used and often the only solution for correct trim. Backstay, or runners was only mentioned few times. About checkstays I could not find any information. But - because the correct sailshape information could be found for every situation, it was very useful, but good background knowledge is needed to apply the information for other boats having checkstays, runners, etc.
I don't recommend it for novice or even intermediate level or cruisers. With some reorganization it could be recommended for everyone.

This is not a book to read once and then go sailing and win. At least for me, I had to read a chapter or two, go out and try it, the read and repeat. The bit that helped me the most was the theory of the vang. I've used it for downwind legs to hold the boom down but not for upwind. With a bendy mast you can open up the leach by using the vang on the upwind legs too. It pushes the mast forward and induces a bend. With a stiff mast it closes off the leach. It's just one more control that I wasn't using well.

The terms "power up" and "vector" and used all over the place, and honestly if I knew what would "power up" the boat while keeping my boat pointing all the time I wouldn't need this book, but there are clues as to what will help drive the boat.

The text on the spinaker is also great. You really do need to keep the leading edge just at a curl and Stuart explains why. It does help, I pass boats going downwind all the time who have stalled their spinakers.

If you are a serious single design racer you need this book. You PHRF'ers will rarely know if what you are doing helped other than to watch the knot meter. If you beat another boat, was it just sail area and hull length? Or did you really get the maximum performance out of your sails.

And yes those tell-tails are key to seeing the air flow on the sail.

This book takes a very technical look at sailing. The opening chapter will send you looking for that physics book from freshman year in college. But if you can get past the vector notation and force diagrams, the author offers some very specific information about trimming sails in different situations. The author uses many terms that are not in common everyday usage. This is fine as this is a book that tries to explain the why's of sail trim, not just the how's, but it would have been appreciated if the author defined these the first time each is used. As it is presented, you might need to read some paragraphs 2 or 3 times to grasp the concepts being discussed, or consult outside sources for definitions. However, if you are not one of the scientifically challenged, what you come away with is a more complete knowledge of sailing, and why different situations require different actions. This will invariably make you a better sailor.

I agree that the book is highly technical, perhaps to the point of being inaccessible to beginner sailors who are less familiar with the use of various controls or who never pay attention to sail shape. This book, however, is the only comprensive description of how to tune a boat I've ever found. You'll always keep it in your regatta gear bag. I don't know how I sailed without it.

I have read this book and I will keep it for those moments I want to go to the real deep fundamentals or.... when I cannot sleep.

It is a classic and almost required to have in the bookcase but if you want a practical book on trim don't buy this book. Very dense and in an engineering way made complicated where simplicity is the answer.

Walker's book has withstood the test of time. First published over 20 years ago, it remains an active seller on Amazon for good reason. The Manual of Sail Trim is detailed and thorough. In fact, it strength is also its weakness.

Walker presents the physics and science of sail trim in a very prescriptive manner. Problems are described and solutions prescribed. The writing is precise and technical. Walker approaches sailing and sail trim as a scientific problem; describe the problem, collect data, analyze, and prescribe solutions. He provides sample charts to record data on sail trim, sail controls, and boat speed; the kind of information that help top competitors remain at the top. However, for many of us, especially novice sailors, the information and its presentation is a bit daunting.

If you are new to sailing, this is probably not the best introduction to the sport. The information and presentation can be overwhelming to the neophyte sailor, contributing to the notion that sailing is a complicated proposition. There are better books for those learning to sail.

However, if you have gone beyond the basics and wish a more thorough understanding of sail trim and prescriptions for the varied conditions sailors encounter, then this is the book to have in the book locker. A Manual of Sail Trim is best thought of as a reference book, a book to review when boat speed has been elusive.

For the racer, Walker's book is a must have; for the rest of us it is a useful but not essential volume in our library.

This book bases its instructions on the expectation that you are using of a day sailor for racing. If you want to improve your sail trim on cruising boats, this is less helpful. Also, since I am not mathematically inclined much of it was too technical for my taste. Save the formulas and give me the empirical observations to go by.

Technically the book may be fine, but in general, it is very poorly written and consequently difficult to read. Illustrations will often contain variables that are not defined anywhere in the text. Frustrating.

This is THE reference book on sail trim and sailboat rig tuning. If you want to know what effects your mainsheet, or your Cunningham, has on your mainsail, you need to study a part of this book, then practice on water, then come back to book, etc...

The book is based on very clear drawings and pictures. I wished, however than its text was as clear, as it is written in outline form. There is nothing against a good outline but longhand phrases in good English are too scarce. There are some ambiguities in some cases on the meaning of the text in the outline. There are cases where there are different interpretations of what the author meant.

By the way, the author is not an engineer but a brain surgeon.