Where do Jib Cars go?

This episode discusses proper placement of a sailboat's jib cars on the jib car track and how to find the neutral starting position or "baseline" placement of the cars along the track for your particular sails. Finding the baseline position involves measuring the luff of the sail to find the mid-point and then drawing a line from there, through the clew, and locating the intersecting point along the jib car track. This "baseline" position is the theoretical position where the jib car should be placed in ideal conditions (neither overpowered nor underpowered) and smooth water. It may be different for each sail in your inventory. I also discuss the adjustment of the jib cars based on different sailing conditions. Moving the cars fore and aft changes the angle of force applied to the clew of the headsail. Moving the car aft increases the horizontal force (more pressure on the foot) while decreasing the vertical force (less pressure on the leech). Moving the car forward does the opposite, decreasing the horizontal force on the clew and increasing the vertical force. Generally, for heavier wind the jib cars are moved aft to flatten (de-power) the foot (bottom third) of the headsail and decrease leech tension which increases twist and reduces heeling force. For light air sailing, jib cars can be moved forward to increase the chamber or "belly" in the sail which will provide more power. More belly in the headsail can also used to increase power when dealing with waves and chop. Subscribe and follow @ColoradoSailing on YouTube for more original sailing videos, gear, boat maintenance, sailing tips and travel content as I sail my Precision 18 trailer sailer and Precision 16 sailing dinghy in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. #sailingchannel #coloradosailing #sailing #mountainsailing #learntosail #sailingtips