Whether it’s for a day on the lake or a voyage from New York to Florida, a sailboat is a fun and unique way to experience nature. But before you take to the water, it’s important to understand the principles that make a sailboat move.
The most important force that propels a sailboat is the wind. A sailboat moves forward because the wind pushes it from the sides (lateral resistance). But a sailboat also moves forward because the wind creates lift on its surface. The force of the wind that generates this lift is called true wind. The sails and keel also provide lift to help the boat move.
To get more power from the wind, sailors rotate the mast – a tall pole that supports the sails and rigging – to catch different directions of the wind. The mainsail is the largest sail that captures the bulk of the wind’s power. Its vertical side attaches to the mast and its horizontal side secures to the boom, a long pole that is parallel to the deck. When swung perpendicular to the wind, the mainsail puffs outward; when swung parallel to it, it goes slack.
The keel helps prevent the boat from being blown sideways in the wind by providing an underwater counteracting force against the lateral resistance. The keel works by applying the same principle that creates lift on a sail: the air or water moves faster over the outer, convex side of the keel than over the inner, concave one. This creates a pressure difference that causes the fluid to migrate from the high-pressure side of the keel to the low-pressure side, where it forms vortices that add to the boat’s momentum.
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