Ok, at the risk of greatly offending this great group of fine purists I came across some sailing simulation software packages that intrigued me. Even an interesting simulator on Harken.com to model boat reaction to sail trim.

There is nothing like being out in the elements to learn, but do you see any value in teaching fundamentals and practicing with a simulator to understand the impact of sail and heading adjustments? A big given here is that the software is loaded to be able to closely simulate the reactions of a multihull. May be too many variables to get too technical but I wonder if it would help a new sailor understand the basics.

Dont disown me here....just curious....

--
David
Memphis, TN
'84 Hobie 18
--

yes i think there could be some value in it... it certainly could help explain how trim should be set for upwind vs downwind and maybe explain how outhauls effect sail shape... or at least when to apply outhaul.... but there is really nothing that replaces OJT

[quote=sailinagin]Ok, at the risk of greatly offending this great group of fine purists I came across some sailing simulation software packages that intrigued me. Even an interesting simulator on Harken.com to model boat reaction to sail trim.

[quote]


Where did you find that simulator on Harken? I am interested in checking it out.

Never mind I found it.



edited by: av8erdunn, Aug 18, 2010 - 01:02 PM

Sail trim can sometimes be a black art! When things start swirling a bit on my lake I almost think I need some chicken entrails to figure it out. Anything that helps with this is useful!

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Posting a link so others can avoid the needless search.
Thanks for finding this David.

http://www.nauticed.org/sail_trim_sailing_game



edited by: Rider_55, Aug 18, 2010 - 03:14 PM

There are some rules graphic simulators that are really great at giving a birds eye view of how the rules affect boats on the water at marks, crossings, etc.

Anyone have links for those, thought I did but can't find. These should go in the links directory.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
--

UK-Halsey has probably the best Rules software around.
( http://www.ukhalsey.com/ )

Virtual Skipper 5 is one of the best sailing simulators around.
( http://www.virtualskipper-game.com/en/ )

VSK5 has almost every boat you can imagine, including a few multi's.
I use it extensively for tactical training and ISAF rules familiarization
and application.

but who are the computer designers out there that are also expert sailors answering all our questions? can we trust these games are accurate?

--
Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
--

Virtual Skipper looks good. Here is one I found that looks close to releasing a Hobie 16, F18 Tiger and Nacra Infusion.

http://www.sailsimulator.com/

I'll see if I can put these in the links directory.

Went to add links. May be good to add a Simulation category. Whaddya think Damon?



edited by: sailinagin, Aug 18, 2010 - 09:52 PM

--
David
Memphis, TN
'84 Hobie 18
--

I bought sail simulator, but my computer wont let me play it :(

--
Tyler holmes
Panama city, FL

Boat whore
--

What simulator did you get? Is it a software or computer issue?

--
David
Memphis, TN
'84 Hobie 18
--

Software, i got the Sail simulator 2010..i cant even use it...

--
Tyler holmes
Panama city, FL

Boat whore
--

Quote

but who are the computer designers out there that are also expert sailors answering all our questions? can we trust these games are accurate?

You can trust most of these to have been scrutinized by real sailors.

There is a Volvo game that is free to use. it is a round the globe race with some 220,000 of players. It follows around the actual Volvo Race and you compete against all the other players. i think the winner gets a volvo - http://www.volvooceanrace.com/multimedia/game/



Volvo Ocean Race Game

On Sunday, 5 July the Volvo Ocean Race Game finally closed. Over 220,000 players participated in the game during the course of the race, with winners and prizes on every leg.

The overall race winner was Dutch boat Powerof7, winning first prize of a Volvo C30 and you can see the full list on winners on the official game site www.volvooceanracegame.org.