I got myself new tell tales to install on new to me n5.0 sails and thought I would I ask basic question of where to install them. I think they should be in CE location 12" - 18" from the luff, 1/3 down from the top and another 1/3 up from the foot of the sail. Am I right? Please help, I am brain damaged and can't think straight.

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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Here is a guide on tell-tales

http://www.thebeachcats.c…telltales?Article66.html

This article is on H17, but it contains a picture with tell-tail locations, I am sure it would apply to any cat
http://www.hcana.hobiecla…weet%2017%20Part%201.pdf

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Jack B
Hobie 17
BC, Canada
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My 2 pennies:

I would put 2-3 down the top 3rd of the leach so you can verify lee side flow attachment. If the sail is translucent enough, you can put a few as you mentioned - 12-18 back from the luff. For me, lee-side tails are more important than windward side.

For sloop rig boats (main+jib), tails below the jib overlap area don't seem to be very useful (at least for me) as the flow off the jib will make the main act trimmed even when its not.

I also rely a lot on the jib telltales. A few on the leach toward the top, and then a couple in the belly of the sail - about 1/4-1/3 from the luff. Again, lee side tails can be just as important as the windward ones.

If you're in an especially geeky/scholarly mood, this article (here) does a good job of explaining the interaction of the boundary layer with the mast and sail junction. Took me a couple of reads to take it all in, but really helped out on the water.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
'10 C2 USA1193
NE IN / SE MI
cramsailing.com
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What I do ... YMMV, is 2/3 and 1/3 on the jib, back just slightly more than the length of a telltale from the luff. You need those to set jib car position on the day and to steer. And on the main 3/4 and 1/2. I don't do 1/4 height since the jib and traveller make them stream all the time anyway. I also like one on the leech at 3/4 because I tend to over sheet.

Lately I've been experimenting with Gentry tufts on the main, using normal telltales trimmed to 2/3 length and attached almost nose to tail across the sail from maybe a foot back all the way to mid point (50% of chord he said in a scholarly way). This appears to help with staying more in the middle of the groove when steering.
http://www.arvelgentry.com/tuft.htm

When I bought my new used 5.2, There were no tell tales on the sails, But one could see where they were once attached. There were two (may have been three) about 18" aft of the main's luff and two about 6" from the jib's luff. When I had my main repaired, the sailmaker told me that telltales on the main's leech were much more helpful. So He attached about 6 telltales there. I am a believer, now. They give great feedback on the main's trim. I replaced the ones on the jib in their original location.

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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this is one place weight is not an issue ... imho go nutz with em

I purchased a brand new main. Had only leach tails (on every batten) - I have always used and liked leach tails.

I went to Jo-Ann fabrics and bought a roll of the brightest orange yarn i could find and placed 3-4 tell tales across the sail from luff to leach, on every panel of the sail, both sides. I under-estimated how many this was ... and was cutting up sail tape forever making little circles for the tell tales.

8 months later, 95% of them are still there (i removed a few that weren't useful and a few fell off) and i still love em ... I can look at the air flow on every part of my main, both sides with just a glance. There are probably a bunch in the middle and back of the sail i could remove, but they weigh and hurt nothing to keep