Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango Charlie
What are the horizontal rows of tufts attached to the sails? Are they in a perpetual state of tuft testing?  |
In the picture in the first post? I'm scaling up from sailboard/landsailer sails here, but I think those are battens: small strips of fiberglass or similar that help the trailing edge hold its shape, rather than flapping in the breeze. Tufts on the sails might also be used to tell how close to the wind it's pointing: if it's at too steep an angle, a sail will stall much like an airplane wing.