[quote=Wolfman]I'm pretty sure that they do put sails in wind tunnels for testing. Especially at the high end professional level such as sail designs for the America`s cup.
My aeronautical engineering background isn`t very complete (mostly self study dealing with drag on piers) but one thing to keep in mind is that a sail will always be an imperfect wing. It is flexible so it will change shape in areas where there are vortices and where separation occurs. The windward side isn`t shaped like the bottom of a wing so it is more difficult to preserve even airflow. Also the flow varies along the big high aspect ratio sails we use due to twist. So everytime you trim you create more problems as you solve others. The best we can try for is non-turbulent flow over as much area as possible (at least on a reach).
Because of this I`m beginning to understand the importance of adjusting the mast rotation, although I still haven`t figured it out in practice. The REALLY good sailors probably have a better practical feel for everything we are talking about and can take advantage of some of the turbulent boundary layer physics you are talking about. At that level though I think it has more to do with feel and experience, or in my case Voodoo and sacrificing chickens. :)
D.[/quote]
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