[quote=Dogboy][quote=martyr]About that Telo-Cat, I know the little arms are called tacking arms but how exactly do they help one tack?[/quote]
They don't really help you tack, they tell you what angle you're tacking through. For example, if you have them set at 90 degrees (relative to each other) and when you're sailing upwind, the back of the wind vane is lined up with the tacking arm, then you know you're sailing at 45 degrees relative to the apparent wind and tacking through 90 degrees. If the back of the wind vane is in front of the arm, then you know you're tacking through greater than 90 degrees (footing). A better name would be "reference arms."
Personally, I don't find the arms to be very useful because I mainly only use the telocat when sailing downwind. So I take them off. Instead, I judge my downwind angle by looking at the telocat relative to the leeward bridle wire. Since the bridle wire is slightly aft of the telocat, I know if the back of the vane is pointing at the wire, I'm sailing "hot" (less than 90 degrees apparent). If it is a little in front of the wire, I am at roughly 90 degrees. And if it is way in front of the wire, I am sailing deep. This can be helpful during a race, for example, immediately after you come out of a jibe. You can quickly check the bridle fly to make sure the boat is pointed in the right direction while you're still getting situated or adjusting your sails.
sm<!-- editby --><em>Edited by Dogboy on Jul 13, 2017 - 12:16 PM.</em><!-- end editby --> [/quote]
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