My first technical paper on sail aerodynamics was presented in 1971 at the Third American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Ancient Interface Symposium, Redondo Beach, California. In early 1973 I submitted a modified version of this paper to SAIL Magazine. The editor, Charles Mason, said that he was interested in publishing my material, but that it would require several articles. I would also have to make the material more understandable to the average sailor.
The result was a series of 11 articles. Most of these articles were later included in the book The Best of SAIL Trim, published by SAIL magazine. Original versions of all of my SAIL articles are included below in this section. All have been reformatted for display on the Web.
In addition to the SAIL Magazine articles, I have included other articles that appeared in Yachting, Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, and in Sailing World.
The files are all in PDF format and are rather large so you may need a high speed connection to download them.
SAIL Magazine Articles:
How_Sails_Really_Work, April 1973
Boundary Layer Flow and the Headsail, May 1973
How a Sail Gives Lift, June 1973
Another Look at Slot Effect, July 1973
More on the Slot Effect, August 1973
Why the Safe Leeward Works, September 1973
The Double Head Rig, October 1973
Checking Trim on the Wind, November 1973
Achieving Proper Balance, December 1973
Sailing to Windward, January 1974
Are You at Optimum Trim?, March 1974
Sailing World Magazine:
What Goes Around Comes Around, April 1991
Fluid Dynamics -- How Modern Science and Sailing Discovered Each Other, May 1995
Yachting Magazine:
Designer's Forum, Design of the Courageous Mast, February 1975
Sea and Pacific Motor Boat Magazine