Turning with speed and grace

[Junior]

I consider myself a reasonably skilled pirate with a good amount of experence in all the best ships, but i still haven't mastered those lovely sharp turns in all the boats. My BoW I know, can sail close to the wind, reef, whip over the the other side, billow, and whoosh of without loosing much speed. But I still find times when we turn like a galleon, and sloops i sometimes turn slowly in too.

How do you plan these sharp turns? I'm trying to get my SoTL sailing up to scatch, I hate taking damage. (Unless they've riled me, then i just bring 'er up along side and we'll soon see who meets davey jones first! )

[Azlat]

Junior,

I actually never reel my sails at all. I still try and get those really sharp turns at full sail. I haven't seen any rel reason why I should ever reel the sails, because at full sails, you move faster.

The best thing I go for is the setup with the wind gauge. Come at them with the wind behind, and turn quick, fire, and then turn again and close with them.

I'm not sure if I am tearing up my sails because of this, but I have never seen bad effects of leaving them full while I maneuver toward my prey.
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Bring her about and make ready the guns!!

Break forth cutlasses and pistols men, and remember the hell that forged you!!

YARR!!

[kvollmer]

Reefing the sails is useful for larger ships but for a ship like the sloop its suicide. Make sure you get the copper plating.

As was said before plan using the wind. Your going to have lots of problems if you are going into the wind too much. Try and use your momentum and turn through and away from it.

Example wind is blowing W. and you are going after a ship to the east.

Cut the wind to the south then to compensate turn the ship hard left to go NE at about the same angle as you where to the south. However its best if you approach the enemy ship using the wind at your back so if you take your time to set up your attacks you should be able to fight most battles without having to go into the wind.
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Sincerly,


Kirk Vollmer
Don't ever call me Captain Kirk.
Valparaiso University Alumni; Class of 2004

[rupertlittlebear]

I never have any troubles turning my SOTL at speeds.
It gladly follows my War Canoe.

[headrock]

*Spits*

A pox on ye!
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Blondebeard: "Madre de Dios! Es el Pollo Diablo!!"
<Spanish Guitar Riff>
Guybrush: "Si! He dejado en libertad los prisioneros, y ahora vengo por TE!"

[headrock]

But seriously now.

Yes, reefing the sails is an art reserved exclusively for medium and large ships. Don't try it in a sloop or pinnace - with those, speed and turning go hand in hand, so if you reef the sails you lose speed and therefore turn slower.

With medium-to-large ships - Mostly Frigates and Brigs since the other ships are worth bupkis in terms of maneuverability anyway - reefing the sails provides the opposite. When you reef the sails, your maximum speed becomes lower. You will also accelerate and deccelerate at lower rates. The bonus of course is that you turn much faster with reefed sails than with raised sails.

What big ships do with this is simple - it is used for A) making a quick "turn-and-fire", which saves time spent in an off-wind condition trying to aim the guns, and B) avoiding gunfire, which both shiptypes do great, by quickly changing course to "escape" the zone where incoming cannonballs are expected to land. In all maneuvers, it is imperative to know not only when to reef the sails, but also when to raise them back up. Staying with lowered sails for too long, especially if you're maneuvering around, will eventually cause you to lose a lot of speed, which will take time regaining even if you hurry to raise the sails. Time spent in "reefed sails" state is as minimal as you can make it. A good big-ship captain can reef and raise at percisely the right time so that you're not wasting any second of not catching good winds (which is crucial for ALL big-ship sailing).

As to how you do this, please read the SOL FAQ which is available in the "Guide" section (see link at the top of the page). I've illustrated both the method and the desired results.
_________________
Blondebeard: "Madre de Dios! Es el Pollo Diablo!!"
<Spanish Guitar Riff>
Guybrush: "Si! He dejado en libertad los prisioneros, y ahora vengo por TE!"

[Junior]

In my Bow i find i only really need to reef me sails when i'm crossing the eye of the wind, otherwise i find, like the sloop, i lose manoverability with my speed. With the Sotl though, crossing with the wind (opposite the eye, i can't remember much of that chart thing ) i get a slower turn, even turning from my point of sailing, when i should have the most momentum.

This sailing lark is confusing for an old sea dog sometimes... *chugs another pint of rum*

[headrock]

Yes, in a frigate, turning near the wind with your sails reefed causes you to stop. This is because your speed is already low when you reef them, then the turn reduces more and the wind more, and that's that for continual motion. If you have to cross the eye, make sure you've got good speed, and make the turn with the sails up. Good Frigate tactics require you NOT to turn into the wind at all, but we all know that sometimes cannot be avoided.
_________________
Blondebeard: "Madre de Dios! Es el Pollo Diablo!!"
<Spanish Guitar Riff>
Guybrush: "Si! He dejado en libertad los prisioneros, y ahora vengo por TE!"

[Junior]

No, i was refering to the opposite side, not the eye of the wind.

But I see where you are going, the sloop and BoW have shown me that.
After a few days sailing my SoTL about I seem to be getting better, and leaving my sails down at strategic moments...

As much as i like a small nimble ship, there is something lovely about knowing you've got the biggest baddest ship you're going to see!

[Red Yorick]

I just got Monty on my first serious game, used a war canoe so far, I think its time to stop playing with the toy boats and flush out one of them ship of the line bad arses to proceed with my lootin and plunderin.

[headrock]

[jbsmith]

a good time to reel or reef the sails is when you see LOTS of chain-shot flying at you,the sails will take less damage when the chain shot does hit.
The biggest drawback however,when raising and re lowering the sails
is that it takes longer to reload the guns becuz the so many men are up in
the rigging working with the sails.

[headrock]

Heh, that's only useful for a Brig. In a frigate you're not supposed to get that close unless the enemy doesn't have enough cannons to scratch your poopdeck. (Or you're travelling so fast towards him, that it doesn't matter what damage you'll get to th sails).
_________________
Blondebeard: "Madre de Dios! Es el Pollo Diablo!!"
<Spanish Guitar Riff>
Guybrush: "Si! He dejado en libertad los prisioneros, y ahora vengo por TE!"

[rupertlittlebear]

plan your moves carefuylly. You may find that the first sail change is instant, the next takes forever.

[Airsaw]

Doesn't this depend on your crew numbers? If they're busy loading cannon, they can't be rasin' and lowerin' sails. And, if they be raisin' and lowerin' sails, who's loading the cannon?
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