The sails always seems to be somewhat parallel to the direction of the boat, but if the wind is blowing sideways, should that push the boat off course?
In: 9
Wind blowing sideways does tend to push the boat sideways. If the boat were just a flat shape floating on top of the water, it would be pushed sideways a lot, with nothing to stop it. But boats aren’t shaped like that. They sink into the water somewhat, with the bottom of the boat below the water line. Also, boats are longer than they are wide. Together, this means that it is easier to push a boat through water along its long axis (forward or backward) than it is to push sideways. Because, when you try to push sideways, you have to displace a lot of water that gets in the way of this wide underwater surface.
Some boats are designed to resist being pushed sideways even more, for instance by attaching a fin or board to the bottom of the boat, protruding downward into the water. This provides even more surface area to resist sideways motion, while adding minimal resistance to forward motion. This fin also stops the boat from rolling easily (which sailboats are susceptible to as wind pushes against the sails which sit mostly above the boat’s center of gravity).
The sails always seems to be somewhat parallel to the direction of the boat, but if the wind is blowing sideways, should that push the boat off course?
In: 9
Wind blowing sideways does tend to push the boat sideways. If the boat were just a flat shape floating on top of the water, it would be pushed sideways a lot, with nothing to stop it. But boats aren’t shaped like that. They sink into the water somewhat, with the bottom of the boat below the water line. Also, boats are longer than they are wide. Together, this means that it is easier to push a boat through water along its long axis (forward or backward) than it is to push sideways. Because, when you try to push sideways, you have to displace a lot of water that gets in the way of this wide underwater surface.
Some boats are designed to resist being pushed sideways even more, for instance by attaching a fin or board to the bottom of the boat, protruding downward into the water. This provides even more surface area to resist sideways motion, while adding minimal resistance to forward motion. This fin also stops the boat from rolling easily (which sailboats are susceptible to as wind pushes against the sails which sit mostly above the boat’s center of gravity).
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