How does a sailboat go towards the wind?

Question

I realize a sailboat can’t go directly at the wind (or maybe it can🤷🏽‍♂️) but for the life of me I can’t picture it going anywhere but where the wind is bowing.

Also, lets say you were in a round pond, could you sail to any point you wanted to in the pond with the wind blowing steady in one direction?

In: 34

Answer 1

The answer is you can’t go directly into the wind but you can to an angle to the wind.

If the angle is more than 45 degrees to the wind you can sail [https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b516ce2f092bcecb0c4db380163c8df8-lq](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b516ce2f092bcecb0c4db380163c8df8-lq) To go in the direction of the wind you first to 45 degrees to the right on the wind and then turn to 45 degrees to the left of the wind and the net result is you go towards the wind but the distant you need to travel is longer [https://hatterassailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/download-64.jpg](https://hatterassailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/download-64.jpg)

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You can demonstrate that you can do this at home. Take a toy car or anything else with wheels that can roll in one direction. Put a vertical flat surface on top of it that you can push on. The surface should not be parallel to the car but at an angle. To simulate the wind by moving your finger vertically and moving it in a straight line. Change the direction of the car relative to the direction you move the finger and you will notice when the angle is more than 45 degrees the car will start to move in forward again the direction you move the finger.

There is friction between the toy car and the ground just as it is between the boat and the water so it can only move in one line. It is the combination of the direction of that friction and the force from the wind/finger that determines the direction it moves and it will be forward if the angle is above 45 degrees.

You can compare it to if you push down on a wedge with low friction to what supports it and to your hand. It will move in the direction of the thickest part. If you push down it on an inclined surface it will still move along the surface, if you put the thick part of the wedge pointing up it will move up. This is the same as sailing into the wind, your hand is the wind, and the surface is the friction from the ground/water that stops sideways motion.