There was recent discussion on the ElverBuilders group about how well the Elver can tack. After sailing her a
while I have gotten the rig quite well debugged and tuned. I followed Steve Redmond's plans quite closely in
constructing the rig. I followed the instructions in the sailright kit very carefully to be sure to get the
desired sail shape. Then I made sure to trim the sails properly. This means lacing the mainsail to the
mast so that the luff is just touching the mast. When starting the tack I bring the boat into the wind. As soon as
the sails start luffing I let the sheets loose so that the wind can't catch them and blow the boat back. I then
back the mizzen so that the wind tends to push the stern in the opposite direction. I use judicious rudder to try
to turn the boat without also stopping it. Once she swings through the eye of the wind and begins to fall off I get
ready to sheet in the sails to pick up the wind. You can see the successful tacks in the video.