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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Sailing Simulators

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Sea Wolf
1st Mate

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27 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/03/2006 : 18:13:55

I'm teaching myself to sail and I have several good books on the subject, like the ASA manual and Dennis Conner's book. Obviously the only real way to learn is to do it. But I was wondering if there is any software out there that may be worth spending time with.

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2006 : 19:05:01

Hi SW, I did a google search and this was the first one I came up with. There were many more. Cheers. and good luck.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/volvooceanrace/interactives/sailing/index.html

Edited by - on

Bubba
Admiral

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USA
542 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2006 : 19:44:17

That's an interesting little simulator! I like the way it shows apparent wind. The true wind is indicated as always coming from right to left, but the apparent wind changes with boat speed and heading - nice.

BTW I got that boat moving over 16 kts. That makes it about 145 ft. LWL or some kind of planing hull, eh?

Edited by - on

rwdutton
1st Mate

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USA
52 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2006 : 23:07:31

Several years ago I bought a simulator from Posey and have enjoyed it very much. I got the racing one, but they have added more software titles since then. Have fun!
http://www.poseysail.com/

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2006 : 13:37:35

Email me mckillip at swbell.net

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2006 : 18:02:46

Here is a docking sim.

http://spot.pcc.edu/~mtrigobo/docksim/index.html

Edited by - on

SailCO26
Captain

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USA
457 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2006 : 11:07:20

I've used a couple of the Posey sims for racing tactics and strategy. While NOTHING compares to on-the-water experience, these are actually pretty good at keeping the mind sharp. They could stand some update to today's graphics capabilities and some better interface, but once you get used to it they work pretty good. And can be pretty challenging when you crank up the difficulty level!

I demo'd the cruising one, and for some REALLY basic cruising stuff they're ok. I think there's another one that does sailing basics (Dynamics?) that would show impact of various trim/weight changes. Good for overall theory, but all boat models are different and some speed changes work better than others in real life.

Vivid Simulations used to have a really good match racing sim (possible they still do). Great graphics and intuitive interface.

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2006 : 11:35:31

I've used several of the online demo versions. As noted, nothing replaces being on the water but what the simulators do is give the beginner a body of knowledge that can be applied to real life sailing. I think they're a great tool and at the same time, can be a lot of fun.

Edited by - on

cat1951
Admiral

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USA
636 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2006 : 14:32:51

When you get bored trying to sail your C25, step up to this one.

http://dock.easycruise.com/

I think I have only hit a few people on the beach and wiped out the dock a couple of times.

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2006 : 14:56:38

Inexpensive Off Season Sailing Simulator– Skipper and Crew Version

1. Mast man Simulator - Fill a bucket with salt water, stand on a rocking chair, yell WAVE count down from 5 and then douse yourself with the water. If working out with your crewmembers have the Helmsman and Navigator refill spare buckets and repeat doing 20 repetitions. Before finishing fill up the bucket one last time.
2. Crew Simulator - Buy a twelve pack of beer and leave next to the heating duct in the home. Grab one beer after each exercise. For full effect, turn your thermostat to 78 degrees.
3. Crew Simulation two - Sit on the edge of the bed on a pickup truck facing outward. When your legs go numb, set your stopwatch to countdown from 5 minutes. When your watch goes off yell tack and move to the other side. Repeat this exercise 5 times. Advanced version - Have the navigator swing a spinnaker pole or whisker pole and eye level while crossing the bed of the truck.
4. Break for lunch. Grab a PB& J sandwich, dunk in the leftover bucket from simulation 1. Once fully saturated eat it with a warm beer. Finish off with 3 week old pretzels.
5. Light Air Simulation – Put one side of the pickup truck up on stands inside a garage with full heat. Don your entire set of foul weather gear and have 5 people lay down on the rail of the bed on the low side. Conversations are encouraged, but whispering only.
6. Foredeck simulator. Go to the local ice rink, tape the bottoms of your shoes with cellophane packing tape. Run around while fellow crew members throw buckets of water on you.
7. Tactician’s Simulator – We can’t help you, you already think you know more than enough and won’t take anyone’s advice anyway. Find the farthest corner of the earth and go there, then come back. Based on your previous results it will be time for the new season to start when you return.
8. Sail Trimmers - Tie a rope to your car bumper. Have your Helmsman drive away while the rope slips through your hands.
9. Special Bonus Skippers Training Simulator– Go to the bank and withdraw 500 dollars. Purchase all of the PB&J and beverages above Be sure not to buy any ice and get your change in all singles. While your entire crew is going through simulation 3 yell at them profusely while burning the $$$
10. Skippers Training Simulation Two – Take the remaining change from Simulation 9 and burn it
11. Skippers Training Simulation 3 – Place two chairs 4 feet apart and facing each other. Set your stopwatch for 5 minutes repeatable. When the timer goes off, say helms down then switch chairs. Repeat
12. Post Race Simulation – Go spend a day in court, then go out on the town consume obscene amounts of liquor and leave when the bars close. For true simulations please be ready to start back at number 1 tomorrow morning at 6 am.
13. Skippers Training Part 4 – call everyone at 5:30 and make sure they are out of bed and ready for another day in the simulator.

Edited by - Champipple on 11/08/2006 22:06:04

millermg
Navigator

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159 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2006 : 17:16:14

I'm a pretty big fan of Virtual Skipper racing simulator. The graphics are great, and the sailing is pretty realistic. About the only thing it lacks is it does not account for dirty air. VSK3 is the current version. It's gotten me through many a winter night with a good racing fix.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2006 : 17:22:14

The best sim is a small boat off the beach!!!!!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2006 : 21:52:36

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Duane Wolff
 Inexpensive Off Season Sailing Simulator– Skipper and Crew Version...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
ROFLMAO

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SailCO26
Captain

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USA
457 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2006 : 08:39:58

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by millermg About the only thing it lacks is it does not account for dirty air.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
IMHO, for a "racing" sim to not account for this is HUGE! That's like not including wind shifts...

Tho it does look like some excellent graphics!

Edited by - on

SailCO26
Captain

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USA
457 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2006 : 08:47:34

Rebuttal to my own post:

I did a search on this sim, and it looks like there's a version 4 available now - which apparently handles wind shadows. I've messed around with the demo briefly, but not long enough to get a real feel for whether the sim accounts for this accurately.

Here's the latest:
http://www.virtualskipper-game.com/index_vsk4.htm

Other than some issues where the on-the-water judge mis-applies some of the rules (particularly in starboard roundings), this seems like a very good sim. Great graphics, nice scenery (like we're really looking around...), a reasonable selection of boats (as long as you dont mind practicing racing in high-end hardware!), and a good interface.

The general consensus in the forums seems to be that the AI is weak. I've not had enough races to make a determination there, but in every race I've gotten a good start I've won. There's also an online connection, so when you start spanking the AI you can take on the rest of the world.

There is also what seems to be a pretty slick custom course builder, so one theoretically should be able to reconstruct a reasonable copy of one's local sailing area. Tho it appears the wx can't be randomized and is a part of the course design. Also, with the ability to generate custom courses comes some really oddball courses (both OEM and user-developed). Around here we'd string up an RC that posted some of these...

Based on about an hour's worth of noodling around, this has got some real possibilities!

Now if I can just get it to work on my notebook computer...

Jim
#183 - Team Short Bus

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