Overview
Sail Tactician uses boat class profiles to drive its VMG cues. A profile is just two numbers: the optimal upwind angle and optimal downwind angle off the true wind. Those angles power the target-heading arrow, the tack/gybe suggestions, the green sweet-spot bands on the heading tape, the no-sail zone, and the polar diagram.
Pick the profile that matches your boat in Settings → Boat. Or save a boat of your own — with your own measured angles — under My Boats.
What the angles mean
- Upwind angle — the angle off the true wind direction where your boat makes the most VMG to windward. Smaller = points higher.
- Downwind angle — the angle off the true wind where you make the most VMG downwind. Larger = sails deeper.
Defaults assume moderate wind (8–14 kts). Real optimal angles drift with wind speed, sea state, sail trim, and crew weight — fine-tune for your conditions or use Custom.
The no-sail zone (red on the tape) is your boat's upwind angle — there's no separate setting. Change the boat, or a custom boat's angles, and the zone follows on both devices.
Profile catalog
55 presets across 8 categories. Format: up° / down°.
High-Performance Skiffs
Fast planing hulls, asymmetric kites, trapeze. Point high powered up, run deep angles down.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| 49er | 35° | 140° |
| 49erFX | 36° | 142° |
| 29er | 37° | 142° |
| Moth (Foiling) | 32° | 135° |
| WASZP | 33° | 136° |
| Musto Skiff | 36° | 140° |
| International 14 | 35° | 138° |
| 505 | 38° | 142° |
Olympic Dinghies
High-performance racing dinghies.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| ILCA 7 (Laser) | 42° | 150° |
| ILCA 6 (Radial) | 43° | 152° |
| ILCA 4 (4.7) | 44° | 155° |
| 470 | 40° | 148° |
| Finn | 40° | 148° |
| Europe | 43° | 152° |
Scows
Flat-bottomed, wide beam. Strong pointers, efficient downwind.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| MC Scow | 43° | 148° |
| C Scow | 42° | 145° |
| E Scow | 40° | 142° |
| A Scow | 38° | 138° |
| M-20 Scow | 40° | 143° |
| X Scow | 42° | 146° |
Club Dinghies
Recreational and junior racing dinghies. More forgiving, wider angles.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| Optimist | 48° | 160° |
| Sunfish | 47° | 158° |
| 420 | 43° | 152° |
| RS Feva | 44° | 153° |
| RS Aero | 42° | 150° |
| Topper | 45° | 155° |
| Mirror | 47° | 158° |
| Laser Pico | 45° | 155° |
| Snipe | 42° | 150° |
| Lightning | 42° | 150° |
| Flying Scot | 43° | 152° |
Sportboats
Fast one-design keelboats with asymmetric spinnakers.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| J/70 | 40° | 145° |
| Melges 24 | 40° | 143° |
| Melges 20 | 38° | 140° |
| VX One | 40° | 145° |
| SB20 | 40° | 145° |
Keelboats
Traditional one-design and handicap racing keelboats.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| J/24 | 42° | 150° |
| J/105 | 40° | 148° |
| J/111 | 39° | 145° |
| Etchells | 42° | 150° |
| Sonar | 43° | 152° |
| Star | 40° | 148° |
| Flying Fifteen | 42° | 150° |
| Dragon | 42° | 150° |
Cruiser/Racers
Dual-purpose, heavier displacement.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 36.7 | 45° | 155° |
| Catalina 22 | 47° | 158° |
| Catalina 36 | 45° | 155° |
| Hunter 33 | 46° | 156° |
| Pearson 26 | 46° | 156° |
| X-35 | 42° | 150° |
Multihulls
Catamarans and trimarans. Very tight upwind angles.
| Class | Upwind | Downwind |
|---|---|---|
| Hobie 16 | 38° | 135° |
| Hobie Wave | 42° | 145° |
| Nacra 17 | 36° | 132° |
| Formula 18 | 37° | 134° |
| Dart 16 | 40° | 140° |
Custom profile
If your boat isn't listed, or your local conditions push optimal angles materially off the preset, save a boat of your own in Settings → Boat → My Boats → Add Custom Boat (or tap + on a preset to start from its angles). The app stores your upwind and downwind angles on that boat and uses them anywhere a preset would be used.
Fine-tuning workflow
- Sail a few upwind beats in target conditions, sailing what feels like best VMG.
- After the session, open the Polar Diagram in session detail.
- Read the angle where speed × cos(angle to wind) peaks upwind, and where speed × cos(180° − angle) peaks downwind.
- Plug those numbers into Custom upwind/downwind.
- Iterate over a few sessions.
Sources
Defaults are drawn from public class polars and tuning guides:
- RYA Speed Charts
- Boat Polars Database
- Orca Polar Diagrams
- Seapilot Polar Files
- Oppedijk Polar Tables
- North Sails tuning guides
- SailZing VMG reference
- Class association technical documentation