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(2 edits)

Didn't they usually bring the ship to a stop by backing sail(s) and/or turning into the wind and then dropping anchor?

>All in all, it's the kind of situation that would make me want to create some sort of artificial braking effect when the sail area is under a certain threshold

I would think it's possible to condition the drag not only by sail area, but also by checking if the ship accelerates or decelerates.

P.S. Here are two articles concerning period ship maneuverability I found recently - maybe they can be of help.

https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol13/tnm_13_4_29-39.pdf
https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol14/tnm_14_3_57-68.pdf

The usual procedure was to bring the ship into the wind, then drop the anchor while making sternway. Unless there was a very tricky confined harbor, they wouldn't drop the anchor while still moving forward. I haven't actually tried backing sail that much yet. Even if that method works well, I would still say that the issue is the large disparity in deceleration time of luffing up under full sail vs drifting under bare poles.

Those are fantastic articles and definitely read them. I think your simulation already jives nicely with the information they contain.

(1 edit)

>I think your simulation already jives nicely with the information they contain.

I am afraid you have confused me with Neil. :) The game I work with allows much less, although I tried to mix the numbers available to implement at least some of the effects.