How it Works;

The hull provides structure and floatation. To steer your sailing dinghy, it must be moving through the water. To get your sailing dinghy moving you will need wind in your sail. This is perhaps the first place where confusion sets in for many. The question is how can you sail forward when the wind is coming from anywhere but directly behind? For the answer, refer to the figure below;

As the force from creating lift (like the wing of an airplane) push the boat at an approximate 45degree angle, water under the hull is pushing back in the opposite direction. This action is like pinching a wet pumpkin seed between your fingers. The result is forward movement.

You are able to sail in any direction with the exception of a few degrees either side of directly into the wind. These directions are refered to as "Points of Sail". The diagram below gives both an idea of where these directions are, relative to the boat. And the diagram gives you an idea of where your sail is positioned for best performance.

Finally, in order to steer the dinghy, water flowing past the rudder is diverted to one side or the other. The force generated by the water being diverted by the rudder turns the boat. Diverting the water to the left turns the boat left and diverting water to the right turns the boat right. Most importantly, water must be flowing past the rudder for it to do it's job.