Clue on the main let go.

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Sep 20, 2006
155
Hunter 49 Mystic CT
To say the least I'm very disappointed in the Halsey UK sails. My main which is only in its seventh season and is put away each winter blew the clue Saturday in very light air. The cause best I can tell is the straps that hold the block (in mast furling) totally degraded from UV.


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image-914645279.jpg

I really can't imagine the life of this sail in Florida or point south.

Anyone else have this happen?
 
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Aug 3, 2010
150
Hunter 326 Charleston SC
Same thing happened to our sail when the PO took it out just before deciding to sell the boat. The boat was only used 2-3 times a year and was 9 years old. The repairs with much heaver material and stiching still look good after two years.
 
Jun 4, 2004
292
Hunter 49 123
Had the same problem w my 2006 H46 - less than 3 year old sails. Afer that I had the sailmaker replace the nylon straps and put sumbrella over the nylon straps on both the mail and jib. My H49 came with the sumbrella on the main sail but not the jib nor stay sail. Again I had the sailmaker protrect those nylon straps with sumbrella. Also have them check the head strap of the sail for the same problem.
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,735
Hunter 49 toronto
Thought I'd add something

Had the same problem w my 2006 H46 - less than 3 year old sails. Afer that I had the sailmaker replace the nylon straps and put sumbrella over the nylon straps on both the mail and jib. My H49 came with the sumbrella on the main sail but not the jib nor stay sail. Again I had the sailmaker protrect those nylon straps with sumbrella. Also have them check the head strap of the sail for the same problem.
This is obviously a UV & salt issue.
Up on Lake Ontario, you don't see this type of degradation in the clew straps.

What I wanted to do was re-visit an older post of mine for your benefit.
I noticed your leech line, where it is wrapped up in a few knots, etc.
The problem with the leech lines is that they stretch.
Ideally, what you want to do is set the leech line each time you unfurl, and then release it prior to furling.
This is all but impossible on the 49, because the boom is so high from the cockpit.
Plus, the Mickey Mouse jam cleat on the sail doesn't hold. That's why your end up tying knots & leaving it.
Unfortunately, leaving a tight leech line on a furled sail doesn't help it keep a good shape.
So, I invented a really neat way of dealing with this..

What you need to do us install a small cam cleat on the aluminum pulley block
See photo below

image.jpg

Now this gets real easy.
Once the sail is unfurled, you just grab the leech line, pull it downwards, and it's self- cleating. Pull it nice & taught, and watch how you get a beautiful shape in the sail leech.
Just before furling, grab the line, and snap it out of the cleat.
You can put a small loop in the end of the line,
And use my special-purpose-leech-tensioner-tool model LTT-101, also known as a short piece of coat hanger with a hook at the end.
You can make this yourself in 30 seconds, or if you are the US Govt., you can buy one for $73,500.

Guarantee once you have this setup, you will find your mainsail shake improves dramatically. Plus, less stretch on the leech.
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,735
Hunter 49 toronto
Thought I'd add one thing

This is obviously a UV & salt issue.
Up on Lake Ontario, you don't see this type of degradation in the clew straps.

What I wanted to do was re-visit an older post of mine for your benefit.
I noticed your leech line, where it is wrapped up in a few knots, etc.
The problem with the leech lines is that they stretch.
Ideally, what you want to do is set the leech line each time you unfurl, and then release it prior to furling.
This is all but impossible on the 49, because the boom is so high from the cockpit.
Plus, the Mickey Mouse jam cleat on the sail doesn't hold. That's why your end up tying knots & leaving it.
Unfortunately, leaving a tight leech line on a furled sail doesn't help it keep a good shape.
So, I invented a really neat way of dealing with this..

What you need to do us install a small cam cleat on the aluminum pulley block
See photo below

View attachment 67988

Now this gets real easy.
Once the sail is unfurled, you just grab the leech line, pull it downwards, and it's self- cleating. Pull it nice & taught, and watch how you get a beautiful shape in the sail leech.
Just before furling, grab the line, and snap it out of the cleat.
You can put a small loop in the end of the line,
And use my special-purpose-leech-tensioner-tool model LTT-101, also known as a short piece of coat hanger with a hook at the end.
You can make this yourself in 30 seconds, or if you are the US Govt., you can buy one for $73,500.

Guarantee once you have this setup, you will find your mainsail shake improves dramatically. Plus, less stretch on the leech.

The cam cleat is screwed to the aluminum clew piece. The only way this will work is to drill & tap the 2 mounting locations
For the cam cleat. You can't put screws all the way through, as it will interfere with the out haul
I believe I tapped 8-32. You want a pretty small cleat for this, typically dinghy sized so that it will grip the small leech line
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,735
Hunter 49 toronto
Here's another photo

This is obviously a UV & salt issue.
Up on Lake Ontario, you don't see this type of degradation in the clew straps.

What I wanted to do was re-visit an older post of mine for your benefit.
I noticed your leech line, where it is wrapped up in a few knots, etc.
The problem with the leech lines is that they stretch.
Ideally, what you want to do is set the leech line each time you unfurl, and then release it prior to furling.
This is all but impossible on the 49, because the boom is so high from the cockpit.
Plus, the Mickey Mouse jam cleat on the sail doesn't hold. That's why your end up tying knots & leaving it.
Unfortunately, leaving a tight leech line on a furled sail doesn't help it keep a good shape.
So, I invented a really neat way of dealing with this..

What you need to do us install a small cam cleat on the aluminum pulley block
See photo below

View attachment 67988

Now this gets real easy.
Once the sail is unfurled, you just grab the leech line, pull it downwards, and it's self- cleating. Pull it nice & taught, and watch how you get a beautiful shape in the sail leech.
Just before furling, grab the line, and snap it out of the cleat.
You can put a small loop in the end of the line,
And use my special-purpose-leech-tensioner-tool model LTT-101, also known as a short piece of coat hanger with a hook at the end.
You can make this yourself in 30 seconds, or if you are the US Govt., you can buy one for $73,500.

Guarantee once you have this setup, you will find your mainsail shake improves dramatically. Plus, less stretch on the leech.

This photo shows the mounting of the cleat very clearly

You will need to cut the mounting screws to length very carefully so that they are just long enough to go through the tapped threads in the aluminum. Any longer, and they'll interfere with the outhaul
Use Loctite on the screws!
 

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