I have a Hunter 260 and I want to increase the size of my head sail. A sail maker suggested that I purchase a 130% head sail and use a furler to adjust the size during heavy air. The reason I wish to have a larger head sail is that the boat seems to need more sail area in light air. Has anyone had experence increasing the head sail on a 260?
Increase head sail size
- Thread starter drenard
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Do your homework as the subject is more complicated that it may seem. A larger headsail does not necessarily improve the sail plan of newer boats. Sail plan design has shifted from large genoa, masthead powered boats to main sail powered boats with working jibs for stability. Depending on the boat the placement requirements for genoa tracks and location of fairleads and winches may make it a costly proposition to accomodate a larger headsail. The addition of a furler is an excellent upgrade if you are looking for convenience and safety but does little to improve the sailing characteristics of a boat. The sail works best when it is fully deployed and as it is furled in or reefed it start to loose its shape and efficiency. Worst possible scenario is having too big of a sail on the furler for the prevalent wind conditions of the sailing area as it would force constant reefing. A reefed headsail affects drag,lift, heeling and pointing ability among other things. If you do want to have a larger headsail for light air consider getting a larger one which you could hank on just for those days when you may need it. One option you may consider is that of adding an asymetrical spinaker but the best results are obtained by practicing sail trimming and keeping the boat's bottom clean.
Benny is dead on. After getting caught on a few long runs down the coast without a big headsail and the wind off the rear quarter I had the same light air lust for our 260. I added a 4' bow sprit with a Facnor continuous line furler and 150sq' gennaker. The boat now has too much sail(and expensive bow jewelry) in anything over 10-12kts but it is slightly faster in light air if the angle is right. I'd suggest you find a used A-sail, or borrow a hank on genoa and fly it to see if it's really worth the effort.
I'd guess an A-sail will sit in the bag much much more than flying and a furling genoa will be less efficient while furled most of the time. Again go with Bennys' advice, clean the bottom, tweak your existing sails and save a wad of cash for something else more practical.
My .02c Mike
A pic of my rather expensive solution in a beautiful spot.
I'd guess an A-sail will sit in the bag much much more than flying and a furling genoa will be less efficient while furled most of the time. Again go with Bennys' advice, clean the bottom, tweak your existing sails and save a wad of cash for something else more practical.
My .02c Mike
A pic of my rather expensive solution in a beautiful spot.
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Genoa 165 on 2002 Hunter 270
We were quite disapointed when we found out that our Hunter 270 came with a 165 Genoa when we purchased it 2 seasons ago. However we have come to enjoy it, despite its disadvantages in heavy air. We often sail with Genoa alone when we do not want the bother of raising the main such as during short evening sails. When conditions are uncertain such as during gusty afternoons iwe will use it without the main as we can furl quickly. The sail is not new but still points very well despite having to sheet outside the shrouds;in fact it points very well & the boat remains well balanced even when significantly furled when being used without the mainsail. It is great going wing on wing. In lighter air we can move very well with both genoa & mainsail. Our lead keel helps with stability with this large Genoa, but a 260 could probably cope with the 165 based on my sailing experience on aa friends 260. If our 165 required replacement we would have a difficult time deciding whether to go with a 110; we might even be tempted to go for a 175.
We were quite disapointed when we found out that our Hunter 270 came with a 165 Genoa when we purchased it 2 seasons ago. However we have come to enjoy it, despite its disadvantages in heavy air. We often sail with Genoa alone when we do not want the bother of raising the main such as during short evening sails. When conditions are uncertain such as during gusty afternoons iwe will use it without the main as we can furl quickly. The sail is not new but still points very well despite having to sheet outside the shrouds;in fact it points very well & the boat remains well balanced even when significantly furled when being used without the mainsail. It is great going wing on wing. In lighter air we can move very well with both genoa & mainsail. Our lead keel helps with stability with this large Genoa, but a 260 could probably cope with the 165 based on my sailing experience on aa friends 260. If our 165 required replacement we would have a difficult time deciding whether to go with a 110; we might even be tempted to go for a 175.
I use an Asymmetrical cursing spinnaker to increase head sail area in light conditions as well. I also added hardware to get the tack block in front of the bow light.
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A quick side note to 26/260/270 owners, check the bow pulpit bolt if you increase the load significantly(and even if you don't). The embedded aluminum plate that the 3/8" SS bolt is threaded into was corroded beyond usefulness but hadn't quite failed when I took it out last year. I through bolted it to end the danger of a catastrophic failure.
An ounce of prevention saved us from an expensive and dangerous disaster.
Have a safe season, Mike
An ounce of prevention saved us from an expensive and dangerous disaster.
Have a safe season, Mike
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I'd be very reluctant to increase the size of the headsail on a 260. To expand on Benny's post, a 260 is driven more by the mainsail than by the headsail. I find my 260 sails well on main alone (just the right amount of weather helm). It's a delight to sail with both sails up in winds up to 12-15kts with full sails. I'd think that if you increased the size of the headsail, you might have difficulties with lee helm (which is BAD...especially if you solo) and keeping the sail plan balanced. I'd go with the A-sail over a larger headsail.
You didn't say what year your 260 is, so you might be better off seeing if your main still has a good shape. It might be time for a new main. Also, make sure you've read up on properly trimming your sail for light winds. I've found that a little trimming goes a long way. Not only is it the angle of attack (angle of the boom to the wind), but the camber of the sail. If you have your sail too flat (outhaul pulled tight), the sail won't perform as well in light air. If you ease the outhaul a little, it'll fill the sail out a little more (more camber, or belly in the sail) and should power you along a little better. So, you might be better off, if you don't have it already, running your outhaul back to the cockpit to make it easier to trim the sail (same with the topping lift). So, before you spend any money, try being more attentive to sail trim (Ok, you might know all of this, but heh...this is what forums are for...lol).
Final observation...when you're sailing monohull clorex bottles like a H260, trying to be a speed demon is like putting a spoiler on a Volvo 240..
You didn't say what year your 260 is, so you might be better off seeing if your main still has a good shape. It might be time for a new main. Also, make sure you've read up on properly trimming your sail for light winds. I've found that a little trimming goes a long way. Not only is it the angle of attack (angle of the boom to the wind), but the camber of the sail. If you have your sail too flat (outhaul pulled tight), the sail won't perform as well in light air. If you ease the outhaul a little, it'll fill the sail out a little more (more camber, or belly in the sail) and should power you along a little better. So, you might be better off, if you don't have it already, running your outhaul back to the cockpit to make it easier to trim the sail (same with the topping lift). So, before you spend any money, try being more attentive to sail trim (Ok, you might know all of this, but heh...this is what forums are for...lol).
Final observation...when you're sailing monohull clorex bottles like a H260, trying to be a speed demon is like putting a spoiler on a Volvo 240..
I haven't looked at mine closely enough. How did you inspect the aluminum plate? Did you unscrew the bolt?
I unscrewed the bolt and found the aluminum portion of the threads were nothing but powder. If there were other fasteners to act as a backup it wouldn't be as critical but SS and aluminum typically don't play well together.
It's a little tricky to line up the hole and it takes a really long bit but it can be done. Even if the bolt is replaced with a SS 5/16" bolt and nut it'd be far better than a corroded embedded aluminum plate to carry the whole forestay load.
Good luck. Mike
It's a little tricky to line up the hole and it takes a really long bit but it can be done. Even if the bolt is replaced with a SS 5/16" bolt and nut it'd be far better than a corroded embedded aluminum plate to carry the whole forestay load.
Good luck. Mike
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