Adjustable fairleads
Mates: I can't tell you how many mast head rig sailboats I've been on where the jib fairlead is rusted in place or it is obvious to me that it has never been moved. After I talk a bit with the skipper I KNOW by what he is telling me about its function that he has never moved it. If you have a masthead rig and don't adjust your fairleads you will never get 100% efficiency from your little beauty. The reason being is that the jib is the engine on a mast head rig. On a fractional rig it is the mainsail but the jib has its function there also. You can raise the main and roll out the jib and not adjusts any sail trim control and call it sailing, which it is since the boat will move through the water, but you will get so much more enjoyment out of your boat if you spend a little time to learn how all your sail trim controls for the main and jib work. Believe me it isn't rocket science but there was a time in my sailing career where I thought it was rocket science!! In my opinion, one of the best adjustable fairlead systems is made by my friends at Garhauer Marine in Upland , Ca. It is bullet proof, guaranteed for 10 years and reasonably priced. If you were to buy their system, or anyones, there is one modification I would add to them and that is a short line that should be attached to the rear of the sliding car, which gives you the ability to move the car AFT. When you add that mod the system functions like a mini traveler. A lot of guys I know use bungee cords but they are very ineffective and I think they are a waste of money. Lets say you call Garhauer Marine on Monday and buy one of their systems. If you ever do decide to buy their unit ask for Mark or Guido and tell them Don G told you to call. After you install it, do you know what to do with it? There are 4 element of sail trim and they are draft depth, draft position, twist and angle of attack. ALL your sail trim controls for your mainsail and jib ONLY adjust those 4 items. The jib fairleads are so important that they are used to adjust all four elements!!! The adjustment for angle of attack is inside or outside track. Sooo, my question is - which direction (forward or aft) do you move the fairleads to adjust each of the above elements element? The big thing with any of these contols is to know WHY the adjustment you are making produces a result. When you get to that point from a sail trim standpoint, where you know exactly which control to move and in what direction to get the desired result you are looking for you have arrived!!
(see pict). He is the one giving me a little thumbs up - but note he doesn't trust me enough yet to take his hand off the tiller! OK - when I have adult crew, or if my older kids are up for it that day, we will play with it and see if we can catch the boat that happens to be ahead - but usually I don't sail just to be able to adjust stuff. On the boats that I sail, there is not much difference being a hole or two off on the track - so if we are just relaxing, we'll not play with it that day.