Adjusting the Cuningham

[UnBelizeable]

I recently bought my Cat 22 and found the Cuningham stuffed in a locker. How and when do you all use it. Heavy weather...light winds? fill me in guys and girls...I'm new at this. I somewhat understand it's purpose but would like to hear the experts opinion.

 

[Richard]

sail control

The Cunningham along with the outhaul is used to control the draft or depth of the main. The outhaul controls how much. The Cunningham controls where the draft is in the main. When you pull down on the Cunningham you move the draft of the sail forward. The only time you want to do this is when the wind is 12knts+ and depending on the sea conditions. Or as your apparent wind speed increases, the draft in your sails should move forward.Hope this helps.

 

[Dave]

I agree...

You want a flatter sail with the draft forward in higher winds. Less curve (draft), less power. If you have an adjustable backstay, you can also use that to bend the mast and flatten the sail even further.I assume your gooseneck is in a fixed location where it attaches to the mast. I have a 1988 model with a downhaul. On my boat the gooseneck slides up and down in the sail track. I like that it spreads the pull along the front end of the foot instead of a single grommet in the luff. There's no purchase on the downhaul and it's difficult to cinch it down tight because of the friction. What I do is lower the sail a few inches with the halyard, tighten the downhaul and then winch the halyard back up to strech the luff. I don't know if that's a common procedure, but it works for me. I'm sure the same would work for the cunningham. Although you might want to be careful with how tight to pull it with the halyard.Dave, 14447

 

[UnBelizeable]

Thanks Folks

Rigged her up this weekend. Works well and it appears my sail has seen better days. I've got so much stretch in this 30 year old sail that it would take a 40 to one ratio to flatten it at this point. Rigging arrives this week...Main sail soon...Had the rail in the water for the first time...she rounded up into the wind like a champ. Have any of you noticed that the rudders in the older boats are REAL sloppy and difficult to keep all the way down?