With the main sail attached to the mast and boom, the boom angles down at the outhaul. In other words, it's not parallel to the deck like I thought it would be. Might that be normal or has the leech stretched? Would this dramatically change how the boat maneuvers? When I'm on close haul or close reach, the rudder is unresponsive, that is, the boat doesn't want to turn. Thanks. Jim
Boom angle on O'Day Ospry
- Thread starter James2482
- Start date
First thoughts are to only hoist the sail when the mainsheet and vang are completely off. The goal is to tension the luff before the leech tensions. It might require "sweating" the halyard to make sure the luff is tensioned properly.
That being said, on an old boat with old sails, the luff bolt rope can and does shrink, making for a poor set to the sail. If you have a sail loft around, you could have a sailmaker look at it, and he might recommend releasing a bit of bolt rope. On the other hand, the sail may just be old and whupped, and not worth it.
That being said, on an old boat with old sails, the luff bolt rope can and does shrink, making for a poor set to the sail. If you have a sail loft around, you could have a sailmaker look at it, and he might recommend releasing a bit of bolt rope. On the other hand, the sail may just be old and whupped, and not worth it.