When sailing upwind, I am unable to sheet the main enough to get rid of excessive twist in the leech as the boom ends up resting on the bimini (and has torn a couple sections of the bimini on the forward bimini support rail). The sail is cut to Hunter's original specs. The main is fully raised when the problem arises.
I would like to be able to properly sheet my main without the boom hitting the bimini. I would also like to have a bimini.
The sail maker has suggested several options:
1) Re-cutting the main (as well as the reefing points, which exacerbate the problem when reefed) so the boom sits above the bimini when fully sheeted. It seems to me this would affect the balance of the sails and the compromise the performance of the mainsail.
2) Raise the gooseneck on the mast such that the sail sits high enough for the bimini not to interfere with the mainsail trim (this would entail shortening the head of the sail). This seems would also compromise the performance of the mainsail, though not as much as option 1. It also seems it would affect the balance of the sails by shifting the center of effort up and forward. On top of this (no pun), there is already a problem with the roach of the main getting hung up in the topping lift when tacking; raising the mainsail plan seems would exacerbate this issue.
3) Shorten the bimini. I'm ~5'11, and the bimini provides just enough room for me to comfortable stand. I might be able to get away with shortening it by ~1", but it seems an expensive option that wouldn't fully address the issue once done.
None of the options seem quite ideal, but something has to be done. Has anyone else encountered this issue, and what was done to address it?
Did Hunter design this boat without anticipating that anyone would install a bimini, and so the gooseneck is too low to actually have a bimini of reasonable height without it interfering with mainsail trim?
Much thanks for any input.
I would like to be able to properly sheet my main without the boom hitting the bimini. I would also like to have a bimini.
The sail maker has suggested several options:
1) Re-cutting the main (as well as the reefing points, which exacerbate the problem when reefed) so the boom sits above the bimini when fully sheeted. It seems to me this would affect the balance of the sails and the compromise the performance of the mainsail.
2) Raise the gooseneck on the mast such that the sail sits high enough for the bimini not to interfere with the mainsail trim (this would entail shortening the head of the sail). This seems would also compromise the performance of the mainsail, though not as much as option 1. It also seems it would affect the balance of the sails by shifting the center of effort up and forward. On top of this (no pun), there is already a problem with the roach of the main getting hung up in the topping lift when tacking; raising the mainsail plan seems would exacerbate this issue.
3) Shorten the bimini. I'm ~5'11, and the bimini provides just enough room for me to comfortable stand. I might be able to get away with shortening it by ~1", but it seems an expensive option that wouldn't fully address the issue once done.
None of the options seem quite ideal, but something has to be done. Has anyone else encountered this issue, and what was done to address it?
Did Hunter design this boat without anticipating that anyone would install a bimini, and so the gooseneck is too low to actually have a bimini of reasonable height without it interfering with mainsail trim?
Much thanks for any input.
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