Changing Mainsail...Loose foot or Boltrope???

[JBSailsSD]

I am going to have a new Mainsail made. The H25 boom has a pre-existing boltrope slide...pretty common on early 80's boats I think.

Now most sailors are now in favor of a loosefooted main which provides greater adjustment possibilities...etc.

Do other Cherubini Hunters have fixed foot mainsails?

Have any of you changed to a loose footed main?

Is one reef point enough for the H25?

Love to hear the comments!

 

[Ed Schenck]

When I had North Sails make me a new mainsail in 2000 they recommended a loose foot. It makes trimming much easier with the outhaul of course. But since I work alone it also makes bending the sail on simpler. Just attach the tack, the clew, the halyard and pull away. As for reef points a second won't add much to the cost and is good insurance.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Other considerations

Make sure your boom can take the added stress. A bolt rope distributes the load along the boom while a loose footed main concentrates it at the ends. This results in MUCH higher bending forces between the clue outhaul and the sheet attachment and the goose neck fitting.
You may want to upgrade your boom end to allow more purchase on the outhaul and easier adjustment also.

 

[s sauer]

Re: Other considerations

Double Reef:
I would suggest that two reefs give you obviously greater flexibility. If you have only one reef, it needs to be fairly deep to cover the higher wind ranges, and you drop a lot of area at one time. With two reefs you can shorten sail to the first reef without giving up too much area, but still have the option to go to the deeper reef when and if you do need it. Ive found that the loose footed main is much easier to adjust; depending on how much purchase the outhaul has, you man not need to do anything to it. When i had a Hunter 25 with a bolt rope, I found it necessary to install a slide with a built-in sheave to double the purchase. My 28.5 has enough purchase already built-in particularly with a loose footed main.

 

[shemandr]

Double vs single really depends upon your local sailing conditions and how you use your boat. How often do you sail in over 20 knots?
Listen to your LOCAL sailmaker who probably knows pretty well what you need. Just make sure your sailmaker knows how you actually use your boat. Don't ask him to build a sail to cross an ocean when you just want to daysail.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Loose Footed

It's my understanding that the bolt rope should not be taking the sail load - that it should fall on the clew whether loose-footed or a bolt rope.

We have had a loose-footed main since our first summer, in 2000 and wouldn't think of another approach.

We have two reefs, but our sailmaker recommended placing them at the second and third reef points. That has worked fine for us, also.

 

[Bill Roosa]

bolt rope stress

A simple observation of the sail shape should convince you that there are different stresses on the boom for bolt rope and loose footed configurations. The sail foot is straight on one and curved on the other. If the clew takes ALL the load in both cases then why is the sail foot curved in the loose footed configuration?

Also compare the size of booms on factory installed bolt rope and loose footed configurations. One is clearly larger in circumference than the other. The loose footed config also tend to have sheets that attach at multiple points along the boom to spread the load out.

 

[Blaise]

Loose footed is the only way to go. The clew and tack do take all the load. Not having the friction of a bolt rope or slides makes adjusting outhaul tension much easier. The reason loose footed mains are curved on the bottem is because it is free unmeasured sail area. Not important to cruisers, but does result in superior sail shape, and everybody likes to get where they are going. As far as reef points, I have been ocean racing Midnighht Sun for more than three decades. I buy a new Main every five years and haven't had two sets of reef points for 20 years. This is my opinion, but I sail an incredibly stiff heavy boat. In the case of a Hunter (Cherubini) 25, I doubt that you would ever be in a situation where you need to double reef the main. And if you were, I wouldn't want to send someone forward to the mast to do it. Just my thoughts.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Third reef

We put the third reef in the main if the wind is above 30 knots. Lady Lillie is stable enough to set the reef while hove to, even in those conditions.

Foot Configuration

Bill, my sailmaker told me that mains with bolt ropes on the foot are cut with a "shelf" - extra fabric that avoids putting a strain on the bolt rope, since this would make it hard to control depth of the sail with the clew outhaul. That was the way our original main was cut before we replaced it with a loose-footed main.

 

[JBSailsSD]

Went with the Loose Foot...Thanks to All for the Input!

Thank you everyone...
New main is ready to hoist this week...cannot wait!

Best,
JB