My new to me boat has a club footed jib. When off the wind with the sheet eased the leach twists off and I haven’t figured out how to control the leach tension. Seems like some sort of vang is needed. Has anyone solved this problem?
Controlling sail shape on a club footed jib
- Thread starter Pagan Baby
- Start date
The jib boom runs on a traveler that does not have an independent control over the traveler car. The boom is sheeted to the end with a bridal type arraignment. I’m heading down to the boat today and will take some pictures.
the club footed jib is for driving to weather. it's a beating sail. not a reaching sail. great for cruising. none better. you see all these modern sailors that use the iron jib to sail to weather. boring!! with this jib you can fast tack a tight channel, really tight. you can fast tack 50 miles along a coast sight seeing along the way. you can work through a maze of islands, like in the north channel, all while working to weather. in a beat you want reduced sail area. well, the little jib means no need to reef the main. and the slot is wide open in front from the jib so your main is pulling at 100%. plenty of speed.
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back before sailing vessels had engines and you need to jog back and forth while the entire crew was fishing in the dorys. and only a few boys manned the ship, you sure did not want to have to set jib sheets every 5 minutes as you jogged back and forth.
back before engines and you wanted to sail up a tight channel to get to port, easy peezee, just steer.
back before engines and you wanted to sail up a tight channel to get to port, easy peezee, just steer.
now, let's say you want to reach off for a bit to go over to a pretty cove you noticed 5 miles to the side. fine, easy to do. rig a line from the back of your boom down to the side of the deck somewhere and pull the boom down. maybe a block at the rail with the line fed back the the cockpit winch. this will do the same job as a boom vang.
so now you worked to weather all day and you come around a bluff and you want to reach 20 mile to the side. throw up that Asymmetrical and go. on your CD. you prolly have a big reaching sail up front. well, the design is that the club-jib is for going to weather and the big reacher is for going off the wind.
neat, old school, easy
neat, old school, easy
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,073
Similar to a “tweaker” rigged on a Genoa to adjust the shape or angle of attack of the sail.
Very salty, Jon.
Thanks for the insight Jon. Makes sense that the club footed jib is best used for beating. An asymmetric came with the boat but I have not had it up yet. That sail and a couple of snatch blocks sounds like it could solve the problem.
the A sail is super easy to use. head dead down wind to put up or take down. the sail is then in the wind shadow of the main. then round up to course.
A club that is fastened at the tack should maintain sail shape throughout the swing, maybe an arched traveler for the sheet block would be the answer or, for a club fastened aft of the tack on the foredeck, sail shape is intensionally eased for off-wind sailing but, if you find the sail twist too much then a Vang on the club would work.