DS II Wind Pennant & Telltales
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You could mount either a Davis Spar-Fly http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=01310 or a Davis Windex 10 Sport http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=03120 on the masthead. On my Harpoon, I have the bracket for a Spar-Fly screwed into the side of the top of the mast, and also a socket for the Windex 10 Sport on top of the masthead fitting. Currently, both devices are broken and not installed. Guess I need to get one, though I just got 2nd in a distance race without!
You can put telltales on your shrouds. Generally, wool yarn works far better than acrylic. All I could find in a pinch was acrylic, but I want wool. Also, you could use cassette tape. I have heard that 8 track tape works best - it still flies nicely, but has better longevity than cassette tape. I taped cassette tape to the shroud with a bit of electrical tape, and accidentally caught it on my hand the other day, and stretched it. Need to go by the local "farmer's" market some Friday night, and see if the junk seller has any 8 track tapes
Some folks get very fiddly with it, basically re-creating shroud telltale grommets out of plastic milk jug material, so that the telltale is free to spin on the shroud. Me, I would probably just try some Shroud Tales from Sailcare: http://www.sailcare.com/reeftiesandtelltales.shtml
Also, keep in mind that you should have, at a minimum, luff telltales about 6" back from the luff of your jib, and leech telltales streaming from the back of your top 3 batten pockets on the main. I rely on these telltales so much, when I see people sailing without any telltales, I can't imagine how they trim the sails. It would be like sailing blind...
You can put telltales on your shrouds. Generally, wool yarn works far better than acrylic. All I could find in a pinch was acrylic, but I want wool. Also, you could use cassette tape. I have heard that 8 track tape works best - it still flies nicely, but has better longevity than cassette tape. I taped cassette tape to the shroud with a bit of electrical tape, and accidentally caught it on my hand the other day, and stretched it. Need to go by the local "farmer's" market some Friday night, and see if the junk seller has any 8 track tapes
Some folks get very fiddly with it, basically re-creating shroud telltale grommets out of plastic milk jug material, so that the telltale is free to spin on the shroud. Me, I would probably just try some Shroud Tales from Sailcare: http://www.sailcare.com/reeftiesandtelltales.shtml
Also, keep in mind that you should have, at a minimum, luff telltales about 6" back from the luff of your jib, and leech telltales streaming from the back of your top 3 batten pockets on the main. I rely on these telltales so much, when I see people sailing without any telltales, I can't imagine how they trim the sails. It would be like sailing blind...
What's a good way to DIY the sail tell-tales? Whether yarn or cassette tape do you duck tape them, or?
And I understand placing the jib tell-tales about 6" aft of the luff; where exactly do the ones for the main sail go?
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This. Not many people know more about sails than Mikko Brummer.
http://www.wb-sails.fi/Portals/209338/news/95_11_Tellingtales/Tellingtales.html
Here's an article on how to DIY telltales: http://l-36.com/telltails.php
Telltales for the mainsail are usually light nylon spinnaker material affixed to the back of the top 2 or 3 batten pockets. I bought my hot pink ones from Sail Care, www.sailcare.com when I was at the Annapolis Boat Show last year. One of my boats has them stickied just above the batten pocket, the bigger boat has a webbing loop doubled over with the telltale stuck inside the fold, on the back of the pocket, and the telltale is sewed into the loop. I replaced by hand stitching with V-69 polyester thread.
Honestly, it's probably just as cheap and less hassle to buy from Sail Care or here in the chandlery: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?10325 They don't seem to have nylon mainsail telltales...
Telltales for the mainsail are usually light nylon spinnaker material affixed to the back of the top 2 or 3 batten pockets. I bought my hot pink ones from Sail Care, www.sailcare.com when I was at the Annapolis Boat Show last year. One of my boats has them stickied just above the batten pocket, the bigger boat has a webbing loop doubled over with the telltale stuck inside the fold, on the back of the pocket, and the telltale is sewed into the loop. I replaced by hand stitching with V-69 polyester thread.
Honestly, it's probably just as cheap and less hassle to buy from Sail Care or here in the chandlery: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?10325 They don't seem to have nylon mainsail telltales...