I have a 2012 e36 that I am going through a shakedown to get issues figured out.
Even with the boom all the way down, the main sail leech is still not tight and has a built in twist to it. When reefed, the clew rises further up and the twist is even worse. Generally have to move traveller up beyond midpoint to counter the twist.
I initially thought that the mast may have had too much rake preventing the boom from dropping further down.
The dealer said there is no rake to the mast set up and suggested that the main sail may have to be trimmed.
We finally had a sail maker looked at the situation last week.
He thought that the mast top is a bit further back than he would expect. When the main sail is pulled completely out and pulled flat, there is only a slight amount of twist to the sail. However, when the outhaul is let out a bit to allow the main to form a belly to get more lift in light airs, the clew moved up with the reduced tension of the outhaul and the twist increases.
The sail maker said this is the way it is with furling mains as it is not possible to build in too much curve in the main without wrinkling it in the furling process.
There is the possibility of putting a strap from the clew to the boom to limit the clew from rising when the clew is loosen to form a draft in the sail but this will increase drag in furling. I don't think that will work anyway as the clew rises quite a lot when the sail gets furled in.
He further said there is no point trimming the bottom of the main as the clew will rise when trying to form a draft on the main.
He suggested loosening the vang and let the boom move up a bit to form a more gentle twist.
The sail actually looked better with the loosen vang but it does not make any sense to me. Loosening the vang means letting the boom rise and let the weight of the boom pull on the main instead of tension from the vang or main sheet. To me, tightening the vang or mainsheet and adjusting the traveller should have the same effect except perhaps it is not an instantaneous adjustment to the sail as the weight of the boom would have with a looser vang or main sheet.
I had a 2004 H33 before this and I was able to tighten the leech by lowering the boom even with a draft on the main.
Comparing pictures of my H33 with the way it is now with the e36, the clew on the 33 is much lower than the e36 when the sail is all furled in the mast.
It seems a very low probability to me that the main sail dimension would be wrong for a prodcution boat like this so I am hesitant on insisting a trim to the main sail but that seems the logical thing to do.
I keep thinking that there is something else missing here.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Oliver.
Even with the boom all the way down, the main sail leech is still not tight and has a built in twist to it. When reefed, the clew rises further up and the twist is even worse. Generally have to move traveller up beyond midpoint to counter the twist.
I initially thought that the mast may have had too much rake preventing the boom from dropping further down.
The dealer said there is no rake to the mast set up and suggested that the main sail may have to be trimmed.
We finally had a sail maker looked at the situation last week.
He thought that the mast top is a bit further back than he would expect. When the main sail is pulled completely out and pulled flat, there is only a slight amount of twist to the sail. However, when the outhaul is let out a bit to allow the main to form a belly to get more lift in light airs, the clew moved up with the reduced tension of the outhaul and the twist increases.
The sail maker said this is the way it is with furling mains as it is not possible to build in too much curve in the main without wrinkling it in the furling process.
There is the possibility of putting a strap from the clew to the boom to limit the clew from rising when the clew is loosen to form a draft in the sail but this will increase drag in furling. I don't think that will work anyway as the clew rises quite a lot when the sail gets furled in.
He further said there is no point trimming the bottom of the main as the clew will rise when trying to form a draft on the main.
He suggested loosening the vang and let the boom move up a bit to form a more gentle twist.
The sail actually looked better with the loosen vang but it does not make any sense to me. Loosening the vang means letting the boom rise and let the weight of the boom pull on the main instead of tension from the vang or main sheet. To me, tightening the vang or mainsheet and adjusting the traveller should have the same effect except perhaps it is not an instantaneous adjustment to the sail as the weight of the boom would have with a looser vang or main sheet.
I had a 2004 H33 before this and I was able to tighten the leech by lowering the boom even with a draft on the main.
Comparing pictures of my H33 with the way it is now with the e36, the clew on the 33 is much lower than the e36 when the sail is all furled in the mast.
It seems a very low probability to me that the main sail dimension would be wrong for a prodcution boat like this so I am hesitant on insisting a trim to the main sail but that seems the logical thing to do.
I keep thinking that there is something else missing here.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Oliver.
