genoa sail ????

[jeromeddd]

I am sailing from Michigan to Nova Scotia, and my genoa sail leach keeps flapping. I asked a good friend of mine and he said it was worn out.. and there isn't a line in it to tightin. If anyone has any idea's on how to make this sail last the trip I would love to here them...
you may also fallow my trip on facebook jerome dixon

 

[Roger Long]

You can have a new sail built with a leech line in it or have a leech line added to the sail you have now. Nothing else is going to help much. My 3 season old Genoa flaps if the leech line isn't adjusted. They are there for a reason.

Talk to a sailmaker when you get to NS.

BTW please come back with a report about the portion of the trip between Rimouskie and Ile Bonaventure. There was some discussion here recently about how gnarley that stretch can be.

 

[BobM]

I suppose if you are in transit now and it is quite bad you may wish to try taking up some slack in the luff and taping it with sail tape or stitching it. Might be fun to take off / out later though! Have you had any luck with adjusting your genoa cars? I think they should be forward to allow you to pull down on the leach harder.

 

[RichH]

Correct Jib fairlead position will help

If the jib leech is vibrating while on a beat, then move the fair-lead car a bit forward until it stops.

If the jib leech is vibrating while on a reach, then move the fair-lead car WAAAAY forward until it stops. Most cruising folks NEVER move their move their jib fairlead cars forward when changing to a close or beam or broad reach ... and that causes the cledw to 'rise', the topmost leech area of the sail starts to 'flog', etc.

When the 'genoa clew goes forward' so does the fairlead car !!!!!!!

If all the above doesnt stop the flopping/vibrating you can also 'release some jib halyard tension' which will cause the leech to 'stand -up' and get tighter. Dont over-do the halyard 'easing'.

Axiom: whenever adjusting anything that puts or changes the tension on one 'side' of a triangular sail, there is ALWAYS a 'second adjustment' needed to correct the distortions of sail shape cause by the first.

In the above examples, if the jib sheet 'goes forward', the clew also goes forward and UP. To counteract the 'up' you need to pull it back down again by moving the jib car forward.

BTW - I envy your trip .... their is no better food/cuisine in the entire western hemisphere than on the "fleuve Saint-Laurent" or the Gaspé.

;-)

 

[jeromeddd]

thanks, now that you mentioned it. I do have the halyard on the genoa really tight.. I have thought about using tap to add weight to the luff also.. I will start with that and hope that's the cure for now... thanks.. jerome

PS my email address is jeromeddd@yahoo.com if that would make it easier to find me on facebook... happy sailing....

 

[dscribner]

I hear you can use a barber hauler as a poor man's jib car. Also, if you need to repair the sail and you are a so-it-yourself-er, SAILRITE.com has quite an array of products. When you figure that any single spot of sail probably isn't any thicker than denim, you can sew many simpler repairs in Mama's Singer. I'll be making an assymetrical spinnaker from kit this winter . . . I hope!