How Tight Are You Strung?

[Rick D]

How's your halyard tension? Do you crank her down hard or just so she's up? Do you adjust the tension during a sail? Under what conditions? Enjoy answers to these and other topics next week when author and lecturer Don Guilette responds to sail trim topics.Suggest a topic for Don by going to the home page and clicking on the link in the announcement.Rick D.

 

[John Richard]

I pretty much crank her down

Our furling mast necessitates a tight luff to allow it to furl into the mast. I found out that any amount of sag near the tack can cause a jamming of the sail when it is rolled inside. Also, it's my understanding that manipulating the halyard tension to move the draft forward causes corresponding tightening to the luff and leech which means you could become overpowered and would need to either let out the traveler or mainsheet.Clear as mud, right?John Richards/v Jack's Place

 

[Trevor - SailboatOwners.c]

Sail longevity

I've been told that keeping the halyard tensioned tight on a sail for extended periods (when left at the dock furled, for example), can shorten the life of a sail by stretching the luff. In practice, however, I'll bet most folks don't bother to ease the halyard, as it's important to keep a certain amount of tension to operate the furler properly. I've had the problem of overtensioning the jib halyard to the point of keeping the furler from unrolling properly as well, so experiment and see what works best for you.Trevor