How much does a Cunningham improve sail trim on a Hunter 26', we have a 1994 and there is no Cunningham cringle in the main. We are going to have SailCare clean and refurbish the sails this winter and thought about having the cringle installed is it worth it? The balance of the required hardware is not very expensive and appears to be easily installed. Thanks for the advice. Monte Brown
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Cunningham
The cunningham allows you to tension the luff of the mainsail without putting any additional load on the halyard. Because of the drag of the sheaves in the masthead and the sail slugs in the track, all the tension you apply to the halyard at the lower end doesn't make it back to the tack of the mainsail. The cunningham applies a direct pull from below, so it is much more effective. Cunningham tension does two things, flattens the sail and moves its draft forward. This depowers the sail and reduces drag, resulting in a faster shape for medium to heavy air. The Harken catalog (free) is a good source of ideas for rigging a cunningham. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
The cunningham allows you to tension the luff of the mainsail without putting any additional load on the halyard. Because of the drag of the sheaves in the masthead and the sail slugs in the track, all the tension you apply to the halyard at the lower end doesn't make it back to the tack of the mainsail. The cunningham applies a direct pull from below, so it is much more effective. Cunningham tension does two things, flattens the sail and moves its draft forward. This depowers the sail and reduces drag, resulting in a faster shape for medium to heavy air. The Harken catalog (free) is a good source of ideas for rigging a cunningham. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
Cunningham
Personaly I wouldn't sail with out a cunningham. It's easy to use and will certainly help with the big roach mainsail. The halyards on the 260 have quite a bit of strecth to them. So when you've cranked the luff up snug for the breeze and it dies the luff becomes to tight. The cunningham will make this problem go away. It's always easier to tighten the luff with down haul the uphaul. (Halyards) By using the cunningham the draft in the sail will be much easier to adjust. If you use too much luff tension with the halyard, the draft moves too far forward and thus closes the top of the leech. And what you really need to include is a boom kicker to go along with it. This will support the boom to open up the leech of the sail up top. Have you ever noticed it can be difficult to get the top batten tell tale to fly properly? Between the cunningham and boom kicker your up wind performance will be night and day.
Personaly I wouldn't sail with out a cunningham. It's easy to use and will certainly help with the big roach mainsail. The halyards on the 260 have quite a bit of strecth to them. So when you've cranked the luff up snug for the breeze and it dies the luff becomes to tight. The cunningham will make this problem go away. It's always easier to tighten the luff with down haul the uphaul. (Halyards) By using the cunningham the draft in the sail will be much easier to adjust. If you use too much luff tension with the halyard, the draft moves too far forward and thus closes the top of the leech. And what you really need to include is a boom kicker to go along with it. This will support the boom to open up the leech of the sail up top. Have you ever noticed it can be difficult to get the top batten tell tale to fly properly? Between the cunningham and boom kicker your up wind performance will be night and day.
Curious how many would use it if it was std.
there is alot of talk about cunninghams. The reason why you do not see it on stock boats is probably due to the cost but I bett most people do not use it. How many of you would if it were there? Crazy Dave Condon
there is alot of talk about cunninghams. The reason why you do not see it on stock boats is probably due to the cost but I bett most people do not use it. How many of you would if it were there? Crazy Dave Condon
you're right dave
Yes I agree Dave. We seem to get a bit excited about performance and trim in these small boats but honestly we have played around for years adjusting this and that and the real difference (apart from flattening the sail in a big blow,but surely we should have reefed early?) is negligable. You "might" get one or perhaps two knots extra out of her and I guess that is important if you are sailing on a 500 mile course. Still I guess its fun to play. ( Bet this gets them going?)
Yes I agree Dave. We seem to get a bit excited about performance and trim in these small boats but honestly we have played around for years adjusting this and that and the real difference (apart from flattening the sail in a big blow,but surely we should have reefed early?) is negligable. You "might" get one or perhaps two knots extra out of her and I guess that is important if you are sailing on a 500 mile course. Still I guess its fun to play. ( Bet this gets them going?)
OK, Dave... I'll bite!
We've been sailing our H23 for a few years now, and we're ready for some improvements. Our buddy has a stock Capri 22 berthed next to us, and it has quite a few sail trim features that came standard. We feel that our stock H23 would be much nicer with a line-controlled traveller, a boom vang, and a cunningham. If I really feel frisky, I'll add a roller reefing system for the jib, and run all essentil lines to the cockpit (the Admiral is getting tired of scrambling forward for every little adjustment
). If we don't trade up to a larger hol... er, boat, I'll be making these mods over the winter. Jim Maroldo s/v: Lil' Wass Ett
We've been sailing our H23 for a few years now, and we're ready for some improvements. Our buddy has a stock Capri 22 berthed next to us, and it has quite a few sail trim features that came standard. We feel that our stock H23 would be much nicer with a line-controlled traveller, a boom vang, and a cunningham. If I really feel frisky, I'll add a roller reefing system for the jib, and run all essentil lines to the cockpit (the Admiral is getting tired of scrambling forward for every little adjustment
). If we don't trade up to a larger hol... er, boat, I'll be making these mods over the winter. Jim Maroldo s/v: Lil' Wass EttBackstay vs. Cunningham
I have raced catamarans for 12 or so years, and now own a Hunter-23. On our race cats we have at least 8:1, sometimes 12-16:1 cunningham(downhaul in cat lingo). We play these upwind mostly when we are in heavy air. When a puff hits you crank on the downhaul, flatten your sail and set the boat down, then release just slightly . The goal is to keep the windward hull just kissing the water, without dumping the main. Downwind we let off the downhaul to get a fuller sail. When I began racing monohulls I learned the backstay adjuster worked the same, and we play it on the San Juan 21 and others that I race. So will I use a downhaul on the H-23, probably not when I can paly the backstay. BTW my 6:1 backstay adjuster works like a dream on this kind of tippy boat. I can supply pix if anyone wants. David Mosley, s/v Oh, Yeah!
I have raced catamarans for 12 or so years, and now own a Hunter-23. On our race cats we have at least 8:1, sometimes 12-16:1 cunningham(downhaul in cat lingo). We play these upwind mostly when we are in heavy air. When a puff hits you crank on the downhaul, flatten your sail and set the boat down, then release just slightly . The goal is to keep the windward hull just kissing the water, without dumping the main. Downwind we let off the downhaul to get a fuller sail. When I began racing monohulls I learned the backstay adjuster worked the same, and we play it on the San Juan 21 and others that I race. So will I use a downhaul on the H-23, probably not when I can paly the backstay. BTW my 6:1 backstay adjuster works like a dream on this kind of tippy boat. I can supply pix if anyone wants. David Mosley, s/v Oh, Yeah!
expensive?
Not sure I've seen a "store bought" cunningham. I simply ran a line from the first reef cringle to the reefing "horn". What am I missing in the expensive item? And, Jim.....I race my 23 every weekend. I use all the tricks I can. Roller furling will do nothing for your boat speed.
Not sure I've seen a "store bought" cunningham. I simply ran a line from the first reef cringle to the reefing "horn". What am I missing in the expensive item? And, Jim.....I race my 23 every weekend. I use all the tricks I can. Roller furling will do nothing for your boat speed.
Backstay vs cunningham
Although both the backstay and cunningham depower the main, they do it in different ways. The backstay bows the mast, which I think is a more accurate term than "bend" on a fractional rigged boat like the H23. What actually happens is the backstay pulls the masthead back, the point where the forestay is attached barely moves and the middle of the mast moves forward. This bowing action does two things: it flattens the sail and moves the masthead closer to the end of the boom. This relieves some of the leech tension and opens the leech, which increases twist, spills air off the top of the sail and reduces heel. Very effective when working upwind in gusty air. The cunningham tensions the luff of the mainsail and moves the draft forward. It also flattens the sail and reduces power but not as effectively as the backstay, which is probably why cats need that 12:1 downhaul (some cats don't even have a backstay). Moving the draft forward improves the airflow over the rear half of the sail, which reduces drag. The air flows off the sail more freely, as if the leech had opened some more. I'm in the last stages of improving the running rigging on my H23. An adjustable backstay and line-controlled traveler have made a huge difference in my ability to keep the boat under control when the wind kicks up. All I have left to do is run the vang and cunningham back to the cockpit. I'll keep you posted. Peter H23 "Raven"
Although both the backstay and cunningham depower the main, they do it in different ways. The backstay bows the mast, which I think is a more accurate term than "bend" on a fractional rigged boat like the H23. What actually happens is the backstay pulls the masthead back, the point where the forestay is attached barely moves and the middle of the mast moves forward. This bowing action does two things: it flattens the sail and moves the masthead closer to the end of the boom. This relieves some of the leech tension and opens the leech, which increases twist, spills air off the top of the sail and reduces heel. Very effective when working upwind in gusty air. The cunningham tensions the luff of the mainsail and moves the draft forward. It also flattens the sail and reduces power but not as effectively as the backstay, which is probably why cats need that 12:1 downhaul (some cats don't even have a backstay). Moving the draft forward improves the airflow over the rear half of the sail, which reduces drag. The air flows off the sail more freely, as if the leech had opened some more. I'm in the last stages of improving the running rigging on my H23. An adjustable backstay and line-controlled traveler have made a huge difference in my ability to keep the boat under control when the wind kicks up. All I have left to do is run the vang and cunningham back to the cockpit. I'll keep you posted. Peter H23 "Raven"
You are correct
None of the Beach Cats have a backstay, so the Cunningham is vital. However most race cats are now using Square Top Mains which twist off and spill air automatically. I love mine, but still dont think you can control the boat in heavy air without the downhaul. That brings me to another question. Why do Monohulls not have rotating masts? It sure makes the main pretty, and the airflow around the mast is greatly enhanced. David Mosley, still trying to figure out Monohulls
None of the Beach Cats have a backstay, so the Cunningham is vital. However most race cats are now using Square Top Mains which twist off and spill air automatically. I love mine, but still dont think you can control the boat in heavy air without the downhaul. That brings me to another question. Why do Monohulls not have rotating masts? It sure makes the main pretty, and the airflow around the mast is greatly enhanced. David Mosley, still trying to figure out Monohulls
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