We sail a 1981 25 Oday.The lower panels of the main sail are cut in a radius from the tack ,arcing up much like a rainbow and then coming back down at the end of the boom.Even with the outhaul ,vang and cunningham there doesn't seem to be anyway to flatten the sail. Once past the second reef the panels all flatten out.It appears to have been made this way.Any explanatios as to why? Over the winter we sent the sail to Sail Care who told us that the sail was an 7 or 8 out of ten.THey thought that we should easily get many more years out of it.
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baggy sail
Timm: It is hard to give an evalution based on a couple of sentences and without seeingit but yor sail should have the the ability to be flattened. The sail may have some goo life left in it but it does not appear to fit the boat. A local sail maker in your area could evaluate your sail in about 5 minutes. Maybe he could recut it. A couple of years ago I thought my main sail was finished. I took it to a local sail maker in Long Beach, Ca expecting to hear the worse (I needed new sail) but for less than $100 he id a "nip and tuck" and told me I'd get about 4 more years out of it. If I was racing the boat, which I wasn't, that would not work.
Timm: It is hard to give an evalution based on a couple of sentences and without seeingit but yor sail should have the the ability to be flattened. The sail may have some goo life left in it but it does not appear to fit the boat. A local sail maker in your area could evaluate your sail in about 5 minutes. Maybe he could recut it. A couple of years ago I thought my main sail was finished. I took it to a local sail maker in Long Beach, Ca expecting to hear the worse (I needed new sail) but for less than $100 he id a "nip and tuck" and told me I'd get about 4 more years out of it. If I was racing the boat, which I wasn't, that would not work.
Foot shelf ?
Please explain a foot shelf. I will try to post a photo later this week .This sail has a bolt rope sewn in and it is not loose footed .
Please explain a foot shelf. I will try to post a photo later this week .This sail has a bolt rope sewn in and it is not loose footed .
Flattining reef
I'd bet that this is a designed in feature or a really badly made sail. I'd say the former. Your main has to work in almost all wind conditions so you have a big draft (baggy) main when it is fully hoisted and it flattens out as you reef down. If you are trying to flatten the sail in light winds you may be shooting yourself in the foot. A sail needs that extra draft in light winds to produce lift. In higher winds the boat would be over canvassed and you would want to reef anyway to keep from healing over too much. A smaller boat gets over canvassed more quickly and so needs more versatility in its main and needs to reef at a lower wind speed.
I'd bet that this is a designed in feature or a really badly made sail. I'd say the former. Your main has to work in almost all wind conditions so you have a big draft (baggy) main when it is fully hoisted and it flattens out as you reef down. If you are trying to flatten the sail in light winds you may be shooting yourself in the foot. A sail needs that extra draft in light winds to produce lift. In higher winds the boat would be over canvassed and you would want to reef anyway to keep from healing over too much. A smaller boat gets over canvassed more quickly and so needs more versatility in its main and needs to reef at a lower wind speed.
OOPs
Forgot my topic. If you really want to flatten your main, you can have a sail maker add a flattening reef to the sail. It is just like a regular reef but is only a few inches above the foot of the sail. It takes the bag out of the main. You would then officially have a "racer" sail.
Forgot my topic. If you really want to flatten your main, you can have a sail maker add a flattening reef to the sail. It is just like a regular reef but is only a few inches above the foot of the sail. It takes the bag out of the main. You would then officially have a "racer" sail.
Flattening reef
I think you'vve nailed it on the head.The first reef point is only 5 or 6 inches from the foot .I couldn't fiqure out why it was so low.It didn't look like it would do much as it would only pull down little bit.Once again thank you.
I think you'vve nailed it on the head.The first reef point is only 5 or 6 inches from the foot .I couldn't fiqure out why it was so low.It didn't look like it would do much as it would only pull down little bit.Once again thank you.
Flattening Reef
When you use that flattening reef cringle, you want the pull to be back as well as down. Pulling it straight down probably won't flatten the sail much, but pulling it back as well will help a lot.
When you use that flattening reef cringle, you want the pull to be back as well as down. Pulling it straight down probably won't flatten the sail much, but pulling it back as well will help a lot.
Baggy sail
Timm: I think the sail is either badly made or may have been for another boat. Have a sail maker look at it. Secondly, the mainsail must have the ability to be flattened BEFORE AND WITHOUT reefing. If you have to reef the main to flatten it something is wrong. I can conclude that because none of your flattening contols are working. Thirdly, you are not shooting yourself in the foot when you flatten the main in light winds. In fact, in very light winds you want the sail as flat as possable with ZERO draft depth. The reason for this is that when you induce draft in light to very light conditions the wind does not have the power to get around the sail and it stalls. To prove my point, the next time your sailing in light conditions, induce draft into the sail and see what happens to your speed. Next, flatten the sail an see what happens to your speed. Long Beach, Ca has a lot of light wind conditions and if you can sail in light wind you can sail in anything. Where middle to back of the pack racers make their mistake is by inducing draft thinking they are powering up the sail (in mid range winds that is exactly what happens) but the result they get is just the opposite - the sail stalls. The front runners sails are as flat as possable and that is how they move the boat and win racers.
Timm: I think the sail is either badly made or may have been for another boat. Have a sail maker look at it. Secondly, the mainsail must have the ability to be flattened BEFORE AND WITHOUT reefing. If you have to reef the main to flatten it something is wrong. I can conclude that because none of your flattening contols are working. Thirdly, you are not shooting yourself in the foot when you flatten the main in light winds. In fact, in very light winds you want the sail as flat as possable with ZERO draft depth. The reason for this is that when you induce draft in light to very light conditions the wind does not have the power to get around the sail and it stalls. To prove my point, the next time your sailing in light conditions, induce draft into the sail and see what happens to your speed. Next, flatten the sail an see what happens to your speed. Long Beach, Ca has a lot of light wind conditions and if you can sail in light wind you can sail in anything. Where middle to back of the pack racers make their mistake is by inducing draft thinking they are powering up the sail (in mid range winds that is exactly what happens) but the result they get is just the opposite - the sail stalls. The front runners sails are as flat as possable and that is how they move the boat and win racers.
Racing sails
Racing sails have this flattening reef in them all the time. Almost a standard feature on some cuts. It just reduces the sail area a little bit and TOTALLY takes the draft out. Real quick, real easy.
Racing sails have this flattening reef in them all the time. Almost a standard feature on some cuts. It just reduces the sail area a little bit and TOTALLY takes the draft out. Real quick, real easy.
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