Jib Fairleads Adjustment

[Don Guillette]

Our good friend Shermandr has provided us with a topic. He made two statements. The first one was "plenty of cruising sailors rarely if ever adjust their jib leads" and 'he has been on many racing boats, who win, that set their jib leads for a leg of the race and don't micro adjust unless conditions change".

At first I was going to jump all over this UNTIL I re-read the statements - I though he was saying something different that could be misunderstood by newbies. Let me explain. Most boats that I've been invited on to help the boat improve sail trim have the fairleads rusted in place. Fairleads are the first thing I look at because it tells me 2 things -- one is they don't use them and two is I wonder if they know how to use them. By not adjusting the fairleads, they're like the broken clock. The adjustment is right for one point of sail and wind condition and wrong for all others. This is especially a problem on a masthead rig boat where the engine is the jib.

If the boat has pin type adjustors I can understand the problem. Sailors and all humans will do what is easy and not what is hard. It's hard to adjust pin type fairleads under load so they "set it and forget it". They may as well be sailing a 55 gal drum with a broom stick for a mast and a bed sheeet for a sail.

At minimum, a cruiser or a racer should check their fairlead adjustment during each tack and this is how it's done. Just before the boat comes head to wind the jib will "break". Either the top or bottom will break first. It's the responsibility of the trimmer on the loaded sheet to call the "break' to the trimmer on the lazy sheet so he can make the fairlead adjustment on his side before the sail comes over to his side. If the sail breaks evenly from top to bottom, no adjustment is necessary.

At first I thought he was telling me that race boats he's been on don't adjust their fairleads and win races, which is silly, but he 's not saying that. There's nothing wrong with adjusting your fairleads as you sail along. If you have a Garhauer adjustable system, such as I have, the system adjusts itself. When you tack it finds it's own position -- almost. I found I needed to pull the car aft a tiny bit and set up the system so it looked like a minny traveler -- I can move the cars back and forward.

As far as the halyard is concerned, here's how I set mine. I go to full hoist and then back off slightly. I never adjust the mainsail or jib using the halyard -- I use a cunningham for the main and jib.

What do you guys think about this topic??

 

[sinnettc]

My pxr cleats don't hold the halyard well enough to tension the main, so I use the Cunningham until we have to reef. I'm replacing the cleats with clutches in a week or so, which I hope will help. Should resolve the issue of someone bumping them with a hand and having the cleat pop open and the sail come down on our heads, too.

Genoa track is garhauer, though not self adjusting. All I have to do is pull on a line to move them under way, so we do use them. Maybe not on every tack, but I'll tweak 'em if I'm in a performance mood instead of relaxation mood.

Cabin-top jib track has pins and they're not adjustable under load. They only get adjusted if conditions change dramatically.

Bigger issue is the permanent twist in my tuff luff foil. Pretty sure the PO stored it curved on deck instead of rolled up or flat. On port tack a 3-4 foot section near the top is twisted too far off the wind at the luff. While it's not a huge deal with the genoa, it's hard to keep the blade from flapping up there. Shaeffer says it can't be fixed, but I'm thinking a bit of time and careful application of a heat gun might let me reduce the twist.

 

[shemandr]

Let's get this back on the new posts. We're trying to have a perfectly good donnybrook here and no one is helping.
What I am saying is that for all the talk about adjusting jib leads, in practice it is done a whole lot less than it's talked about. I can't tell you how many racing boats I've been on that when someone begins to adjust the fairlead the skipper is screaming to leave them alone. That is, I think, because the skipper probably had a good race with them adjusted where they are and doesn't want to change them. In Don's parlance the skipper doesn't really understand how to adjust them. Also there are a lot of drivers who like to leave the trim alone. They would rather find a groove and not have changes to the trim to make it more difficult. I'm not saying that is correct. I'm just saying in the real world of club level racing where this is common. On other boats the skipper doesn't want someone on the lee side - unfortunately almost never me.
My other point about the halyard wasn't that it is the most important. But I think it is the most overlooked. It is the first sail control employed - raising the sail. And, it's proper adjustment seems like the first thing to do. Most boats are not even set up to get proper tension on; and, a lot of casual sailors don't realize that if the halyard is 100' long and they have 1 to 2 percent stretch (Low Stretch) they will have 1 to 2 feet of stretch. Try lowering your halyard 2 feet on an upwind let and see how it goes. The cunningham is good for maybe a few inches.
That was my point.

 

[RichH]

The halyards are perhaps 'the' most important sail control ... as they control the point along the horizontal cord/plane of the sail which develops its point of maximum draft. Ignore this 'sail shaping control' and youll be forever fighting adverse helm. With adverse helm all the other sail shape and trim considerations simply 'go out the window' ... until the boat is sooner or later corrected, by helm balance (easiest corrected by halyard adjustment) ......... to stop dragging the rudder partly sideways through the water. If youre dragging your rudder, you will need a powered-up shape ... a shape thats 'slow', a shape that causes excess heel, a shape that disturbs the air flow way out in front of the boat. Good trim requires 'helm balance'; you will be cross-controlled to solve the problems of 'helm unbalance' until you get that helm balance correctly set ---- halyard tension.

If you prefer to sail a 'slow' boat, simply tow a bucket ... but after you set up for a very slight 'weather helm'. ;-)

 

[hewebb]

I have been sailing as crew on a Catalina 22 and we move the genoa track fairleads often, but not while under a load. I am in the process of doing several upgrades to my Catalina 25 and one of them is installing a Barber Hauler type system to the genoa sheets to pull them forward and leave the fairleads aft. I solo sail on a small lake and tack quite often so moving them from the cockpit will be helpful. I have not seen this done yet but I think I am going to try it. Your thoughts?

 

[25yearslater]

I recognize the comment from shemandr and now I understand the process of setting the jib cars and what to look for. The break of the luff being top to bottom as a basic setting will be put in practice tomorrow. Can't wait for the book. Thanks Don.

 

[Sailing Vermont]

Okay, I've been thinking about ordering Don's book. I just did when I realized I didn't understand which way to move the cars if the jib luff break was too high or too low. I'm guessing if it's too high, I'd pull them aft to bring the break down. Can you tell me if I'm correct, or do I have to wait until the book arrives?

 

[Don Guillette]

Sailing Vermont: Thank you for purchasing my products.

Your guess is logical but backwards. If the foot flutters, bottom luffs or bottom telltales break first you move the fairlead AFT. If the top leech flutters, top luffs or top telltales break first you move the fairleads FORWARD. If the jib breaks evenly from top to bottom, your fairlead setting is OK. When you first try this the break may not be evident so you might have to do it a couple of times. It happens very quickly. Once you see it happen you be able to spot it every time. At first you need a way to remember which way to move the car -- I pictured a tree with the TOP falling over toward the bow and bottom trunk kicking out aft. Kind of silly but it worked for me!!
When you decide to practice, after you get the hang of it, misplace the fairleads and do it again so you can figure out how far you have to move the cars. After a series of times the adjustment will be second nature to you.

Here's a little extra, which is the trim sequence I outline on the SAIL TRIM CHART:
JIB:
Sail closehauled.
Adjust Jib halyard -- (light air = less tension, heavy air = more tension)
Fairlead adjustment
Trim sheet until luffing stops
Check telltales (both sides streaming -- middle set is most important)

MAINSAIL:
Trim sheet with top batten parallel to boom
Adjust halyard/cunningham for 50% DRAFT POSITION
Adjust outhaul to about 25% DRAFT DEPTH
Adjust Traveler for optimum ANGLE OF ATTACK
Check telltales (top, which is your TWIST indicator, is most important)

These setting get you in the ball park and you then trim for your boat.

 

[Rocket1]

Just my two cents worth:

I have the book and the chart, and they have proven invaluable. Gives the Admiral and I something to do that's not only fun, but educational as well. Getting things trimmed "correctly" provides a nice bit of confidence for both of us.

Anyone that's on the fence about ordering the guide and chart - stop waffling and just do it! You won't regret it!

Thanks Don!

 

[Roadking Larry]

My boat has a roller furling (CDI FF2) genoa and the jib halyard isnt used (other than to haul my jib sock up or get fouled in the top of the jib when i roll it up if i don't secure it right) should there be a way for me to adjust "halyard tension" on the go with that kind of set up?
Seems I can tweak forestay tension with the adjustable backstay but depending on conditions that might be counter productive.

 

[Sailing Vermont]

Thanks for the above explanation Don. Very helpful. Good thing there's only 2 ways to adjust each line, at least I have a 50-50 chance. Looking forward to the book.

 

[Don Guillette]

Larry: Here's how I adjusted my jib, which has a roller furling. I went to full hoist and then back off a hair. You have to be very careful because if you back off too much you'll have a mess with the top system. I then adjusted with a small cunningham -- I used a small Garhauer soft vang. I adjusted the mainsail the same way. Using the halyards, which were mast adjusted (not lead back to the cockpit) was too much of a mess.