The subject of the leech line came up on another network I belong to Catalina 30 and I thought it might be of interest to some here. The lister there was trying to control flutter and that is what started the discussion. The main use of the leech cord on the jib and main is to stop flutter but it does have another use also. Unfortunately, a lot of sailors forget about the leech cord when reaching or running and that is a mistake as additional speed can be gained with a simple adjustment. Next time your out and reaching or running first tighten the mainsail and jib leech cords before going on that point of sail - once your on a reach or run you can't easily get to it. What you have just done is give the mainsail more shape and depth because you are bending the battens and your preventing the top batten from twisting off and spilling power out of the top of the sail. The leech cords hold the top batten in line with the boom and is preventing it from twisting off. It does the same thing o the jib but to a lesser extent because there are no battens. How many sailors make that adjustment? I don't know any who do - I even forget it most of the time but one time in a very close race in Long Beach the skipper was pleading with me as to what could be done to gain that extra ounce of speed (as If I'm some expert who can just poop out more speed) when that adjustment came to mind. I asked the skipper to pull in the sail so I could get to the leech line. A first, he did not want to as he would lose ground but finally he relented - I had to use a few choice and direct words to get him to relent. It took about 5 seconds to make the adjustment and we ultimately won the race - not by very much but no one cares by how by how much as winning is winning.
It's either in your book or you've mentioned it here before, because I think of you every time I do it! Thanks! ...RickM...
