I am a rather new owner of a Cat 30. Not too much experience in sail design. Any opinions would be gratefully acknowledged. I am having a new mainsail made by a local sailmaker. The boat is a 1977 Catalina 30 tall rig. The new sail has battens on the 1st and second position from the top along with a mid sail full batten and a fourth partial batten toward the foot. All looks standard. The upper area of the sail with the two top battens brushes across the backstay by a few inches in that area due to a larger than original roach. The batten pockets are reinforced and covered with a clear plastic cover. So, when the sail tacks from port to starboard and back again, the top two battens can slide over the backstay in that area. The sailmaker states that this design gives added drive for the main and has used this design for several years with no problems or complaints of rubbing on the backstay. He said he stands behind te design and any future wear if present would be taken care of by him. I am an occasional sailor on Lake Erie in 5 to 20 knt wind. What is your opinion. Have you seen this design before. It reminds me o the shape of a sail on a catamaren design. I hope the description is adequate for you "old hands" to envision. Thank you/
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Apply some vang
The big problem with large roach sails is indeed the top batten or battens hitting the backstay. This can be a problem in light wind in that there may not be enough pressure to move the battens across the backstay and it becomes difficult to tack. Nevertheless, in very light wind applying lots of vang can be beneficial for sail shape in that one is obviously eliminating any sail twist that would spill wind. And applying lots of vang may then bring the leech of the main down just enough to clear the backstay. This seems a bit contrary to the idea that a flat sail is better for strong winds while a lose fuller sail is better for lighter winds. While in general this is true, I am talking about very light wind were a stff board like shape may be necessary. I will assume your topping lift is loose, and if you have a rigid vang or boom kicker in place of a topping lift, I will assume you have on at least some vang to counteract the tendency of those devices to lift the boom.
The big problem with large roach sails is indeed the top batten or battens hitting the backstay. This can be a problem in light wind in that there may not be enough pressure to move the battens across the backstay and it becomes difficult to tack. Nevertheless, in very light wind applying lots of vang can be beneficial for sail shape in that one is obviously eliminating any sail twist that would spill wind. And applying lots of vang may then bring the leech of the main down just enough to clear the backstay. This seems a bit contrary to the idea that a flat sail is better for strong winds while a lose fuller sail is better for lighter winds. While in general this is true, I am talking about very light wind were a stff board like shape may be necessary. I will assume your topping lift is loose, and if you have a rigid vang or boom kicker in place of a topping lift, I will assume you have on at least some vang to counteract the tendency of those devices to lift the boom.
To heck with that....
Take the sail back to the sailmaker and have him correct the problem. Tell him you're a cruiser not a racer and he should have asked you that. Unless you specifically asked for a full roach you're entitled to a correctly sized sail. You shouldn't have to vang your sail everytime you want to tack, nor loosen the backstay. You don't need the larger roach. The C30 is a masthead rig designed for high power headsails. The source of the problem is the full length battens, shich are needed to support the larger roach. Stand firm, have him recut or replace or return it. NO EXCUSES! or you'll go elsewhere when you replace the rest of your sails.
Take the sail back to the sailmaker and have him correct the problem. Tell him you're a cruiser not a racer and he should have asked you that. Unless you specifically asked for a full roach you're entitled to a correctly sized sail. You shouldn't have to vang your sail everytime you want to tack, nor loosen the backstay. You don't need the larger roach. The C30 is a masthead rig designed for high power headsails. The source of the problem is the full length battens, shich are needed to support the larger roach. Stand firm, have him recut or replace or return it. NO EXCUSES! or you'll go elsewhere when you replace the rest of your sails.
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