More on 29.5 Headsails

[Russ Garecht]

This is kind of an off shoot of Ken Osborne’s posting.A lot was said about the sail area and sheets, what about the tack? The Hunter manual has two suggestions. The one about retractable spinnaker pole won’t work for us because we can’t lose the anchor locker.So, here are my two questions: 1. Exactly how is the “U” bolt secured to the bow? 2. Has anyone ever modified the bow roller to extend it farther forward? This would serve two purposes, it would move the tack forward and it would help save the bow from being beaten up by the anchor flukes.Just looking for comments.RussHer Diamond Ring

 

[Alex]

I modified to retractable pole with anchor locker

it does not cancel the use of anchor, but you ;t 1. use one roler 2. have the anchor on bow outside (where it should be anyhow) and along with the pole there is enough room for adequent lenght of chain and rope 3. modify the anchor locker cover to accept the pole (small thing for fiberglass work).the pole indeed 1.keep 'cleaner' air for the asymetrical spinaker , away from the main,2. enable it to work-on certain condition- with the genoa as as well.The sail tack is anyway always above anchor flukes , as spinnaker/asymetric luff should almost never be thight.the pole came as a kit from Hunter on 94-95 model , but as far as I know very few took it , and it wasn't offered later.after 5 years of use ( frankly not more than 4-5 times a season)all pole system hardware work fine .

 

[Don Stagg]

Maximize your 29.5's sailing potential

Recently I have had the opportunity to help Mr Gerry Marston optimize his Hunter 29.5 to race locally in PHRF events. We embarked on a program that any one can do. Not only to their 29.5 but any of the current Hunter models that are backstayless plus fractional and that is quite a few.Not all of the things we did may fit everyones budget but none the less here is a rundown.1-The bottom paint was removed and Sprayed on Balto Plate was applied.2-A 2 blade feathering prop was installed.3-A mylar stip was fitted aft at the rubrail to stop the drag/turbulence when the boat is sailing & healed4-the keel was faired and filled to minimize drag.5-A spinnaker halyard was installed approx 2.5 ft. above the intersection point of the forestay and led back to the cockpit.6- An additional pair of winches were installed beside the jib winches to handle the spinnaker trimming etc.7-Spinnaker track & other appropriate gear was installed and purchased including tweakers, and rachet blocks aft.8-A 2&1/2" Dia. Carbon-fiber spinnaker pole 24" longer than "J" was purchased.9-Strong track with St.Stl.fittings was installed for the mainsail luff. 10-UK sailmakers in Miami came up with a Technora/ Carbon Tape drive Jib that was measured up to take maximum available space in the foretriangle11- They also built a Fat Head Mainsail from Technora with Carbon Fiber tapes to match the jib. It has foam Carbon Fiber tapered full length battens [5] plus one Fat Head Batten with a quik pin release to allow it to lay down. this allows the sail cover to go on easily.The roach profile was optimized to proved more sail area 12- They also designed a Matrix 3/4 Oz. spinnaker to fit the new fore triangle dimensions.The object was of course to make the boat faster, but moreover the drop off of upwind performance in the 5 to 10 knot range was one of the goals and of course to improve the dead downwind speed.I am glad to report that the results are outstanding. We have been testing the boat in a wide variety of conditions and wind strengths, and there are no control problems down wind or upwind. The Fat head on the main twists off in the heavy going and the spinnaker does not over power the boat down wind.I would recommend that even if you don't do any of the above that you consider a strong rigid boom vang to help control the Mainsail leech when reaching. This transformation was done over a 8 to 9 month period and is now complete.Thi approach could apply to any backstayless boat including the Freedom type boats as well.If you are interested in seeing picture's and some writing that was done by myself regarding these modification please contact me at [ukmiami@uksailmakers.com ]If you wish to call me direct the telephone number is 305-858-3000Looking forward to your questions and requests,Sincerely-------------DON STAGG