New Subjects

[Don Guillette]

Ship mates: OK, we've beaten telltales to death - is there anything you'd like to discuss about sail trim? Phil & Bly have designed this forum around you guys and I agree with that idea. I could ramble on all day long but I'd rather talk to what the masses want. It is much more fun that way.Do you want to discuss how any particular sail trim controls (fairleads, outhaul, traveler etc) for the main and jib work? How about a step by step trim sequence for the main and jib? Maybe a step by step proceedure to set the proper twist in the jib? How about some solutions to the problem you might encounter when your sailing to windward and your speed is down or you can't point? We can also discuss the lack of speed on a close reach, broad reach or a run? Maybe your running into some particular sailing problem (no maintainence problems - I let the shear pin problem on a OB motor go because I'm a nice guy but I can't let this sail trim forum become a repair yard forum) and you'd like to know how to solve it. We could also talk about light air or heay air sailing?I don't have all the answers but there are a bunch of regulars on this forum that do, so take advantage of this valuable resource. You bought the boat to sail it and this forum can help you to that end.

 

[Tom]

boom vang

I have a hunter 33 1980 with no vang what so ever. The main sheet is at the end of the boom and it seems that in light air I loose alot of speed because of this. Would a vang help this or am I useing the wrong sail trim and need to reread your book.

 

[Don Guillette]

Tom: The boom vang is one of the sail trim controls for the main that is used to adjust draft position along with the cunningham outhaul, mainsheet and mast bend. The less controls you have equals the tougher it is to adjust DP or draft depth, twist and angle of attack. The boom vang is also used to adjust twist along with the mainsheet.Last Sunday I sailed on John Richard's Hunter41 (John is a Hunter lister). It was a practice session but I was really interested, among other things, to see how the boom end traveler and sheeting sytem worked because I've never sail on a boat with that setup. The system was mounted on a rack above the helm and that also was of particular interest to me. As I mentioned, the 2 controls for twist are the boom vang and the mainsheet. When we were closehauled, and the traveler was centered (you have to picture this configureation in your mind), the mainsheet could control twist because of the pulling angle - almost straight up and down and it was acting like a boom vang. What I noticed was the more the boom moved off center line the more tendency the boom had to rise thus inducing twist into the main. Because of this decreasing pulling angle, the mainsheet seemed to become less efficient. In other words, sailing dead down wind would be a mess as the boom would be rising. Unfortunately, the wind was very light so I did not get the full effect of what was happening on various point of sail but I can imagine what would happen. John's boat has a boom vang so it was not a problem to control the boom. So, the bottom line is that a boom vang would be beneficial to you and I would suggest you consider the Garhauer system. Check them out at www.Garhauermarine.com. If you decide to buy one from them, when you call ask for Mark or Guido and tell them Don Guillette told you to call. They will bend over backwards to help you. I hope I answered your question.

 

[Kevin Bladsacker]

No Traveler

Those of us with the first two models of 27's have an unusual mainsheet system. We have no traveler, but the main is sheeted with a block on either side of the cabin and three fiddle blocks mid-boom. It makes it difficult to control twist. My 90 model (Non-Cherubini) has a very heavy boom with 4 lines run through it, so not only can i not use a travlerer to control it, the boom is so heavy the leach is always pulled flat and free of twist. I'm not ready to stary cutting holes for a traveler yet. Do I have any other options?

 

[Franklin]

Draft Depth and Twists

1) When would I want to have a twist?2) When is it good to have a lot of draft Depth?

 

[Don Guillette]

Franklin: Twist is built into every sail for the following reason - the wind at the top of a 50' mast blows 60% harder than at deck level. As the wind blows over the water surface, friction slows it down. So, unless the sail maker built in twist, the power at the top of the sail would blow you over. God put sail trim controls on the boat to control twist. With the boom vang and mainsheet you can dial it in or out.What happens when the top of the sail opens up, power is spilled out. So, if it is blowing like stink, one of the first things you want to do is open up the top of the sail and spill out power. If you want to harness the power and go faster, you close the top of the sail.A lot of something is not a good thing. Draft depth (belly) equates to power. A flat sail has no power. Sort of like a plane with no flaps. Flaps give power for landing and take off. About 20% to 30% of draft depth (belly) provides the power to move the boat. Without belly, your not going anywhere. That is why the outhaul, which controls draft depth along with mast bend is so important.

 

[Don Guillette]

Kevin: I am not familiar with the system you are describing but I'll bet my friends at Garhauer Marine in Upland, Ca are. Give them a call and ask for Guido or Mark and explain your situation. I'll bet they are familiar with it and have a fix. Tell them Don Guillette told you to call. There are a lot of sail trim controls you can get away without but the traveler is not one of them. The traveler and the mainsheet are the main control for angle of attack.

 

[Rich L]

Leech Cord = cupped leech?

I tried going for more draft depth last week in 8-10 knot winds, but all I got was a cupped leech (or so it seemed) that seemed to drop my speed 1/4 to 1/2 a knot. I was sailing both close hauled and close reached. H26 (B&R rig with main the power sail; 100% jib). Am I missing something?Also, if it does mainly cup the leech, would this make it a good practice when sailing down wind (sort of to catch and hold the wind)?

 

[Ken Juul]

Trim Sequence

My boat is still on the hard, went sailing with my neighbor over the weekend. We had a great time using your trim hints to properly set his sails. Both learned a lot, initially his trim was way off, knowing where and what to look for really helped. We found that we did alot of back tracking. The current adjustment caused us to go back and readjust something we did earlier. Don't mean tweaking, but gross adjustment. Think we were probably doing alot of things out of order. Would very much like to know your trim sequence. Does it change from masthead to fractional rig?

 

[Richard]

no traveler

Are there big disadvantages to not having a traveler for adjusting sails? Are there any particulars or hints for trimming w/o a traveler?I spent a week sailing in the Pensacola area last month. Anchored behind Perdido Key near Fort Mcree. What a sweet spot! The Blue Angels gave us a show 3 out of 5 mornings. I am thinking of taking off every other Friday for the next month or so and putting in the 10 hour drive (one way) just to get a couple of days sailing in. On one sail I made it into Alabama...wish I could have just kept on going! Richard

 

[Bruce Cowin]

Mac 26S - Sail Controls

Don,On the Mac Gregor 26s (factory version) sail shape controls are, for the most part, non-adjustable. This is not the model with the 50 hp outboard. The fairleads for the jib and genoa are placed in fixed positions on the deck. The boom vang was an option. The mainsheet does not attach to a traveler, instead it attaches to a fixed point on the centerline of the boat (which is directly in front of the companion way). The other end attaches to a bail on the boom located about 3/4ths down the length of it.These boats need some modifications in those areas to enable better sail shape control. I have a boom vang on mine, and I can see how it really helps sail shape - when I use it correctly. I've heard of setting up something called a barber haul to help with shape adjustments on the headsail (jib or genoa). What do you know about using a barber haul for this purpose? Aside from installing a traveler, what other options are there for adjusting the main sail angle of attack? Can you tell me more about adjustments for sail draft on both the main and headsails? Also, how we can tell if a sail is blown out and should be replaced?Thank you,Bruce Cowin