No Telltales ?

[Joe1924]

Next week we are going on our first sail on our new 309. All the glowing magazine reviews that I've read mention that the main has no telltales. Why is this the case? I've grown up using the telltales as the main indicator of how well my sails are trimmed. Would it make sense to add telltales?

Joe1924

 

[jsalley]

Probably because they're likely to get torn off when you furl.

 

[GKuffner]

I too like to use telltales on my main to check that its working properly, so I added the stick-on telltales to my main. I placed two columns in the mid field of the sail and along the leach. After two years they haven't been ripped off when furling the main. They can be a real help in setting up the sail controls to get proper use of the main. I also added additional telltales to my 150 genoa which helps when I have to furl it in. The tell tales are cheap and easy to replace if the get ripped off.

Gary
Glory Days
C309 #136