Riding Sail -- Use and Sources

[seanmadian]

Hello all -- My boat (a 2009 Hunter 45) tends to dance quite a bit at anchor. I rigged lines to the chain and each of the bow cleats and that helped a bit. Doing some more digging, I learned about Riding Sails. My two questions for the forum are:

1. Have you tried a riding sail and if so, did it work?
2. Do you have any sources for riding sails?

On the second question, I have found a "DIY" version for about $100 and ready-to-go for over $700 so quite a variance. Our boat does NOT have a backstay so anything we use will have to be rigged to the topping lift.

Thank you in advance,
Sean & Lori
Halayah Rhea
Seattle, WA

 

[sail sfbay]

Using your topping lift to attach a riding sail is a good plan. Sailrite sells a kit for $108 Anchor Riding Sail Kit (12.5 sq. ft.) - Sailrite

You can buy one here for $455 FinDelta #2 "Classic" Anchor Riding Sail for Boats 33 to 46 Feet (bannerbaymarine.com)

Photos of a riding rails rigged on Hunter sailboats:

 

[jssailem]

You can invest in a riding sail, I suspect the Sailrite kit is a pretty good DIY package. Or you can try out just about anything to get an idea how it would work. Even a pair of grand ma's bloomers hanging from the topping lift will give you an idea of the affect it will have. I would think about a piece of tarp folded and tied onto the boom/topping lift would be enough to give you an understanding of the function.

The issue is all the free board the boats have. They function as a sail.

 

[dlochner]

I built a SailRite riding sail a few years back. It is a pretty easy afternoon project. So far it has spent about 10 years sitting on the boat in the sailbag taking up space.

 

[seanmadian]

Thank you ALL for the replies.... Can't say I'll be strapping a set of Grannie's bloomers to the boom any time soon, but if the need should arise, it's a good backup.

Save travels to everyone!

Sean

 

[rgranger]

....(snip) I'll be strapping a set of Grannie's bloomers to the boom

 

[quadrille38]

I use a FinDelta riding sail and it works great On my 38.
you might want to do a search in the archives as this topic has been extensively discussed and there are some other very helpful suggestions.

 

[Tom J]

I have used a riding sail to good effect. It is a plain sail, made by ATN I believe, and not the delta sails shown here already. I have experimented with another aspect of anchoring that has actually cut down on the swinging quite a bit, even without the riding sail. Instead of running the nylon bridle directly from the anchor chain to the bow cleats, I run the two nylon lines through the bow roller and then to the cleats. The lever arm of the bow roller ahead of the hull seems to be effective in dampening swings.

 

[thinwater]

Using your topping lift to attach a riding sail is a good plan. Sailrite sells a kit for $108 Anchor Riding Sail Kit (12.5 sq. ft.) - Sailrite

You can buy one here for $455 FinDelta #2 "Classic" Anchor Riding Sail for Boats 33 to 46 Feet (bannerbaymarine.com)

Photos of a riding rails rigged on Hunter sailboats:

View attachment 193241View attachment 193244View attachment 193245

BUT, you are comparing a product that is many times more effective. Not apples to apples.

(I have tested them side-by-side.)

 

[NotCook]

running the nylon bridle directly from the anchor chain to the bow cleats

Making one bridle side shorter than the other, so that boat stays to one side, will stop it from sailing back and forth.

 

[Tom J]

Making one bridle side shorter than the other, so that boat stays to one side, will stop it from sailing back and forth.

True, but the boat will tend to sail to the side, maybe too much in a crowded anchorage. We tried this technique on a commercial boat during a tropical storm, but it exposed too much of the side of the boat to the wind, and we had to center the bridle.

 

[AdamCermak]

BUT, you are comparing a product that is many times more effective. Not apples to apples.

(I have tested them side-by-side.)

Hey there! I’m looking at all these comments, trying to figure out a riding sail setup for a Beneteau 381 with an arch and in-mast furling. It looks like the arch and bimini will be in the way, and I don’t have a spare halyard to hoist the sail up the topping left. Plus, just for more fun, I have a split back stay. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

 

[rgranger]

Plus, just for more fun, I have a split back stay. Any ideas?Thanks in advance,

Maybe you could use the backstay. What if you made a triangular piece of nylon that fit in the back stay, supported the edges with some light tent poles (fiberglass) and put a block in the lower two corner (depicted as black circles here)

Then with the blocks and some line, you could let the bottom out a bit and turn it into a shoot that scoops the air. Adjust how much it "scoops" with the blocks until you get the draft you desire. You could even angle it a bit if you wanted the nose of the boat to be a little off the wind.

 

[AdamCermak]

Thanks for the thought. My back stays are very far apart at the cockpit/transom, so I don't know that this would work for the 381. Keep the ideas flowing, though!

 

[JBP-PA]

A Bimini or a spilt backstay are not really a problem for a traditional riding sail, just hoist the sail above the Bimini. Attach the tack to one leg of the backstay and run the clew line to the opposite side (a traditional riding sail should be slightly angled to keep the wind slightly off to one side). I do it this way all the time, it works great. Bit of a struggle to reach over the bimini to attach the hanks, but I can do it.
No halyard is more of a problem. You can't use your main halyard if you have in mast furling. The other options I can think of are a flag halyard, or use your spinnaker halyard. I might worry about chafe if I used the spinnaker halyard for days and days. Or of coarse you could add a new halyard.