Riding Sail -- Use and Sources

Nov 23, 2020
30
Hunter 45DS Seattle
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
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
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.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
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.
 
Nov 23, 2020
30
Hunter 45DS Seattle
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
 
Apr 11, 2010
946
Hunter 38 Whitehall MI
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

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
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.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,401
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
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.)
 
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Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
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

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
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.
 
Oct 8, 2013
33
Beneteau 321 1999 Rose Haven, MD
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,
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
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)

1667497262074.png


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.
 
Oct 8, 2013
33
Beneteau 321 1999 Rose Haven, MD
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

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Apr 29, 2022
389
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, 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.
 
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