I'm gradually picking up on sailing my 11 yr old H26 that I bought 21 months ago. I can now take "Teshai" out on my own. It's not the prettiest picture of me putting up or bringing the down the main on my own but hay it's just me and the elements no spectators in this part of the world.
Question: Every photo I ever look at shows the main sail holding up the boom, forming a nice triangle. My H26 has a line that is fixed at the top of the mast and linked to the end of the mast. I think it's there for holding up the boom when the main sail is down. When I've tried detaching it the boom hangs down. I can't figure out how to correct this with just the sail and halyard. Is the main sail too big? It doesn't seem right to leave this line attached but without the main isn't as manageable.
Am I doing something wrong, should I be able to sail without this line attached to the end of the boom?
Question: Every photo I ever look at shows the main sail holding up the boom, forming a nice triangle. My H26 has a line that is fixed at the top of the mast and linked to the end of the mast. I think it's there for holding up the boom when the main sail is down. When I've tried detaching it the boom hangs down. I can't figure out how to correct this with just the sail and halyard. Is the main sail too big? It doesn't seem right to leave this line attached but without the main isn't as manageable.
Am I doing something wrong, should I be able to sail without this line attached to the end of the boom?