Info About Jib & Main
Congratulations on the new boat. A good book that is straightforward about sailing and explains the terms is Basic Sailing & Cruising Skills by Rob MacLeod. I have a Grampian 22' and I am still a novice myself, even after having sailed for years with my father in a Spindrift 14' so don't feel bad. We had a wind of 15 knots today up here on the lake, otherwise, I was going to take a picture of my jib raised for you. If I have a calm day I will forward you one. In the meantime, I will quickly explain (from Rob's Book) the parts of the rigging. There are two kinds of rigging 1) standing and 2) running. Standing rigging refers to the stays (metal) that hold the mast in position. There are four stays on your boat: forestay (front) 2 shrouds (or sidestays) and one backstay. The running rigging refers to the halyards (the lines on pulleys that raise and lower your sails), the main sheet (a single rope or combination of block and tackle used to adjust the main boom (on the bottom of the main sail) and the jib sheet (ropes attached to the forward sail that allow it to be trimmed).If the sailboat is facing forward and you are looking at it as if you were viewing it from another boat from its starboard side (right side as opposed to port side which would be its left side) with the bow on your right and the stern on your left the parts of the sail starting at the top and moving clockwise would be: A sail has three sides and three corners. The top corner of the sail is called the head. The leading edge or front edge of the sail is called the luff. The bottom front corner of the sail is called the tack. The bottom side of the sail is called the foot. The back corner of the sail is called the clew. The very back side of the sail is called the leech.In the case of both the main and the jib, the halyards have a shackle that attach to the ring in the head of the sail. There is a small block and tackle with a sheet that leads from the boom in the cockpit to just aft of the mast (but forward of the cockpit) called the boom vang. Also there is another small sheet called the cunningham or downhaul (depending on your configuration) which runs from either the boom to the tack (a ring on the sail) to the boom or from the boom to the mast. These have to be loosened to raise the sail properly. After the sail is raised, they should be re-adjusted to tension the sail correctly.The foot of the mainsail is fed into the boom and attached by a pin at the tack and a small sheet adjustment called an outhaul at the clew which attaches to the boom. The halyard for the mainsail leads to a pulley on the aft or back side of the mast and pulls the mainsail up through a groove in the mast on the aft side. Once raised, the mainsail is held in position by a shackle or a clew on the mast. Always raise the mainsail and jib with the boat headed towards the wind. You should really have another person with you to help, especially if you are a novice sailor. The other person can feed the mainsail into the groove while you pull the halyard and secure it in place. In raising the jib, the crew attaches the jib and prepares it for raising (keeping it folded properly on the deck) then raises the jib from the cockpit while the helmsman (you) controls the direction of the boat, the main and the sheets for the jib.The tack of the jib attaches to a shackle or tack hook on the deck of the boat. The jib attaches to the forestay by spring- loaded plastic or metal clips. The halyard for the jib runs through a pulley almost at the top of the mast on the front of the mast. The two sheets for the jib usually run to the cockpit by first being fed outside the shrouds, then through a fairlead and next around a winch. One sheet goes on the port side and the other on the starboard side. Be sure to tie off the ends with a bowline or figure eight knot. Don't raise the jib until the main is raised. Based on weather conditions and experience, I would suggest you only start with the main and once you learn the control of the boat under sail with the main, then graduate to the jib because it's tricky!If you send your email, I will send photos of both sails and rigging.Take Care and Happy & Safe Sailing!Bruce