Sailing downwind

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Tony Thomas

When sailing downwind, my spreader seems to "poke" "rub up against" my main sail. I hope you can tell what I am talking about! I can't even let out the traveler all the way with out this happening. Is the 23 just limited in its capabilities?
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Same on all of the newer Hunters.

Tony: This is just a fact of life with the swept back spreaders on the newer generations of Hunters. This have been discussed many times. This is one of the justifications for flying a large headsail, like a drifter or a spinnaker.
 
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Ray Bowles

Tony, When sailing with your main out that far

it is very important to use a boom vang to pull down hard on your boom. A traveler doesn't apply any useful down force when you sail this way. If you allow your main to rub and flop against your spreaders or shrouds you will wear holes in the sail in very short order. I have padded my spreader ends and applied shroud line covers anywhere the main can hit them. You can pad your spreader ends with store bought pads or even use towels taped on. The shroud wire covers I bought came from West Marine and were fairly inexpensive. Using a larger jib isn't the answer as you still need to fly the main out there when on that course. With the large roach on the Hunter mains, and with their swept back spreaders this is something you must deal with no matter how big the jib is. I sail a 95 H26 and they come without any back stay, thus the need for the boom vang. You will be amazed at how much further out the main will fly with a vang holding the boom down. Ray
 
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Tony Thomas

Thanks Ray

I had asked just a few weeks ago about boom vangs. Now I see the advantage of having the vang. Does anyone know what style I should get? I like the idea of not having a topping lift.
 
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Ken Shubert

Dang Vang

A vang is standard riggin' in Hunter's packages but it looks like a small main-sheet. A block
 
Apr 19, 1999
1,670
Pearson Wanderer Titusville, Florida
Downwind sailing with the H23

Other suggestions discussed in the past include patches of sail repair tape on the main wherever it might rub against the spreaders/shrouds. Once the vang is tight, the sail won't move that much anyway. I also found that by not easing the main all the way out I could keep the jib full when sailing wing and wing. The gain obtained by a having a full jib offset the little bit of projected sail area that had been lost from the main. More to the point, I recently sailed a friend's H23 with a cruising spinnaker. I gotta get one of those! Peter H23 "Raven"
 
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Jay

Peter

Do you have to use a whisker pole when sailing wing-and-wing? I haven't had any luck getting the jib (110, whatever) to stay over on the other side when sailing downwind. And if I try to keep it on the same side as the main, it just flops around most of the time. I have to be at least 45 degrees away from directly downwind (a broad reach) before the jib will do anything. Jay
 
Apr 19, 1999
1,670
Pearson Wanderer Titusville, Florida
To Jay in Pasadena

I can sail wing and wing without the whisker pole, as long as I don't ease the main all the way out. The air moving forward off the luff of the main helps to push the jib open. It works, but using a whisker pole is better, because the jib will be held even further out, and you can now east the main all the way out too. Peter H23 "Raven"
 
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Ray Bowles

Using a Whisker Pole does make wing/wing

much easier and performance is greatly increased. I made up a very basic whisker pole out of a "heavy duty" paint roller extension handle. It worked good enough last summer to convince my to build a real pole. Moving your jib sheet blocks also is a big hitter. When wing/wing sailing I use a double jib sheet on each side. One comes aft, outside the shrouds to the cockpit cleat next to the sternrail seat and the other runs from the jib to a block I mounted right at the forward cabin lifeline stanchion in front of the shrouds and below the lifelines. Holds jib shape very well. I also have permante preventers and use them each time when the main is outside the lifelines. Ray S/V Speedy
 
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Tom Wootton

Rigid Boom Vang

I recently bought a rigid boom vang from Garhauer (see link below.) Very high quality, and lower cost than some conventional vangs (I have a Hunter 26, so I got the RV-16-1 for $190; you could probably get the RV-12-1 for $170.) I suggest you call them; they custom make(!) the mast and boom brackets, and it's best to have them describe how to make a template of the cross-sections. It is great to be able to dispense with a topping lift, and a rigid vang gives more upwind control over mainsail shape.
 
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