Top down kite on our 270. The top down furler and bowsprit were all crafted in house, and the kite is about 30% larger than recommended. Commentary welcome.
Top Down Furler
- Thread starter Meriachee
- Start date
Easier than our sock. But the sock is easy enough that we fly our asym every chance we get.
Size really depends on the wind speeds you expect. Reaching in higher winds can mean excessive heeling.
Size really depends on the wind speeds you expect. Reaching in higher winds can mean excessive heeling.
My Star of Papillon is also a very oversized Asymm. It measures in at a bit more than 95% of a full class legal symmetrical spinnaker. I have flown it up to 12 knots in a deep reach and need to pull it down at 8-kts for a broad reach. I can carry it a bit longer in a deep run but if I see 12-kts apparent it has to come down. I fly it with a sock single handed but would sure love to rig it on a TD furler.
My biggest challenge would be adding a sprit to the bow sprit already on my C30 TR/BS. When you say that your sprit was made in house what do you mean? I fly mine Asail in a sock from the anchor roller and do not thing it would have enough separation from the furled genoa at that location.
There are some construction pictures on the Wordpress blog. Feel free to read all about it here:
meriachee.wordpress.com
Sprit City
Further update! See the post “Polski Ogorki” for the latest developments on the sprit project. The end cap has been redesigned and is about to get welded up. It’s like sho…
meriachee.wordpress.com
Any issues with upward loading on that bow (anchor roller) bracket created by the leverage of the sail?There are some construction pictures on the Wordpress blog. Feel free to read all about it here:
Sprit City
Further update! See the post “Polski Ogorki” for the latest developments on the sprit project. The end cap has been redesigned and is about to get welded up. It’s like sho…
Any issues with the downward loading on the anchor locker cover?
Did you do anything to reinforce either of those?
There have been no noticeable loading issues on either, a (very foolish) test was to hold the aft end of the pole in 5-6 just to see what kind of loads were going to be there. The result of that was that there was a little side loading, but mostly downward. A lot of people seem to comment that a pole would rip the cover off, but if you look at the math, that's just not possible. The pivot point is the ring, and the majority of the load is upwards, and aft of the pivot, at the locker door, there is mostly downward. There is a TINY bit of side to side, but since the pole can't really rotate in the Selden collar, the bolts and backing collar are more than sufficient. As mentioned, "10" is the magic number, I really don't want to get into a position of having to rebuild something, and the sheer size of this sail suggests you follow the rule.
There are a number of posts on the Wordpress page regarding the whole project, here's one regarding the furler proper. I encourage you to take a few minutes and scrub them, there's a lot of data that pertains to this project.
Wok N Roll
What good is a nice bow sprit without a top-down furler to go with it? This was always the plan for the “creamsicle” kite, as it’s rather too big for this boat, is intended to be…
meriachee.wordpress.com
Thanks for the feedback. I have a Selden Pole and Ring and a Selden Top down furler. Have not installed as yet. Main concern has been the load on the anchor roller fitting. Definitely don't want that to rip out of the deck. Also, never considered mounting the aft end on the anchor locker door, didn't think it would stand the loading. Anticipating mounting the ring to the vertical piece on the left (starboard) side in the photo. My anchor roller is a bit different than yours and as you can see in the picture, the bow pulpit has a pipe in the front on the centerline.
If you are too worried about it, you could mount a Dyneema bobstay that has a reinforced pad eye on the stem that is drawn tight as you extend the pole out.
The roller frame is more than up to the task. If you crafted a "U" shaped piece that mounted to the roller frame, left enough space under to feed chain through, the ring could go on top. No pole is going to be straight on, the forestay already claimed that space, and the pole can't be curved, so the aft end will be off to one side. Don't make it harder than it needs to be,
the best way is to mock up a mount for the ring, and then see where the pole sits in the grand scheme of things.. The mockup can be cardboard. I know mine was measured 26 times and it was still off 1/2" when it was all said and done.