Topping Lift with Dutchman flaking system

Jul 29, 2017
169
Catalina 380 Los Angeles
Thank you all for the great advice. I had an very experienced sailor take a look and it looks like it is going to take a combination of things, all of them suggested above, to solve my sail shape problem. I did attempt to adjust the tension on the monofilament lines ( I actually replaced them as a preventive maintenance measure ) and that helped some. I will be taking the boom vang to Garhauer over the winter slow season ( yes we still sail here in the winter ) to have it overhauled with a new spring etc. I will also have the sail maker take a 'tummy tuck' out of the main along with some seam repairs and thread replacement. When raising the sail I always release the boom vang, main sheet and make sure the reef lines are free before hoisting. Then once the sail is fully raised I release the topping lift. The problem is that the "belly" of the sail (luff edge) isn't right when I end up having to keep some tension on the topping lift to keep the boom off that damn tall dodger. Thus I need to have a cut taken out of the main.