I posed this question in another thread but it's an older thread so the question has not been answered. I bought this sail on ebay and I got it yesterday. The head of the sail is pictured here, but what is the grommet for? A downhaul?
What's this grommet for?
- Thread starter DannyS
- Start date
Sail slug sounds good, I'd never have thought of that. I can pop one of those on myself. Dave, no, there is no sail cover. The sail was an "extra working jib" according to the seller. I was planning to add the sun cover too. I'll finally be able to put my new, Sailrite machine to work.
Joe, I've never had a sail with a pendant so I'm not too sure why it's there other than the fact that the sail is cut about 2' shorter than the 150% so in my mind, it allows the roller furler car(?) to be hoisted higher. Any other opinions?
Joe, I've never had a sail with a pendant so I'm not too sure why it's there other than the fact that the sail is cut about 2' shorter than the 150% so in my mind, it allows the roller furler car(?) to be hoisted higher. Any other opinions?
OK...Here's a guess....The P.O. had problems with the halyard wrapping around the headstay when rolling up the sail. Installing the pennant allowed the top furler swivel to travel further up the headstay, thereby shortening the distance and increasing the angle to the upper halyard guide and reducing the likelyhood of a wrap. Just a guess.....
I'll modify my response now that I realize it's a headsail (duh)... Your roller furling set up and forestay length are going to determine the necessity for the pendant. For instance, installing a halyard restrainer would allow you to compensate for any luff/forestay difference by adjusting the height of the drum at the lower end, rather than the pendant method of the p.o.... many furling systems allow you to insert custom length tangs for this purpose. For cruising and daysailing, a higher mounted drum would raise the foot of the sail high enough for good visibility and lifeline clearance for simplified tacking.... It would also put the swivel at full hoist to improve it's anti wrap device.
The previous owner installed the penDant at the top because he didn't want to raise the furler drum.... allowing him to use other full hoist sails.
The previous owner installed the penDant at the top because he didn't want to raise the furler drum.... allowing him to use other full hoist sails.
The roller furler top swivel needs to be all the way to the top of the foil or the halyard will wrap. If you have multiple sails with different luff lengths, each would need a pendant to make up the difference. You can put it at the top or bottom, bottom would give you better visibility, top would lower the center of effort and give you less heeling. A halyard restrainer helps, but gets less effective as the luff gets shorter.
Since this sail came off another boat, the length of the pendant may need to be changed to make it fit.
Since this sail came off another boat, the length of the pendant may need to be changed to make it fit.
Thanks for the responses everyone, this is all confirming my original thoughts on the pendant (I consulted the dictionary and "pendant" is correct... whew, put that one to bed) The sail came off an identical boat but I realize that doesn't mean the luff length is identical. I did lay out my old, blown out 150% headsail and laid the new working jib on top for comparison. The luff length was within 6", the jib being the shorter but I suspect that will stretch a bit under tension. After thinking more about the sail slug/grommet idea, I'm not so sure about that. It would have to use the same foil track as the luff tape. I believe that may have been a suggestion when this was thought to be a mailsail. So the question is still about the grommet. Any other ideas about it's purpose?
Well, this is my first work weekend on the boat, she splashes next weekend. The winds are very calm so I decided to hoist the new headsail while still sitting in the cradle. It couldn't fit any better if I'd measured it and had it built specifically for our boat. It'll make sailing in heavier winds so much more pleasant! Thanks ebay! Joe, I think you're right now that I see that setup.
was the sail made by Neil Pryde like the OEM sails? My 110 headsail doesn't have the grommet so I was curious. I agree though it looks like a place to mount a slug to take the stress off the luff tape to prevent it from tearing out in heavy winds. Kind of like the slug at the aft end of the foot of your mainsail that fits in the boom track.
Dave, I'm not sure if this was an original sail or not. It's not brand new, but it has not been used much if at all. It is a Neil Pryde and it has the same bag as my 150%, same O'day insignia on the bag, but it was constructed very differently from my 150%. My 150% was cut with the panel seams running parallel to the luff. The new sail is cut with the panel seams running parallel to the foot.
I think standard equipment for the boats when new included the main and jib from Neil Pryde. My roller furling must have been an option from the factory or an aftermarket addition because my roller furling jib was made by O'Neil Sailmakers. That jib also had the panels cut the way you describe. So your new jib is definitely made to fit a luff groove of a roller furling rig but without the sun cover will need to be hoisted and removed each time. I think the grommet will only be needed in high winds, as noted I don't have that feature but will be glad to take a picture next time I get to the boat. Adding the sun cover was pretty easy, but get some spray adhesive to hold the panels in place while you sew them. Seamstick tape doesn't hold worth a damn on sunbrella. They also have a lighter weight sun cover but it only lasts about 5 years. The sunbrella will hold up a lot longer but adds a lot of weight aloft.