Worn out sail?

[Ranger100]

How do you know when your main sail is worn out?
When I hoist my main sail up, the boom hangs down about 5 degrees from horizontal.
This does not seem right. Should the boom be horizontal with the sail raised?
What could be wrong?

 

[dave lundy]

sounds like your bolt rope has shrunk. try adding more luff tension by cranking an additional one inch of halyard for each foot of luff. this should stretch it and in turn raise the boom. the bolt rope can also be eased by a sailmaker which will put it back to where it was when the sail was new.

good luck

Dave

 

[Sandy Stone]

I'm not familiar with a Ranger 100, but many boats from the 70's and 80's had mains that were cut as you describe, with a 'droopy boom'. This was a way of adding unrated sail area, and may not indicate a problem (unless the boom hits you in the head)

 

[RichH]

Ranger 100 -

What you describe is two common problems on dacron mainsails, mainsails that have boltrope luffs.
1. Sail isnt properly raised to 'full up'
2. Boltrope is shrunken due to age.

Here's how to properly raise such a sail, and also what to do about it if the boom is still 'drooping' into the cockpit in spite of raising it correctly. Dacron mainsails with boltropes MUST be further 'stretched-out' AFTER raising them.
The typical angle that the top surface of the boom makes with the mast on almost all boats with conventional mast rake is between 87 to 89 degrees. If you 'just raise' and without additional boltrope stretch and/or that boltrope has become shrunken - inevitably the aft end of the boom will be 'drooping'. http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=120970

 

[Ranger100]

Thanks for the responses.
The boat is an 1986 Starwind 19. But interestingly the main sail insignia is for a Spindrift.
I do not know the history but it was my dad's for 10 years.
Some where along the line the boom gooseneck was moved up higher on the mast.
For head room?
Thoughts?

 

[Winkfish]

Some where along the line the boom gooseneck was moved up higher on the mast.
For head room?
Thoughts?

I'm not an engineer, but that would seem to me to be your problem. The mast end of the boom was raised, so now when you raise the main, the leech of the main is still the same length, so it won't lift the aft end of the boom to be level with the mast end. The sail probably should have been re-cut to work with the new configuration.

I'd imagine that you are not able to get a good tight luff on the main either.