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Norman_E
regular


Reged: 15/03/2005
Posts: 5052
Loc: East Sussex (near Kent border)
Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack?
      17/05/2008 12:14

It is too long if you cannot tighten it once the sail is correctly fitted at the mast. The idea of the loose foot is that you can tighten it when sailing upwind or in strong conditions, but slacken it a bit for good sail shape and maximum power downwind and in light winds. On my boat I do not have enough deck organisers and jammers to lead the outhaul back to the cockpit, but if you can do that it enables you to tweak it easily.
With a loose footed main it helps if you have a decent outhaul car running in the boom track. On your old sail did you have a car, or was the clew shackled direcly to the outhaul from the sheave in the boom end? If the latter I hope your sailmaker allowed for the addition of a car and made the foot of the new sail a few inches shorter than the old one. On my boat when the outhaul is tight there is still an inch or two of outhaul car movement available.

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Subject Posted by Posted on
* Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? Amari 17/05/2008 11:04
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? Norman_E   17/05/2008 12:14
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? Amari   17/05/2008 13:16
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? bobbobbin   17/05/2008 19:37
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? justaphoenix   17/05/2008 21:41
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? PrinceMadoc   17/05/2008 11:30
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? dipper   17/05/2008 11:29
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? explorers   17/05/2008 12:09
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? Amari   17/05/2008 12:02
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? simonfraser97   17/05/2008 12:04
. * * Re: Loose-footed full length batten mainsail:should the foot be slack? moondancer   17/05/2008 12:11

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