alittleton
New Member
I inserted pictures in the attached word document since they don't appear to be visible within text.
I got to thinking, after sailing in the 2007 Worlds for my first time and watching Dave Mendelblatt (about 140 pounds) win race 7 (heavy air )with an extreme 24” Jens rig. (Dave literally lowered the bar, pun intended) I was looking for an easier way to make it adjustable from Normal to 24”. 24 inches is the distance the halyard is tied below the normal position to de-power.
What I came up with appears to be legal and functional. This should help level the playing field in heavy wind conditions. Even our light weights could now stay competitive. Some tweaking of the rules would help make it even more user friendly.
I have developed what I believe is an improved Jen’s rig for de-powering the sunfish. I have been using this rig since the worlds, in all conditions, trying to learn how much power is needed. I am still learning. I encourage others to comment, try it and further develop this idea.
Materials needed or recommended:
1 Halyard 25’ 4 mm dia. (Standard length) Small dia. So both lines fit through mast cap hole.
1 Jens line 34’ 4 mm dia. Spectra. (Slippery)
1 cleat on mast.
Tape to prevent Spectra line from slipping on upper spar.
1). Mount the cleat to the mast at the position of your choice. Mine is 45” from the bottom of the mast. Within the 48” limit, but away from the deck where the highest stresses are.
2). The halyard is very simple. Leave it in the normal position on the upper spar and run it through the mast cap.
3). Next the Jens line is tied to the upper spar 24” down form the normal halyard position.
The big change is a slight modification to the clove hitch when you tie the Jens line to the spar. Previously I tied a stopper knot (over hand) at the very end of the line to lock in the clove hitch.. Replacing the stopper knot with a small bowline and tying the same knot is the key. Tie the clove hitch so that the small bowline (new stopper knot) ends up on the port side of the spar.
After the slightly modified clove hitch is tied to the spar, the running end of the Jens line is wrapped around the mast from starboard to port, though the bowline and up thought the mast cap hole.
The loop around the mast cinches the spar to the mast at the 24” setting. Now raise the sail using the Jens line.
I take the Jens line to the cleat on the mast and tie a trucker’s hitch to get more purchase (3:1). I use the Jens line to adjust the height of the boom from the deck.
Using the end of the halyard or Jens line, I tie the vang to the deck eye. You can now use the Jens line cleat on the mast to adjust the vang tension. More tension on the Jens line results in more vang tension by lifting the upper spar slightly.
You now should have the sail raised with the Jens line, to a 24 inch extreme Jens rig, and the vang on. From this point the only adjustment to the Jens line is for vang tension.
Now for the fun. The normal halyard is now your throttle. With no halyard tension, you have a 24” Extreme Jens and the top spar is free to bend and dump air.
As you pull tension on the halyard, you pull the upper spar forward and closer to the top of the mast. This limits how much spar can bend off at the top and increases power.
Simply release halyard tension to de-power the boat. I use a trucker’s hitch on the halyard (3:1) for purchase, take the end through the deck eye and tie to the halyard cleat.
The use of thimbles in the bowline and purchases would help things slide more freely. Spectra line is used as it is very slippery and reduces the friction of the Jens line around the mast. The use of additional cleats would make it easily adjustable during a race. You would no longer have to guess before the race what the wind velocity will do during the race.
If this de-powering method is found to be to complicated, ineffective or illegal for some class rule, you can still use this method to tie a Jens rig with one halyard and no additional line. Also, no need to lower the mast. Simply lower the sail, untie local sail ties and slide the clove hitch to proper location, retie sail ties. Now raise the sail.
Happy Sailing,
Art Littleton
I got to thinking, after sailing in the 2007 Worlds for my first time and watching Dave Mendelblatt (about 140 pounds) win race 7 (heavy air )with an extreme 24” Jens rig. (Dave literally lowered the bar, pun intended) I was looking for an easier way to make it adjustable from Normal to 24”. 24 inches is the distance the halyard is tied below the normal position to de-power.
What I came up with appears to be legal and functional. This should help level the playing field in heavy wind conditions. Even our light weights could now stay competitive. Some tweaking of the rules would help make it even more user friendly.
I have developed what I believe is an improved Jen’s rig for de-powering the sunfish. I have been using this rig since the worlds, in all conditions, trying to learn how much power is needed. I am still learning. I encourage others to comment, try it and further develop this idea.
Materials needed or recommended:
1 Halyard 25’ 4 mm dia. (Standard length) Small dia. So both lines fit through mast cap hole.
1 Jens line 34’ 4 mm dia. Spectra. (Slippery)
1 cleat on mast.
Tape to prevent Spectra line from slipping on upper spar.
1). Mount the cleat to the mast at the position of your choice. Mine is 45” from the bottom of the mast. Within the 48” limit, but away from the deck where the highest stresses are.
2). The halyard is very simple. Leave it in the normal position on the upper spar and run it through the mast cap.
3). Next the Jens line is tied to the upper spar 24” down form the normal halyard position.
The big change is a slight modification to the clove hitch when you tie the Jens line to the spar. Previously I tied a stopper knot (over hand) at the very end of the line to lock in the clove hitch.. Replacing the stopper knot with a small bowline and tying the same knot is the key. Tie the clove hitch so that the small bowline (new stopper knot) ends up on the port side of the spar.
After the slightly modified clove hitch is tied to the spar, the running end of the Jens line is wrapped around the mast from starboard to port, though the bowline and up thought the mast cap hole.
The loop around the mast cinches the spar to the mast at the 24” setting. Now raise the sail using the Jens line.
I take the Jens line to the cleat on the mast and tie a trucker’s hitch to get more purchase (3:1). I use the Jens line to adjust the height of the boom from the deck.
Using the end of the halyard or Jens line, I tie the vang to the deck eye. You can now use the Jens line cleat on the mast to adjust the vang tension. More tension on the Jens line results in more vang tension by lifting the upper spar slightly.
You now should have the sail raised with the Jens line, to a 24 inch extreme Jens rig, and the vang on. From this point the only adjustment to the Jens line is for vang tension.
Now for the fun. The normal halyard is now your throttle. With no halyard tension, you have a 24” Extreme Jens and the top spar is free to bend and dump air.
As you pull tension on the halyard, you pull the upper spar forward and closer to the top of the mast. This limits how much spar can bend off at the top and increases power.
Simply release halyard tension to de-power the boat. I use a trucker’s hitch on the halyard (3:1) for purchase, take the end through the deck eye and tie to the halyard cleat.
The use of thimbles in the bowline and purchases would help things slide more freely. Spectra line is used as it is very slippery and reduces the friction of the Jens line around the mast. The use of additional cleats would make it easily adjustable during a race. You would no longer have to guess before the race what the wind velocity will do during the race.
If this de-powering method is found to be to complicated, ineffective or illegal for some class rule, you can still use this method to tie a Jens rig with one halyard and no additional line. Also, no need to lower the mast. Simply lower the sail, untie local sail ties and slide the clove hitch to proper location, retie sail ties. Now raise the sail.
Happy Sailing,
Art Littleton