I've looked at the lugsail design, and it is a good prospect. Todd Bradshaw shows a good one in his book that could be made to work with the existing Sunfish mast, and spars. If I decide to make a sail, rather than modify an existing sail, that might be the way to go.
The Odie Rig sounds interesting, too. If you know of a link where I can see one, please let me know. OR if anyone knows how to contact Odie himself, maybe he could share it with us. I always prefer to work with folks who know what's what, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel since my own wheel-inventing skills are rather iffy sometimes.
Thanks
Beldar- I know the reef method you are referring to, and it does work fine for around the bouys racing. Out of all the "standard" Sunfish reefing techniques, this is probably the best. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to work for me. I need something that I can quickly rig and unrig while underway..... possibly in bad weather. I can't see how I'd tie the 30" piece of line to the top spar endcap without hanging out over the stern. Also, the reduction in sail area is not enough. For what I'll be doing, I'll need a 20 to 25% reduction in area to be safe.
I'd hate to get caught in a squall very far away from land (more than a mile or so) without some ability to shorten sail. This is especially important since a few spots along the coast where I'll be going are devoid of safe places in which to take shelter.
I actually added reef points to an old sail and it worked just fine to de-power. I proposed this to the Class but it did not go anywhere. You can rig a reef by just having a long uphaul on the upper spar; removing the sail clips near the halyard attachmennt, and just down haul using your Cunningham- of course you do have to lower the rig to adjust up haul. Just let the sail flap at the foot, i.e. no reefing lines needed. ANother way to de-power without dropping the rig is as follows: While keeping down tension on the halyard, move it from the stbd. side of the sail to the port side (move fwd and around tack of sail/spars) With the halyard now on the port side it will disturb the powerful stbd. sail leading edge and flatten the sail as it is on port tack when the sail normally hits the mast.Two of my planned adventures for my Sunfish include long (ok... long for a Sunfish, anyway ) voyages along the northern Gulf Coast from Dog River (on Mobile Bay) to New Orleans, and then later from Dog River to Appalachicola Florida. Both of these trips will involve short hops on semi-open waters. I am a very experienced sailor, but I have some reservations about the amount of sail a Sunfish carries and it's lack of reefing points. While I do enjoy the lively performance of my boat in sheltered waters, I'd hate to get caught in a squall very far away from land (more than a mile or so) without some ability to shorten sail. This is especially important since a few spots along the coast where I'll be going are devoid of safe places in which to take shelter.
Attached are two photographs of lateen rigs set up for reefing which were posted by Todd Bradshaw (a very clever guy) on the WoodenBoat forum. They show exactly what I'm thinking about adding to my cruising sail. As you can see, the reef consists of a pie-shaped section taken out of the lower part of the sail, and then possibly some adjustment of the gooseneck fore and aft to keep the CE in close to the right position. I would not use the jib, of course.
To my simple way of thinking, this might work just fine for those rare instances when I run into a spot of bad weather on my trip. What are your thoughts on the idea? Has anyone here done a true reef on their lateen sail?
View attachment 12730
View attachment 12731
One can still add one (big) reefing point to the standard sail, or do a "switch-over" ashore to a smaller lateen sail, say, of 45 square feet or so."...So.... that pretty well clinches it in my mind. If you are going to venture out into open or semi-protected waters, then you need a more positive reefing system than the "class legal" systems..."
Have you thought of buying a weather radio and just not heading out when it sounds like it may get too windy for you to sail safely?After my tests, I'd never risk using one of those systems..... they are makeshift improvisations designed more to meet the racing rules, and not really applicable for voyaging. Also, none of the schemes are acceptable for the various Adventure Races (like the Everglades Challenge) which require two real reefing points.
With the right hitch near the masthead and a simple fitting mounted behind the bow handle, a staysail could keep your Sunfish moving forward should you need to drop the main in extreme conditions. (Like a microburst)."...While I do enjoy the lively performance of my boat in sheltered waters, I'd hate to get caught in a squall very far away from land (more than a mile or so) without some ability to shorten sail..."