Sagging sail

R

rbeaton

New Member
Maybe someone can help me on this one. I recently got a new sail but noticed that it sags down over the spar at the foot of the sail. I don't remember my other sails ever sagging over like that, and it doesn't seem quite right. Any tips, anyone? Is there something I can adjust to fix this? (You can click the link below the image for the full size shot.)

img2219f.jpg

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6884/img2219f.jpg
 
rbeaton said:
I recently got a new sail but noticed that it sags down over the spar at the foot of the sail.

I don't remember my other sails ever sagging over like that, and it doesn't seem quite right.

Is there something I can adjust to fix this?
Click to expand...
I believe you are observing the sail's 3rd dimension, its "draft"


sd1lj.jpg


I also believe you may have your outhaul and uphaul a little too tight. See the fold in your upper panel along the luff, running parallel to the spar. Relax the tension until you see ever so slight scallops forming between the sail clips. Note how the example sail is set.

You might tighten the "hauls" like this on a windy day to flatten the sail. That would be a tactic to make less of a wing shape and de-power the sail for handling stronger wind.

Normally you want your sail powered up (full curve) for maximum efficiency.

​

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Great... thanks! The visual aid was especially helpful. That seems to make sense. I'll try it out and see how it works out.
 
Wayne's ccomments are right on. Also, back in the day the sails were flatter, but these sails with more draft are better and faster. BB
 
I'd leave it alone, and start poking around for either a new or used part.

If you want to attempt to straighten it out, you'd be surprised how easily it can be bent straight, or snapped in two for that matter, when you ply it in between to close trees (there are directions around here somewhere for that).

I'd start the process of poking around for some used back-up parts. In the old days, we'd always buy a new boom for a back-up, even if it was just the gaf that was broken, for the simple reason most of the local shops were seasonal in nature, and once the middle of summer came, there would be a good chance they'd only have 1 gaf, or 1 boom left in stock, and if you needed one rather than the other, you were always at the mercy of what they had in stock. So the safe bet was to always buy the boom, even if you just needed the gaf, because you always had the flexibility of using it in both locations. And then in the off-season, you could hunt around for the right part.

Keep in mind that the more you tip over over the course of this summer, the more chance you will have of further weakening and further bending that gaf as you attempt to the right the boat - especially in heavy winds or if you flipped over in a sand bar (perhaps the biggest cause of bent gafs, as the gaf gets stuck in the sand during the righting process).

There's also the option of taking the end caps off, and flipping the gaf around - although I've never gone through that process. Playing around in the S-hook area always used to be a pain in the ass, for whatever the reason...
 
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