Sail Height Issues

G

grahambo

New Member
Hi all, I recently acquired (long story) a 1964 Sunfish that's in pretty good shape. I've cleaning and bought a bunch of new parts including a sail. I took it out for a test run yesterday and I couldn't get the sail high enough off the deck to make it comfortable. I tried to move the halyard around and it helped a little bit but not enough. Can anyone think of any reason that this might happen and what I might be able to do to fix it. Thanks.
 
Thanks Fred. I'm just curious why the rigging guides say to tie in between the 9th and 10th sail tie. I had to tie it between 7 and 8 just to get it off the deck enough to sail and not have the boom on the deck. Any ideas how low is too low or if there's a better guide out there. Thanks.
 
Racers keep the front of the boom a few inches off the deck.
How far off the deck you keep it depends on your preferences. If you don't like a lot of heel, lower is better; if you don't like ducking a lot on tacks, higher is better.
Do what you are comfortable with, there's no "correct' way.

Fred
 
We were just playing around getting the height right this weekend -

Don't forget to put a few wraps of electrical tape ( or I just used first aid tape from the first aid kit in the car this weekend) around the mast just above where the haylard is tied so it doesn't slip up higher, eventually hitting sail clip.
 
Another solution to the halyard slipping problem is to use a rolling hitch with a stopper knot on the end to tie the halyard to the spar. The hitch allows you to easily slide the halyard position between sail clips or to tie it elsewhere without needing tape, and the halyard does not slip when under load. It eliminates the gooey tape all over the mast.

Fred
 
I had the same issue and found that if I put the H between the 9th and 10th rung on the sail and make sure the forward cleat is right about the main sheet cleat it should raise to about 2.5 feet above the deck
 
Counting from the top the halyard should be positioned between the fifth and sixth grommets. The goosneck (on the boom) should be between the second and third grommets. Should give you plent of room, unless you're more than 6 feet tall, then just slide the halyard down a bit.

Enjoy it!
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I am just about 6 feet tall so I'll try to move the halyard down when I take the boat out this weekend and hopefully that will solve the issue.
 
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