proper lead for E34 with a 100% blade

I often race my '87 E34 - even with its shoal draft. I now have a 100% high aspect blade headsail and am even using it for cruising in expected strong winds. But even when the inboard lead is at its most forward position the tell tales at the top indicate I need to move the lead forward. Presently the sheet is barely inboard of the aft shroud After much experimenting it is clear that the lead must go forward by about a foot +/-. So I am getting ready to drill holes for a two foot extension of the inboard track which puts the lead as far forward as the forward shroud (if needed). for certain off the wind, I have to move the clew to the outboard... currently to a block attached to a stanchion.

A local sail maker and racer said the computer says the lead should be 33" out from the mast. Where I am placing the track is 43". It is impossible to put the track on the cabin top due to not being able to access it from the cabin vinyl interior.

I am planning to bolt it every 4" using large fender washers as backup.

Am I only partially solving my racing problem? Must the lead be on the cabin top (nearer to 33" from the mast) to really make a difference? I am betting that moving it forward will tighten up the upper part of the sail (on the wind) and will make difference while racing.

Because the 'blade' can be sheeted virtually anywhere because there is never any worries about messing with the shrouds or spreaders, you should consider placing the track at the point of most efficient upwind performance. The first consideration is sheeting angle and the second is for leach/foot tension. We purchase a battened blade and had to install new track. Our 32 has the jibcars on the rail which normally doesn't give us optimal sheeting angle thus, our pointing suffers a little. However, when we installed the new tracks, we had our sailmaker measure the sheeting angle and mark the deck where the tracks should go. We also positioned the tracks on the deck at an angle to match the sheeting angle. If the computer is telling you your optimal sheeting angle is 33 inches from the mast, the extra 10 inches will mean you'll lose a degree or two in close haul wind angle and thats all.

Jim McCone
Voice Of Reason E-32-2 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

Thanks for the comment. Loosing a degree or two was my thought also. My E34 has inboard tracks but as I mentioned not far enough forward. One option I will try after the tracks are installed is to use a "barber haul" . I think that is what it is called... a purchase from the clew over to the mast area to move the clew more toward the center.

I wonder if would have been better off with a 100% genoa rather than the blade. I feel pretty sure the existing track would have worked. without having to buy two more genoa blocks and two 2' tracks pluse tedious installation But I expect the high aspect blade will still perform better even if not at the optimum.

Prospective headsail buyers might want to consider all this.

Barber Hauler is probably your best bet. How often will you use this sail? A lot of work properly installing and beddign track so as to prevent water intrusion into your core. A lot of new boats racing use the babrber haulers and they are easy to set up. Take a block with your jib sheet run through it. Run a line from that block to a block at your mast base and back to a cockpit winch. Shoudl get you all the in-hauling you need to get to the 33" .

Ted,

It wasn't as much work as we thought to install and bed the new tracks. Both tracks are 3 feet long and took about 8 s/s bolts each. Luckily there was only two places along the track placement that had a gap between the headliner and the deck core. With two of us working together, it took a total of about 6 hours, including beer breaks but excluding dry time. We reinforced where the bolts went through by drilling the holes then filling them with GIT ROT epoxy, letting that soak into the surrounding area and harden, then redrilling the holes, bedding the track and the bolts etc.
Believe me, the efficiency of the blade for upwind performance in 18-plus knots was amaziing. We were outpointing the J's we were racing against and with a single reef in the main and the blade, we were averaging 6-plus upwind with no more than about a 15 degree heel angle. But then, our boat is really in her element in windy conditions.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

Jim, great to hear of your success! Did you have inboard track to begin with?

My E34 has inboard up to the shrouds. I need to go forward about a foot or so.

Regarding the gitrot... what about epoxy filling and redrilling? Or do you feel the gitrot penetrates further?

Also... I plan to use large stainless fender washers as backing for each of the bolts.

My main concern is that with the E34 there is only about a 2.5" width fore and aft space under the deck for the 2' track to be bolted. And I have to drill the holes using a measurement from underneath the deck - as measured from the bolts of the shroud plate. Thankfully the liner is vinyl and the zipper still works. Tricky but doable I think

Jim, one more question... you mentioned only two places with a gap underneath for the bolts. I think I have the same situation. If I place the 2' track on the deck attempting to place the holes in the full fore and aft space underneath, it is about 1" further outboard than bolting it where I would miss 2 of 8 bolts on the track My gut feel is to go for the full bolts with the 1" not worth it loss in strength. (The upward pull of the blade must be tremendous)

My purpose in the track is basically to get the down lead more forward. Regardless of the lateral position, I expect I will need the barber haul for racing. So what is 1"?

On the other hand.... I hope I can drill those holes right.....

deed is done

Well... after a much longer project than I imagined, it's done. I moved the inboard 2' tracks right up beside the cabin. VERY tricky measurement needed to bore the holes so that the fender washers would fit underneath. I used 5/16 bolts and drilled out the holes 7/16 down to the lower fiberglass and stopped. The filled with epoxy , then drilled through. With the far inboard position I had to drill through two places which had a 3/4" plywood in addition to the deck... meaning a 2 3/4" bolt. I have to add that the cost of the fasteners at West Marine were out of sight... if you have not bought large fasteners for a while, it is sticker shock! Will give it a test this week. I am also planning on the use of baber haulers while racing.

This track means that the lead goes from inside the 2nd shroud to outside the 3rd most forward shroud.

Let's boil it down

All of the E-boats suffered from not having enough track going forward for non-overlapping headsails-unless you go with a very high-clewed sail,which will be much less efficient in terms of pointing. BTW-A sail with an LP of 100% or less is not considered a genoa. The term "blade" refers to a non-overlapping headsail which is high aspect-tall and thin. If the sail is shorter on the hoist with a higher clew, it would be a low aspect sail-or simply a "jib". If the clew is really high up (regardless of aspect ratio or hoist), the sail becomes a "reacher"-or "blast reacher" ("blast" refers to a small, heavy air reacher as opposed to a full sized reaching headsail). This is because the upwind performance of the sail is compromised by the high clew, so by definition it will be a reaching headsail..But 90 or 100% on the LP-it is not a genoa (so much for semantics).

Back to the E-boats: So, the bottom line is if you want an (upwind) effective headsail of anything under about 105%, you will need to install an inboard track forward-period. Otherwise, a 100% headsail that will sheet well to the forward end of the stock track will have a clew of about 4-5' above the deck...smaller LP sails will need even higher clews-to the point of being silly.

Now that you have the track installed (great job, BTW!!), if the sheeting angle is still too wide, the in-haulers decribed are a good idea. A simple method is (if you have the mast collar with cutouts to hold halyard blocks) to make up a line with a snap shackle on one end, and a SS ring on the other. Use something low stretch like Spectra, or better. When needing to point optimally, shackle the inboard end of the in-hauler to the mast collar, and run the jib sheet through the ring (line comes off the deck block, through the ring, and then to the clew of the sail). Make up a pair of these (one for each side), and you can quickly set them up when going to the little jib, or stow them if using a bigger headsail. Experiment with cheaper rope to get the length right, but if the distance is 33" outboard from centerline, you should be able to get very close. They are not adjustable like Ted's, but for upwind sailing they are great, and the installation is very simple (no holes, etc.). The Farr 40's use a fixed length in-hauler, so it should work fine.

One problem you are still stuck with is what to do with this headsail when you are reaching..Your outboard track also does not extend far enough forward (again, unless you have a really high clew).

Ideally, install a padeye out on (or near) the rail located about 1 foot forward of the mid range fore and aft location of the forward jib track. With a sntach block on this padeye, and a second sheet going from the clew of the sail, through the snatch block and back to a free winch, you can now use both sheets on the sail to move the clew out and forward as you ease the sheets on a reach-ultimately ending up using only the outboard lead (once the angle gets broad enough). You could also get by using a stachion base to anchor the snatch block-but keep an eye on it in very heavy air-comments from owners????

Hope this longwinded jawjacking helps

Cheers all,
S

Great summary! and I really do know the difference between jib and genoa, but my mind sometimes gets lazy to my fingers... grin.

I'll give consideration to the "fixed" haule" after experimenting. I admit I have been using a block attached to the forward stanchion for off the wind. I realize the problems doing that and am cautious. Thankfully the strain off the wind is usually not too awfully bad. But I am open to comments.

By the way the 33" number was from my sailmaker. I'd like to have a confirmation.