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Sailing up the Bay

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Hi!

There haven't been any Chesapeake Bay posts for a while, so I'll post a link to a video of me sailing from Rock Hall to the Sassafrass River. After sitting for 7 months waiting for the new engine to be installed, it was ready to continue the journey that we started on March 30th of this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acmlbzb7fMk&feature=youtu.be

There is also some footage of our Boston Whaler Squall with a trolling motor for anyone interested in seeing how it rides.

So, I have some general sailing questions you may be able to answer for me...

1) How can I keep the genoa leech from flapping? It seems to happen on all points of sail, and I tried to adjust the sheet lead further aft and further forward and that lessened it a little, but it was still there. It's an older sail, so, there may not be any solution.

2) When sailing downwind maybe 160-170 degrees from the wind, the mainsail seemed to keep the genoa in its shadow (which I used to my advantage when the wind picked up, and I had too much sail out), but when the wind was light, is the only option to sail on more of beam reach, or go wing on wing? Unfortunately, the autopilot failed or I would have been able to experiment with different setups.

Thanks!

Dean

index:
Genoa flapping 0:43
Genoa flapping 1:20
Rudder 2:00
Dinghy 2:45
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Dean,

There is usually a lightweight leech line inside the leech of the sail that you can tension as the wind builds. Your leech is flapping in pretty light wind in the video so I would guess the lead needs to go forward to put more down tension on the leech. Second choice is the sail is stretched out in the luff - mid body due to age and use and the loss of shape is unloading the leech.

Yes, the lighter the wind, the higher you have to sail downwind to fill the foresail. As the wind builds, more will funnel through the narrow gap between mast and forestay and you can sail lower before you go wing and wing. One solution is to use a whisker pole to pole out the jib clew at those difficult angles. It is very stable this way and gets you to wing and wing at higher angles. It also projects more sail area when close to 180 by holding the clew way out.

Mark
 

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Leech Line

Sweet! Thanks for the info. I'll look for the leech line on my next outing. And yes, the sail is most likely stretched in every direction. I'm pretty sure the sail is 20+ years old and I've already had three tears repaired. I'll be saving up for a new one once I recover from the engine installation.

I tried to pole out the jib when the air was lighter, but my whisker pole wouldn't stay extended, so I used the spinnaker pole and added an extra sheet, and it worked great until I couldn't trust the autopilot to hold the right course. I think I'll fix the whisker pole, and with additional crew, it will work just fine.

Thanks!
Dean



Dean,

There is usually a lightweight leech line inside the leech of the sail that you can tension as the wind builds. Your leech is flapping in pretty light wind in the video so I would guess the lead needs to go forward to put more down tension on the leech. Second choice is the sail is stretched out in the luff - mid body due to age and use and the loss of shape is unloading the leech.

Yes, the lighter the wind, the higher you have to sail downwind to fill the foresail. As the wind builds, more will funnel through the narrow gap between mast and forestay and you can sail lower before you go wing and wing. One solution is to use a whisker pole to pole out the jib clew at those difficult angles. It is very stable this way and gets you to wing and wing at higher angles. It also projects more sail area when close to 180 by holding the clew way out.

Mark
 

steven

Sustaining Member
2) When sailing downwind maybe 160-170 degrees from the wind, the mainsail seemed to keep the genoa in its shadow (which I used to my advantage when the wind picked up, and I had too much sail out), but when the wind was light, is the only option to sail on more of beam reach, or go wing on wing? Unfortunately, the autopilot failed or I would have been able to experiment with different setups.

Dean,

Another option at that angle is to overtrim the main. The genny is doing most of the work anyway. I know this sounds crazy, but I've had success reefing the overtrimmed main - less rudder tending is needed when there less main pushing the tail around, so goes faster. Also, less main means the genny fills faster in the puffs. The bigger the headsail the better it works.

In really light stuff for sailing broad, I have a 190% nylon genny set flying on the spinnaker hay'd (can set and douse single handed). All the work is done by the headsail. I double reef the main so there is just a bit of it for balancing but little shadow.

--Steve
 
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