Bending on sails

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Bru

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It's just over a fortnight to the big day when we get the boat in the water and, of course, we'll want to get sailing asap.

So what advice might the forum have to offer when it comes to bending on the sails - bermudan rig, roller furling genoa,

Main is sliders into track on mast, bolt rope into groove on boom. There's no clew outhaul, seems to be simply a case of lashing the clew to the loop on the end of the boom

Genoa is on Seareef roller reefing gear with a top swivel

I've bent sails onto dinghys in the past but never something this big (relatively speaking)

Sure I can figure it out but any advice on things to watch out for, ways to make life easy etc. gratefully received!
 
Brigantia said:
It's just over a fortnight to the big day when we get the boat in the water and, of course, we'll want to get sailing asap.

So what advice might the forum have to offer when it comes to bending on the sails - bermudan rig, roller furling genoa,

Main is sliders into track on mast, bolt rope into groove on boom. There's no clew outhaul, seems to be simply a case of lashing the clew to the loop on the end of the boom

Genoa is on Seareef roller reefing gear with a top swivel

I've bent sails onto dinghys in the past but never something this big (relatively speaking)

Sure I can figure it out but any advice on things to watch out for, ways to make life easy etc. gratefully received!
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You are well prepared already, many dont know about "Bending On " sails ;)
 
sailorman said:
You are well prepared already, many dont know about "Bending On " sails ;)
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Oh I know all the right words but talking the talk is easy peasey, now I've got to actually walk the walk :)

(and keep up the pretence to the DLW that I've actually got a ****ing clue what the hell I'm doing :D)
 
Be careful not to go for it too soon. Sails can make your boat unsteady if it blows up before you get in the oggin. Perhaps you might go for a dry run and then bag them on deck, till the big day.
It's a matter of nice judgement really, some say never have the sails bent on whilst ashore. I like to put them on just before launch, not being fond of motoring without a backup.
 
You can make your own outhaul easily enough. You don't even need a mini cam cleat. Before I fitted that I simply took the tail back onto the standing part and did a couple of half hitches. Always seemed to work.

Clewouthaul.jpg
 
If you are really worried about your other half starting to think that you don;t know what you are doing you seem to have some choices

1. Be brave and admit it - and get her to help you work it out.
2. Have a practice run when she is not about.
3. Say in thoughtful tones, "I'm just thinking whether there is a better way to do this..." as if you know one way really, but might find an even better lead for the sheet, way of shackling it on etc etc.

Or get someone else who know the boat to give you a hand...
 
Outhauls don't need blocks or shackles, I simply use lanyards just loop thro the cringle & the boom fitting a couple of times, pull tight & put a couple of half hitches in it.

I prefer to bend sails on on the water, make sure the wind is from ahead :D the obvious stuff can get forgotten. When I bag sails I have head, tack & clew at the top, but if someone else bagged them, get them out & sort them out first. Follow the bolt rope from head to foot to avoid tangles & start rope into slot (on foil or mast as appropriate).

For the main, first put the battens in, then I get all the slugs engaged, with the halyard attached but not raised then I slide the foot rope into the boom. If the wind suits, I may set the sail to check all is OK, if not, furl for use next time.

For the RR genny, use the halyard to pull the sail up the foil as you feed the bolt rope in. Tie off partway up & connect sheets, feeding outside of everything to sliding blocks & winch. Complete hauling up, fastening the tack before tensioning. Check the sheet leads, apply a little tension to a sheet & furl the sail.

Take your time, keep an eye on everyting & watch for foul ups 7 be prepared to go back & start again if it isn't working as it should. It will become second nature before long.
 
Outhaul

Thanks Lakesailor, very useful piccy. I have been wondering how to do that in a neat way, just the job.

OP, all very good advice above mate, would not argue with any of it, just remember...

...Enjoy it. Getting your sails up for the first time is a terrifying and wonderful experience. Makes that big lump of GRP/Wood into a living thing again. Great stuff.

By the way, you are not the only one here who s**ts himself on a regular basis, it is what life is all about, go for it.

Steve
 
Searush said:
Outhauls don't need blocks or shackles, I simply use lanyards just loop thro the cringle & the boom fitting a couple of times, pull tight & put a couple of half hitches in it.

I prefer to bend sails on on the water, make sure the wind is from ahead :D the obvious stuff can get forgotten. When I bag sails I have head, tack & clew at the top, but if someone else bagged them, get them out & sort them out first. Follow the bolt rope from head to foot to avoid tangles & start rope into slot (on foil or mast as appropriate).

For the main, first put the battens in, then I get all the slugs engaged, with the halyard attached but not raised then I slide the foot rope into the boom. If the wind suits, I may set the sail to check all is OK, if not, furl for use next time.

For the RR genny, use the halyard to pull the sail up the foil as you feed the bolt rope in. Tie off partway up & connect sheets, feeding outside of everything to sliding blocks & winch. Complete hauling up, fastening the tack before tensioning. Check the sheet leads, apply a little tension to a sheet & furl the sail.

Take your time, keep an eye on everyting & watch for foul ups 7 be prepared to go back & start again if it isn't working as it should. It will become second nature before long.
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Yes, that's a pretty good description - the only exception is that I think it's easier to do it whilst still ashore. BUT make sure it's not windy!
I usually try and do it ashore but this year the mast is down so it will afloat when I bend the sails on. Boats being launched next Tuesday - I hope!
 
Mainsail clew

I would prefer to take the outhaul back into the boom around a sheave and either out of the boom at a point in easy reach or in my case down at the gooseneck to a turning block and back to a winch. If you don't want to adjust the outhaul then just lash it with a lanyard however outhaul would be the first adjustment from loose with light winds to tight with strong winds. If you don't adjust then leave it pretty tight ie sail flat to enable you to more easily dump power from the main when you are overpowered.

When bending on a main with a slug and or bolt rope in a track on the boom you must have the clew at the gooseneck to start the entry. This is easiest achieved by having the sail rolled especially if it has battens in the sail. The whole sail moves back into position on the boom then you can put luff in to mast track with slugs. good luck with the launch and have a great sailing season. (says olewill just thinking about storing boat for up coming winter in antipodes)
 
Put the battens in on shore, or down below, otherwise they can ping out into the drink.

It's good to be nervous about it - that's the energy that turns to joy once you get going. 3.5 weeks till I get my hands on my new boat(!).
 
Thanks for the advice folks

Doubt we'll have time to bend on the sails out of the water as she'll be arriving at Fambridge by road and will need to be launched pronto

Useful pic of your outhaul Lakesailor, gives me a good idea if a simple lanyard doesn't suffice

Roll on a fortnight on Saturday - it'll be nice to do some boating, it'll make a change from spending money like it's going out of fashion :)
 
Brigantia,

the main clew outhaul is often the most neglected control on the boat, but you will not need to bother with it overmuch to start with.

When possible, pulling the clew out tight will de-power the main, handy in strong winds as it reduces heeling ( reefing clew lines should pull aft as well as down for this reason ) however in light stuff it's handy to slacken off the clew outhaul for a fuller sail giving more drive - if the engine should fail in light winds the difference with a full sail may get you home !

As it's on the end of the boom, so likely to be thrashing about in any significant wind, it's much better to have a user-friendly way of adjusting the outhaul; at least a small tackle such as Lakesailor's - organise it so that any pulling is towards you, and the mast - or some boats lead it via the boom and deck blocks to a cleat by the cockpit, giving a lot more instant control; all decent racing dinghies have this.

As said, not a priority right now, but something to bear in mind if the engine fails in light airs, or for future modifications - as with anything on the boom, friction is the enemy, ball bearing blocks are a godsend...
 
Thanks Seajet,

Makes sense to me :) - the whole boom end setup on the boat as things stand probably leaves quite a lot to be desired (although I'm bearing in mind that it has sufficed, it would seem, for the last 40 years!) as not only is there no easy way to control the clew outhaul once it's been set up I'm unconvinced about the location of the single cleat which is all that is provided for the reefing pennants

I'm certainly minded to improve the clew outhaul when time and money permit (both are in rather short supply right now!) as I know from my dinghy sailing days many moons ago what a difference it can make to the performance in light airs and I don't plan to run the engine any more than I absolutely have to (apart from the philosophical feeling that a sailing boat ought to be sailed, the rising cost of petrol for the outboard is a serious incentive to use wind and tide to best advantage rather than spend the beer tokens on unleaded and 2 stroke oil!)

I'm also leaning towards bringing the reefing lines back to the cockpit - I know this isn't to everybody's liking but with my dodgy knee I'm not quite as agile as I might wish and Jane probably won't appreciate being sent on deck in less than ideal conditions (e.g. when you might just want to put a reef in!). But that's also something to ponder further once we've got some sea time in - we may find it's not a problem in which case I'll apply the KISS principle and spend the money on beer instead :)
 
Brigantia,

I'm all for saving beer tokens, but I tell my girlfriend that the money I spent on ball bearing blocks instead of jewellery or clothes for her will save her tons of effort, unsightly bruised knees ( ! ) etc...

There are a lot of pro's & con's as to leading the lines aft.

On the con side, the lines on deck make a dodgy foothold for people not used to the boat, and require good - expensive - low friction ( ball bearing ) blocks literally at every turn.

Leading the lines aft will also involve a more complicated set of blocks at the foot of the mast, a pain ( but only for a minute or so ) when lowering the mast.

However,

having the lines led aft ( in my case topping lift, clew outhaul, 3 clew reef lines, spin, main & jib halliards) , makes for very much more relaxed sailing, once one knows the kit works in strong conditions.

The topping lift led to the cockpit is strangely enough one of the more important lines, as the helmsperson can take up tension with that and the mainsheet, allowing the person taking in the mainsail on deck a relatively steady boom to hang on to; in my case the kicker ( which ideally could be led aft as well ,*) is easily let off by the helmsperson leaning forward from the cockpit, but this depends on the boat and her steering qualities.

Of course, this is the sort of kit one only fits once ( with overstrength backing pads which will not have you wondering if caught out in a gale ! ) so as only once, fit the best possible...

* on racing boats it's common to hear the call " dump the vang ! ie let off the kicking line and allow the boom to 'sky', de-powering the main to avoid the sails' offset lever moment causing a broach, but if going downwind in strong conditions this also risks a 'Chinese Gybe' with the top half of the main flipping over before the boom crosses, with a nasty tear and a difficult to lower top half !

Keeping everything - especially the kicker - tight, always seems to work for me...

I would suggest a user-friendly ( ball bearing blocks ) reefing system would be a good idea sooner rather than later though, as the Gremlins always gang up on people new to a boat !
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Brigantia said:
I know from my dinghy sailing days many moons ago what a difference it can make to the performance in light airs
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Unless you're planning to race you'll adjust the clew outhaul very occasionally. Keep it simple. I put that set-up on when I decided to unbend the main and keep it in the cabin after each outing. That didn't last long as a concept.
Before that I used to just tension it and make it fast around the boom. Once a season.
I had the shackle, block and cleat anyway. It seemed a simple solution and worked extremely well.
If you aren't racing having it on the end of the boom is no issue.
 
I always used to put the sails on when afloat, and steped the mast too come to that.

When I joined the Trail Sailers they tend to step the mast and rig everything in the car park so they are ready to go as soon as they are in the water. Smaller boats are more tippy on the water so on the trailer is better unless you are used to it. A bigger boat is more stable so being afloat isn't as much of a problem.
 
Seajet said:
The topping lift led to the cockpit is strangely enough one of the more important lines, as the helmsperson can take up tension with that and the mainsheet, allowing the person taking in the mainsail on deck a relatively steady boom to hang on to;
Click to expand...

I've just reconfigured my topping lift. It used to go from the boom end up over a block at the mast top, then down the mast.

But that was one line down the outside if the mast to catch the wind and chink against the mast all the time.

So I've reconfigured it to go from the boom, up over the block at the mast top and back to the boom end.

So now I can adjust it from the end of the boom in the cockpit, and it's now silent.
 
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