Genoa leech

[chappy]

Sometimes my genoa leech keeps flapping,even when i have my genoa sheeted in correctly.
I can not seem to stop this when it happens, i try to ease the genoa out a little & it still does it, i haul the genoa in & it still does it.
I find this very frustrating as i like to have my sails a nice shape.I have noticed a bit of cord coming out from the leech of the sail which is just flapping in the wind, could this have anything to do with it, or could it be my traveler car in the wrong position,but i have moved it down a bit to try & put more pull on the leech, should i move it down further,or do you think i'm making a big issue of it because it will always do this from time to time.?
PS
What is the cord for on the leech anyway?


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[charles_reed]

At some time your genoa has been used in too strong a wind and has had the leech stretched. This stretch may be down to a sub-standard cloth and cut or to operator abuse. Cross-cut genoas are more prone to this problem than radial cut.

Most decent sailmakers put a line in to allow you to tighten the leech on a cruising genoa - all my foresails have them on both the foot and leech.

You have the options of having the leech re-cut more hollow, which should improve the situation, or have a leech line put in. An additional feature is to have 2-4 small battens sewn into the leech if the airflow is very violent. These should not be incorporated in roller sails and many consider them to be a pernicious addition. I have 3 (about 250mm long) in my solent.

The former is likely to be the cheaper but, if the cloth is not up to the job, to be a temporary fix.

Using telltales on at least two levels on your foresail is the best way of checking sheeting angle - most people have their genoa leads too far aft - but unless you have readily adjustable (on a line) genoa cars it's unlikely you'll make the constant changes necessary in coastal sailing. You also need multiple tracks to allow variation on the slot width - I've got three possible widths and even then have to boom out the sheet on a reach. As the reach gets broader (between 95-135 degrees apparent) you need to change over to a genniker and between 140 and 170 go onto a GP spinnaker. Some people intepose a radial spinnaker between the genniker and the running spi but as I sail single-handed the benefits are not worth the additional effort.

On a modern fore-aft rigged boat dead downwind is such an abysmal point of sailing that (unless you've got a true >F5) it's faster to tack downwind.

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[oldsaltoz]

G'day David,

Sounds like your leech cord needs pulling in, just enough to prevent a slight hook in the leech.

Moving the block forward will also help.

Avagoodweekend........



<hr width=100% size=1> Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Growing old is unavoidable. However, growing up is still optional.

 

[davidwf]

The little bit of cord is your leech line, there should be a cleat sewn into the leech so that you can pull down on the leech line until the flapping stops and jamb it in the cleat. Quite oftern the cleats get smashed off through hitting the mast when tacking. If its missing you can buy a relacement easilly enough and sew it back in place.

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[pandroid]

Yeah, tightening the cord on the leech will stop it flapping. Some modern sails seem so poorly cut that you have to use it in anything much above a F3 so dont feel bad about using it. Its a good idea to release it at the end of the day tho' other wise the thing puts the sail under tension when stored.

Having the genoa car in the wrong place can exacerbate the problem. The car should be set so that 'line' of the genoa sheet 'followed forward' would just about disect the sail in half.

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[chappy]

Thanks for the replys, this has stopped me feeling baffled now!! great sight this.

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[Rick]

Hi Chappy - the others have already posted about your leech line, however your car position is probably best answered by looking to something like http://www.uksailmakers.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia5b.html - the car position will change for differing wind strengths and points of sail. They are like changing gear in a car - you can slog along in the wrong one, but there is usually a best one.



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[Guest]

If the leech is vibrating - then the wind is coming off it correctly.

The leech line is there for tightening the leech edge and reducing the vibrating......... BUT beware - over-tightening will develop a hook in the edge and reduce the sail efficiency.

Where the cord comes out of the sail - there should be a small cleat sewn onto the sail just below. So take sin slack on the cord and make fast to the cleat ...... how much to tighten ..... look at the leech as you tighten and as soon a ahook starts ... slack a little till the edge is straight again. This should then reduce the vibrating edge and noise significantly.

As to set of sail and sheet line ...... the line of sheet should follow a straight line from the cut of the sail and when set - there should be no creases or folds induced by the sheet pulling the sail out of shape.
If you cannot get to this clean shape because sheet car cannot move enough ... then take sheet out of car, run it to a block back at the cockpit with a barber-hauler via a small block attached to a forward car ...... now set the sail and haul in the Barber-hauler until sheet line is pulled down enough to produce a nice clean sail shape ..... (harder to describe than to do !!!!)


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
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