genoa track required?

[pcatterall]

My old Colvic Atlanta will not win any races but I suppose that I do do want to get the best performance (within reason)
My pontoon nieghbour assures me that fitting genoa (and correctly using!) tracks will significantly improve performance. Does the panel agree??

Over winter I propose to scrap the old round the boom reefing main and replace with fully battened main, this will allow me to fit a proper vang system. There is no boom car and the main sheet is from the boom end which is very close above the wheel house. There has been some recent correspondence on boom cars, I do know that my old system I couldnt get any downward purchase on the boom except close to centre. My solution had been to use the old roller hoseshoe about half way down the boom and tension the boom on port or starboard side of the wheel house (having to slacken it, move it over, reattach and tension for every tack (very tedious).
With said proper vang (3:1??) I wonder if there would be any advantage in having a boom car as well??
So given the type of boat ... genoa track....essential, nice to have or waste of time
Boom car ... essential, nice to have or waste of time
As always your advice will be appreciated

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[Talbot]

Genoa track need will very much depend on the cut of your genoa. If it has been cut so that the lead is maintained at the same angle regardless of how much has been rolled up, then there is little point in fitting a genoa track. If you have this type of cut, but it is not set quite right, then consider changing the length of the shackle at the bottom of the roller reefer to raise/lower the sail up the foil.

If you want a fuller cut sail that needs a genoa track, then it will never perform correcetly from a single lead.

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[Benbow]

Agree that if your headsail sheet lead is very wrong performance will suffer significantly. But if you don't want to go to the trouble and expense of a track, you may be able to kludge a better lead with a 'barber-hauler' type arrangement. A bit of rope, ideally with a snap-shackle, over the sheet and down to a suitable attachment point on the deck will sometimes make the lead good; it depends on the geometry of the situation. It takes a few minutes to setup, so it won't improve your ability to short-tack up a narrow channel, but it's certainly worth playing with.

(You are trying to ensure that a line extended from the sheet, bisects the angle between the leech and the foot. You have got it right when leech and foot stop shaking at the same point as you sheet in. If the leech shakes when the foot is tight, move the sheet lead forward, if the foot shakes when the leech is tight, move it aft)

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[simonfraser]

i'd spend the money on the main, fully battened and a good kicker

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[flaming]

Genoa tracks are very useful for getting the best out of a sail. They can also help to preserve a sail. If the lead for a genoa is too far aft then the bottom of the jib will be much tighter than the top. This can result in the top of the sail flogging when going to windward.
I would also say that my preference is always for tracks that are adjustable with a rope from the cockpit. The tracks that are purely adjusted with a pin in the car make the job of changing the setting more difficult as it's next to impossible to change the loaded side in any breeze, so smaller changes are often not bothered with and any change means having to either put a tack in or luff head to wind.

I'm not going to comment on the vang issue as whatever I say I don't doubt that a certain someone will misquote me!

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[aitchw]

May not be relevant but on my recently acquired and badly neglected little boat I could find no evidence of a fairlead in a suitable position for jib sheets and certainly none of anything as sophisticated as a track. Not wanting to start drilling into the deck on the off chance off-chance of guessing the right place to fit a fairlead and having a jib with a clew well above the foredeck I attached a small block on a length of dyneema fastened off to the chainplates one on each side to act as the fairleads. By lengthening or shortening the line I am able to alter the angle of the sheet in the same way as with a track. It worked really well so I plan to run the line back to a camcleat in the cockpit so I can adjust at any time. It cost me under a tenner to try it. Maybe it would give you a chance to see if adjustment makes a difference to your performance at practically no cost.

Howard

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