Help with Genoa please

[Laundryman]

Relatively inexperienced with no formal training so i may have some of the terminology wrong. My Westerly 28 has a roller furling Genoa. Between that and the mast is another rigging from the mast to the foredeck, a 'baby stay' possibly? My problem is that whenever i change direction, the bowlines of the Genoa sheets catch on the 'baby stay' and i have to keep going forward to release them. I'm sure there must be a knack that someone will share with me or at least put me right with my terminology. Thank you

 

[dam747iam]

genoa

on my genoa i have 1 sheet doubled up and put loop through sail cringle and pass ends through loop pull tight never slipped and nothing to catch

 

[MoodySabre]

Nothing wrong with your terminology and a regular problem with genoas. This can be overcome by tying the sheets to the genoa in a different way. Have a look at this threadon that very subject.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Relatively inexperienced with no formal training so i may have some of the terminology wrong. My Westerly 28 has a roller furling Genoa. Between that and the mast is another rigging from the mast to the foredeck, a 'baby stay' possibly? My problem is that whenever i change direction, the bowlines of the Genoa sheets catch on the 'baby stay' and i have to keep going forward to release them. I'm sure there must be a knack that someone will share with me or at least put me right with my terminology. Thank you

You are correct, it is the baby stay. This is an essential piece of rigging, and is a perenial nuisance on most Westerlies. The only really good option is to change the baby stay for twin lowers forward of the main stays. This has the added advantage of giving you more room on the foredeck to stow a dinghy.

You could try making the bowlines shorter, or perhaps try some gaffer tape round them to smooth off the knot in the hope it will feed over more easily.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

One other assistance is to put a plastic pipe over the lower part of the babystay to encourage the sheets to 'roll' past the babystay

 

[jonjo]

My Westerly 28 has a roller furling Genoa. Between that and the mast is another rigging from the mast to the foredeck, a 'baby stay' possibly?

Sounds like rigging design overkill to me. Suggest you make contact with the owners association and see if the stay can be dispensed with.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Sounds like rigging design overkill to me. Suggest you make contact with the owners association and see if the stay can be dispensed with.

The baby stay is absolutly essential to a mast head rig. There is otherwise nothing to prevent the mast inverting.

 

[Laundryman]

help with genoa please

Thanks for all your replies. With a lack of experience i just assumed it was me doing something wrong! From your replies i've learnt three things, If i want to know the answer to something, try the search function first, my terminology isn't as bad as i thought and there are loads of other sad people out there, sitting at their computers, dreaming of being on the water instead of work. Thank you

 

[jonjo]

The baby stay is absolutly essential to a mast head rig. There is otherwise nothing to prevent the mast inverting.

The tensile strength of an alloy tube maybe?

We are talking about a tiny rig here by modern day standards.

 

[Chris_Robb]

The tensile strength of an alloy tube maybe?

We are talking about a tiny rig here by modern day standards.

You may be right, I wouldn't dare on my mast - similar but much bigger.

Many mast failures on Westerlies have been put down to the failure of the lowers, when they are not tight enough to prevent movement, and consequently fatigue of the deck fitting or wire - at least according to the WOA. This is particularly the case the larger you go. Hence without a baby stay, that movement may be greater. However I am not an engineer, so perhaps I should have not been so prescribed in my response.

 

[mortehoe]

So how then do you hank on anything to the babystay?

One other assistance is to put a plastic pipe over the lower part of the babystay to encourage the sheets to 'roll' past the babystay

ie stormjib or a #2 ...... ????

(edited)

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I wouldn't.

The babystay is there as a mast support.

If its far enough forward, and well enough supported at the rear, eg with running backstays or located high enough up the mast for the existing backstays to support it, then its not a babystay, but an inner forestay

A typical babystay is from half mast height and 1/3 way from the mast to the stem.... and therefore not suitable for a sail at all.