Mainsail: Recut or new?

[Tim Good]

I have a Hood main which was originally made in 1996. It's vertically battened for in fast furling. It's very heavy weight and hasn't needed a repair. It just keeps trucking on. Off the wind its bomb proof. On the wind I cant get a decent shape. See the image below. This is with the kicker hard down and the outhaul hard in. Its still baggy and the leach is curved, regardless of the battens.



I'm not happy with my upwind performance and I'm curious if anyone has had success recutting an old main? I wouldn't usually consider it but the sail is so well made I wonder if its worth trying first.

 

[lw395]

There's a limit to what you should expect from an in-mast reefing sail.
Those photos are not the most helpful for judging the shape.
Some trim stripes and photos looking up from amidships might help.
Do you have a powerful Cunningham set up?

 

[Tim Good]

Do you have a powerful Cunningham set up?

I don't have one. Haven't seen a in mast setup with one to be honest.

 

[Derek ide]

I think the shape is not bad but you need to encourage some twist and not be so hard on the boom vang. In lighter conditions move the traveller to windward and ease the boom and more to encourage the leach to free off.
I don’t think a Cunningham hole is feasible with in-mast reefing.
I would be thankful to have a Hood sail that has lasted so well.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Difficult to adjust an in-mast sail. Mast rake may help. Otherwise, as you are suggesting, you may need to recut the sail, if possible. I am sure, the sailmaker will be able to check it out.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Derek Ide is right to say that you don't have enough twist. Leech telltales are invaluable for main trim - four equally spaced, bottom three streaming, top one occasionally hiding behind the leech is the goal. Ease the kicker, don't be afraid to have the traveller to windward to get the boom angle, but with less sheet tension holding the boom down. You may even find that you've got the boom above the centreline. Sounds odd but my boat can be quicker like that.

It's a job to tell how full the sail is though, a shot looking up the sail; from the side would be handy. If there's too much camber is there any way you can lose a shackle to get the outhaul to pull the clew back any more?

It does look like a bit more luff tension might be called for, but how you get that will depend on your setup.

 

[ashtead]

If replacing main will this cause issues with the in mast furling ? Might it be that the stiffer new sail leads to issues arising ? I had thought I had heard of a halberg 43 which suffered having a ne w main on so might be worth checking with your sailmaker if you go this route.

 

[lw395]

Derek Ide is right to say that you don't have enough twist. .....

Or maybe the genoa has too much.
The two sails do not appear to be working happily together.
The main shape in itself might be reasonable for pointing high in flat water, in as much as we can see from that viewpoint.

draft in the main looks deep and too far back high up?
Need more pi from different angles but luff tension is something to consider. then outhaul.

 

[Tim Good]

Guys sorry but I should have said. I purposely trimmed the main to try and make it as flat as possible with a flat leach. I appreciate it isn’t trimmed well. I also appreciate the Yankee is not a great shape. This is a downwind Yankee designed in fact to run on a twizzle rig.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Guys sorry but I should have said. I purposely trimmed the main to try and make it as flat as possible with a flat leach. I appreciate it isn’t trimmed well. I also appreciate the Yankee is not a great shape. This is a downwind Yankee designed in fact to run on a twizzle rig.

Oh, thank goodness! Can we have a couple of pictures looking up from the side then?

 

[johnalison]

Even with some twist, I don't think the sail in its current form is going to perform well. What you do depends on what you want out of the boat. If you only intend to keep her for a year or two, then the economic thing might be to have a sailmaker work on it and hope for some improvement. However, if you intend to keep her and do a lot of sailing, then you may as well fork out for a proper new main, which should make a significant difference, and enjoy your sailing knowing that you are doing your best.

 

[Tim Good]

Oh, thank goodness! Can we have a couple of pictures looking up from the side then?

Trying to find something at the moment. I’ve take it down and put up another unbattened ghosting main I have but it’s not ideal. It was made to complement the downwind yankees as a main for trade wind sailing. I’d ideally like to get the hood main back in service as I’ll be heading to high latitudes again over the next year.

Will try and get it re hoisted and get some pics. This isn’t going to help as it’s two years old and the same angle but hey-Ho.

 

[Tim Good]

Even with some twist, I don't think the sail in its current form is going to perform well. What you do depends on what you want out of the boat. If you only intend to keep her for a year or two, then the economic thing might be to have a sailmaker work on it and hope for some improvement. However, if you intend to keep her and do a lot of sailing, then you may as well fork out for a proper new main, which should make a significant difference, and enjoy your sailing knowing that you are doing your best.

Fair advice. I live aboard maybe half the year and over the last 3 years done Scotland, Norway, France, Spain and the Canaries. So yes we sail a lot. Albeit never in a rush so we tend not to sail when it'll involve going up wind. However, I plan to sail the boat North next year with Greenland or Svarlbard in mind.... this brings two things into question:

1. I could do with some up wind performance sailing back to the UK.
2. A strong main like the one i have works well in conditions in high lats.
3. Hate to replace stuff that can be salvaged or repaired. I see too many people on boats buying new needlessly.

So that's where I'm at with it really. I'll have a word with a sail maker in Las Palmas and see what they say... Although I have no idea about the experience or quality of the work there. Most of the work they do is on boats that then cross the Atlantic and so rarely get feedback from their customers or have any comeback on it.