Recutting main to raise boom height- advice and likely costs?

[Kelpie]

We'd like to add a bimini but there doesn't seem to be much room under the boom.
I presume it should be fairly simple to get the sail recut, either permanently removing a triangle of material from the foot, or more simply just adding a new clew a few inches higher than the existing one, and in effect having a permanent mini reef in place.
The idea would be to keep the luff length and gooseneck position the same, but raise the angle of the boom by shortening the leech.

Are there any potential complications or problems with this idea? And roughly how much would I be expecting to spend? The mainsail was brand new last year so obviously I would be looking to modify rather than replace.

 

[Poignard]

Not long ago I was quoted £250 for cutting the roach off a mainsail and removing the batten pockets, if that's any guide

 

[Rafiki]

I think you would end up with a terrible sail shape, but if it's only a few inches it may work. The simple alternative of course is not to sail with the Bimini up.

 

[William_H]

You could try a DIY approach. Using webbing or folded sail cloth strips you fit a new clew with SS ring on the webbing.
The webbing needs to be sewn up the leach and along the (new) foot and at 45 degrees. Make the webbing like 50 cms long on each side. ie 1 metre pieces. A decent sewing machine might be OK to sew the webbing on or resort to hand stitching using heavy thread or thin whipping twine.
Or fit a new eyelet up the leach but you will need lots of reinforcing patches into the new corner. Your reefing eyelets will give you an idea of what is needed.
Or get a sail maker to do the job.
Or just use the first reef eyelet as a clew when sailing with the bimini up but take it down for serious sailing. ol'will

 

[lw395]

If you are talking about a few inches, like 9 or 12, then what you describe is commonly done as a 'flattening reef'.
Is the sail loose footed?
You could check whether it's possible to raise the whole main, i.e. can the head go further up the mast, by allowing the tack to be raised from the gooseneck. The tack can simply be tied around the mast to hold it forwards, and a downhaul added.
The limit may be the leach hitting the backstay if there is much roach.

 

[langstonelayabout]

I think you would end up with a terrible sail shape, but if it's only a few inches it may work. The simple alternative of course is not to sail with the Bimini up.

I've sailed a few Bene 323s with the bimini up. Horrible. I'd recommend getting rid of the bimini altogether.

The only upside to sailing with a bimini up is so that you don't see the saggy, flapping leech on the knackered furling mainsail that the charter boat inevitably has. Truly a sorry sight. The bimini will protect your eyes from the flapping.

 

[Daydream believer]

Would it not be easier to pick up the phone & ask a sail maker?
Preferably the one that made the sail in the first place, as a starter

 

[Kelpie]

Would it not be easier to pick up the phone & ask a sail maker?
Preferably the one that made the sail in the first place, as a starter

If they're open on a Saturday, then yes. I have this thing called work that gets in the way of sailing stuff.

 

[Kelpie]

I think you would end up with a terrible sail shape, but if it's only a few inches it may work. The simple alternative of course is not to sail with the Bimini up.

It's certainly only a few inches that I'm talking about- even six would make a difference.

As currently rigged, a bimini that does not touch the boom would give almost zero headroom in the cockpit- even for little me at 5'6.

We hope to take the boat to sunnier climes for an extended period, and being pale skinned northern types think a bimini is going to be essential.

 

[scottie]

If they're open on a Saturday, then yes. I have this thing called work that gets in the way of sailing stuff.

Email to Owen sails Oban would probably get the information

 

[Daydream believer]

If they're open on a Saturday, then yes. I have this thing called work that gets in the way of sailing stuff.

Do you not even get a lunch break?

 

[laika]

Are there any potential complications or problems with this idea?

Yes. And getting a bit put back on the bottom is non-trivial.

I'm rather tall and have a centre cockpit boat. When the sailmaker was fitting me for a new main he suggested cutting the main to raise the height of the boom.

This consequently increased the length of my mainsheet which had the knock-on effect that when I try to uptrack the traveller to windward the boom is still sagging over to leeward. If I then try and hoik in the main further to bring the boom up to the centreline I over-stretch the leech and get creases in the luff. In fact I can only get a decent sail shape with a reef in.

The sailmaker suggests that loosing height on the sail (ie cutting a bit off the bottom) might be cheaper/easier tan adding a bit on the bottom but that will leave me with shorter sail and my rig isn't that tall to start with

 

[Fantasie 19]

I had the luff shortened on my main last winter - wanted a little more room to manoeuvre on the downhaul - sailmaker (Batt Sails at Bosham) just moved the head down - quick and simple - less than £90 but that included logo's and sail numbers that I also wanted adding... 20' boat...

 

[Poignard]

I had the luff shortened on my main last winter - wanted a little more room to manoeuvre on the downhaul - sailmaker (Batt Sails at Bosham) just moved the head down - quick and simple - less than £90 but that included logo's and sail numbers that I also wanted adding... 20' boat...

That was a good deal.

I must give them a call about my 'roachectomy'

 

[[3889]]

Do you not even get a lunch break?

Perhaps the OP felt he would receive suitable advice on this sailing forum. I suppose any question ever posed on here could have been answered elsewhere.

 

[johnalison]

If you plan to have a potentially fragile structure below the boom it will be necessary to have a boom strut, if you don't already.

 

[Daydream believer]

If you plan to have a potentially fragile structure below the boom it will be necessary to have a boom strut, if you don't already.

What is wrong with a topping lift?
If the tent was that fragile perhaps it belongs in a field

 

[Stemar]

We can't sail with our cockpit tent up, partly because the boom's too low and partly because the main sheet gets in the way but we wouldn't be without it

When we put the tent up, we simply take off the sheet, lift the boom on the topping lift and clip a line to the backstay to hold the boom in place. We had to do this anyway before we got the tent, or concussion from the boom was a significant risk.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Early in the season the stitching on the main sail bolt rope came apart (the sail had a bolt rope going into a slot in the boom). As the boom was precariously close to my new sprayhood i asked one of the local sail makers to cut the foot off of the sail, as little as possible at the luff and about 4 inches from the leech, leaving the sail loose footed. He charged me £70. Another local sailmaker had quoted £100 ish.

The sail was on its last legs, so no worries about it affecting how the sail set. If it was a recently made sail, i'd have asked the original maker to have done the work, just to be sure. I've since had a new main made, again with a loose foot and the boom slightly angled upwards. Works a treat.

 

[dom]

We'd like to add a bimini but there doesn't seem to be much room under the boom.

Isle of Skye, bimini, really ?