Sail setting problem

I should have thought of that. I suppose the reason I didn't is that the old sail set fine at the position the car is in now and the new one was supposed to be the same size. That was a quick reply by the way!
 
Lay out old and put new on top .... you will see immediate difference .... old has probably a large belly to it from stretch etc.

Moving car fwd is the answer as another said ... it then puts line of effort more through leech ... move aft and it puts it more along the foot .... adjustment is for not only getting sail set - but also to alter for different winds ...

An easier way than trying to move cars on the side deck is to set the car fwd ... take a barber hauler through it and sheet through a block on the hauler. Bring the end back to cockpit and then adjust from the comfort there ... no stretching or cursing at car that wont move etc.
 
Bit confused on the explanations. Perhaps someone would like to explain further.

Pulling the car forewards will have the effect of reducing sail twist. The sheet will pull at a more vertical angle and tighten the leach. However, if the leach is flapping doesn't this infer a mis-cut leach rather than a mis-set sail. I have a nice knackered genoa and the leach flaps no-matter where I set the cars. If I tighten the leach line it just has the effect of hooking the leach. This seems to be exactly what's being described above.

If you check tell-tails on the luff with the car set too far back and the sail sheeted so the lower tell-tails are correct then the upper inner ones will lift indicating the upper part is not sheeted enough. Hence move the cars forewards to pull the leach at a more vertical angle and tighten it up. The upper part is now sheeted harder while the lower part is sheeted the same. If the cars are too far foreward, the reverse can happen.

Just noticed - 500th post Yippeee.
 
Easiest test is to shuffle forwards and lean down on the headsail sheet ahead of the car. You can judge just where the pressure is having the best effect. Then you can move your car there at you leisure. Doesn't work very well in strong winds!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I can't get the new roller genoa to set right.

[/ QUOTE ] - hence the problem is with sail set rather than knackered sail!!

The hooked leech will disrupt the wind behind the main - as will a flapping leech .. but as long as it isn't too hooked or flapping too much then it won't matter!
 
When I say puts line of effort ... I'm talking about the sheet pulls more on the leech than luff and vice versa ...

Many a time you see another boat with a twist in the genny - where top half is more curved outward than bottom half ... that is because they are exerting more sheet pull on the foot than leech - allowing the leech to slack and twist. It also then s allows the dreaded flutters .... move car fwd or tighten in barber hauler and flutters decrease ... without using leech line - an instrument that should be banned from all sails !

Remiving all flutters is actually not good - as limited flutter shows air is coming of the sail well ... it just sounds "orrible.
 
First set the car to get all the telltales lifting at the same time - that's the right posn. (obviously, it'll change as you roll the genny).

If the leech flaps at that car posn, and the leech line hooks the leech before it stops the leech motoring then the canvasman has cut the leech too full and it'll need to be rectified with a judicious bit of snipping and sewing.
 
If the sail was from a local sailmaker, as it should be, then get them to come and have a look. Otherwise move the car to the correct position and things should improve. On a new sail very little leech line should be needed if any.
 
Thanks All, I did think that there was a suggestion that the upper telltails were lifting before the bottom one, so moving the car is the first thing to try. I may manage to persuade the mate to come out one evening this week, if I can drag her away from washing all my stuff for the holidays which start next week.

The leech is flapping a lot however and is noticably hooked when the line is tight enough to stop this. The sail was made locally, so I will visit the loft later in the season and invite the man himself out for a wee sail to demonstrate. (The loft is quite a few miles from my home base.)

It is the first time I have actually bought from a local sailmaker. The main and mizzen came from down south and were both excellent. I did think that a bi-radial genoa was a more complex bit of cloth and may need a bit of post-manufacture adjustment even in these days of computer-cutting and design, so I am glad I kept the work up here this time. Apart from the flutter, the sail sets well and the boat is much better to windward than it was.
 
Re: Sail setting problem .... Leech lines ...

I am of the adamant school that leech lines should be banned from sails ... they serve no purpose other than to quiet a leech edge and just a tad more and they hook the leech creating more drag and loss of sail set .....

Proper sheet angle and tension along leech / foot so that sail sets correctly for wind angle etc. is way to go ... Leech line ? Adjust it so that there is a little slack and then make it off - never to be touched again.
 
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