sticky mainsail?

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bond9007

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Hi,
new to sailing so forgive the question if it is a daft one. I'm the proud owner of a Hunter Sonata and wondering if any one has a suggestion as to why the boom has a drop of about 5 degrees when the main is set. I thought that perhaps that the mainsail was not travelling to the top of the mast but even with the winch can't get anymore tension in it. The sail is also very reluctant to drop when the halyard is released, spray sylicone on the luff helps but it appears only a short term fix.

Any ideas? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Welcome to the Forum
nice boat hope you enjoy this coming (very hot /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) season

the main, @ the aft end of the boom is there a cringle say 6" above the boom in the leach of the main,if so this is a "Leach Cunningham" a rule cheating device to increase the sail area & needs a line rove through it.
check out sail setting / trimming from various sail makers sites
 
A bit of boom droop is quite common, especially if you have set up your mast with a rake aft, as many do. The important thing is to make sure you can get the tension in the luff - you will need to get lots in on windy days. Sailorman's suggestion about Cunningham holes applies here. Mainsails which have a luff-rope sliding in the mast groove can be a bit sticky, too. Mine is - I use Holt's PTFE spray lube.

Cheers! Neil
 
Sometimes the thickness of the spliced eye means the last bit of the rope binds in the sheave at the top of the mast.I reduced the size of the halyard & mine was fine.PTFE spray or grease is the way to go.
 
"Daft questions" are what we all need to ask at the start of our sailing and often make more experienced sailors think. Actually your question is not at all "daft".

I have put a piece of tape on my mast to coincide with the lower sail slug (slider) so that I can easily see when sail is fully raised and the luff is tight.
 
i rarely sail with the Luff "Tight"
the Luff if adjusted to suit prevailing conditions & only tight when apparent wind speed is @ the top end for the full sail set then the flattener / leach cunningham is adjusted to its limit. then its a reef in the main.
off the wind to get a better fuller shape the luff needs to be quite loose even baggy
 
Re: It\'s actually called

On the right Track /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif [--word removed--] off

Goose This Then

Mainsail trim
In three quarter rig, the mainsail is the most important sail on board and, in variable conditions, needs to be constantly adjusted for maximum speed. The controls are as follows:
Backstay: use to increase fore and aft bends and flatten the mainsail to enable it to be used in heavier winds. This will also tighten the forestay and improve pointing.
Luff tension via halyard and cunningham: moves the flow forward, freeing the leach for strong winds.
Mainsheet: controls twist: the tighter the sheet, the tighter the leech and the less twist: reduce twist as the wind increases.
Leech cunningham: controls the flow in the foot and has flattening effect: use it as soon as the yacht becomes pressed under main and No 1 genoa.
Mainsheet traveller: controls the sheeting angle but keeps the mainsheet tension constant. Set to leeward allows yacht to sail more upright but to fall off to leeward. In light airs, set to weather and ease the mainsheet.
 
As ditchcrawler says - it might be that the halyard splice is running into the masthead sheave and jamming before full tension is applied to the luff. If it is this the best option is just to cut the splice off and tie the halyard onto the shackle or snap shackle using either a halyard knot or a double fishermans knot (don't get the double fishermans knot mixed up with the fishermans bend).
 
I sail a Sonata too, but have no droop in the main. Have you tried the Sonata class website www.sonata.org.uk? Loads of advice, including Steve Goacher's rig and sail setting guide. It is well worth while joining the Class Association too.
 
A thought - are Sonata booms fixed or do they have a slider track like on my Trident? If the boom is at the top of the track, I cannot fully raise the main on my boat, and it suffers the 'boom droop' OP describes. Lowering the boom may solve his problem.

On the Trident if I want a really tight luff then I pull the boom down with a handy billy which gives a far tighter luff than just grinding at the halyard winch.
 
Quote: wondering if any one has a suggestion as to why the boom has a drop of about 5 degrees when the main is set.

This is normal and has no measurable effect on a production boat.

On Chay Blythe's round the wold steel trampers, the mains were cut and cringled so that on reefing the boom was lifted - otherwise the boom - a massive thing - would sweep the deck at head removing altitude!

Slides sticking - spray has its attractions, but I use good old fashioned candle wax when setting up.

Tension on the luff - winding the bolt rope to max tension is, I think, not good practice if you want some longevity from your sails, and is uselesss in all but head winds.

PWG
 
Re: It\'s actually called

Well his son Jeremy, who runs the UK business (Elvstrom Sobstad), now his Dad has retired refers to it as flattening reef, the Cunningham (if you look at a few other sail-maker authorities) is specifically used to flatten the sail by tightening the luff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunningham_(sailing)
http://www.sailingusa.info/sail_shape.htm
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~sailing/UHHSailingSite%20folder/UHHSailingSite/Cunningham.html
http://www.hshyachts.com/html/what_are_all_those_lines_for_.html
http://www.mauriprosailing.com/Harken/Harken-Trimming-Systems/Cunninghams.htm

Referring to it as a leech-cunningham might make some sense, but you'll find everyone misunderstanding you.

Hope this helps.
 
thanks, I have tried tensioning the cunningham and also the sail foot is sheeted the full length of the boom but still I have the dreaded droop. The sail is less than a year old and so doubt if it has gone baggy, especially with last years wet weather reducing time on the water. I like the idea of the splace jamming in the mast head sheeve sounds reasonable and waxing my groove hopefully that may solve the problem. It's nice to know I'm not the only one affected by this as I thought I was doing something wrong. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
yes, tried but it seems to make little difference, the cunningham is pulled in and with the kicker set the boom sweeps the cockpit at head splitting height. Even considered sailing with the topping lift set on calm days just to support the boom but thought this would destroy the sail shape.
 
Thanks, will try the grease idea and whilst she is out the water try and wait for a calm day and railse the main to see if it does indeed actually stop short of the splice or at it. Whilst I'm wrestling with the main does any body have any thoughts on fitting lazy jacks to a Sonata as when I have finally dragged the main down it has to be wrestled into submission for flaking on the boom.
 
This might be stating the obvious, but you are making sure that the kicker is loose when you hoist the main aren't you?

On some rigs, any kicker tension at all will make the sail very hard to raise or lower....

and the last few inches on the hoist can make a dramatic difference to the final boom position....
 
My 2p's worth is to release the backstay tension, it is possibly the bend of the slot that is jamming the sliders or luff rope, or maybe the wire has jumped the pulley at the mast head. Both instances have happened to me previously. Good sailing!
 
me a bit confused, you got a droopy boom or a droopy sail? if the luff is able to be pulled 'tight' with the halyard then you got nothing wrong with splices and sheaves. The 'droopy' sail as described appears to be the way the sail is cut, as mentioned earlier in this thread, fullness in the foot for reaching and running, then when you come onto the wind take in on the flattening reef, (leach cunningham, never heard it called that but never mind) which does as it says on the pack, flattens the main, aand has the effect of raising the boom by the same distance as the gap between flattener cringle and 'clew' of mainsail. You need to slacken off the kicker and mainsheet while putting in the flattener, just like putting in a reef without having anything on the luff, you should be able to put in and shake out quickly cause its done on most marks of the course, if your racing that is. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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