Storm Jib Strop ?

[mica]

Hi Everybody,

Does anyone know of a formula as to what length strop should be used for a given sail area of a storm jib.

The manufacturer's of the storm jib, told us it can be attached directly to the stem head fitting, but this does not seem right and all the boats we have seen have a strop between the foot of the sail and the stem head fitting. Question is how long should the strop be. Surely there must be some sort of formula to calculate this for different sail sizes.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Sammy]

Hi.
It only needs to be long enough to give a bit of clearance to the Pulpit rail and to increase your visability forward, it also keeps it clear of any waves which decide to come aboard which could put a lot of extra strain on the sail.
I attach mine with a rope strop which can be adjusted to suit the conditions.
Hope this helps.
Chris

 

[Strathglass]

Mica
If you are going to use the jib/genny haliard to launch your storm jib then you should put two WIRE strops permanently on the storm job. The lower one should raise the foot of the sail to clear all pulpit,guard rail and stantions. The upper one should make the total luff length of the storm jib (including strops) the same length as the sail you normally fly on that halliard. The use of all wire strops will reduce streach on the luff and allow you to point a bit higher in severe conditions, which may be very important.
The use of a lower strop will shift the sheeting position further aft nearer the cockpit thus making the sail easier to handle.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G’day Mica.
I use a rope strop, spliced onto the sail so I never have a problem finding it with another eye sliced on the lower end to fix to the foredeck, bottom of the sail clears the rail by about a foot and the jib sheet traveller is set about 2 thirds the way back for best trim. I have never seen a formula for strop length. The important points are visibility foreword and enough clearance for breaking waves.
Let’s hope you don’t need to use it too often.
OldSaltOz