Where do I fit my genoa tracks?

[RufusM]

Hello...

I have recently purchased a MacWester 27 which has a roller furling genoa but no genoa tracks which will have an effect on how she sails when the genoa is partly furled (still with me?)

I have two questions:

How long should new tracks be (as the cost increases with length)?

How far forward do these need to be fitted?

Any thoughts and suggestions will be most gratefully received....

Thanks

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[Robin]

I cannot answer specifically, but it will depend also on the cut of the genoa. If the genoa is cut with a high clew then the sail as it is rolled will not need the fairlead moving too far, if the clew is cut lower it will need more adjustment. The cost of the system will be in the track car mostly and an extra foot or so of track might not cost that much more, better to have too much than too little. Why not talk to a friendly local sailmaker, they will have a sailplan for your boat on their computer and should be able to give you some rough guide to where the track should start and finish, also where it needs to sit in the atwartships direction.

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[William_H]

It would not be so silly to go out for a sail using either existing sheeting point or some attachment further back ie lashed to the pulpit front upright. then at various degrees of reef in the jib use your foot on the sheet pressing down to determine the ideal sheeting point. Don't go in a gale and have someone capable on the helm and do the test when sailing close to the wind. If you are going to use a track then
that should give an idea of the range you need. regards will

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[Trevor_swfyc]

Refus,

Have you thought of asking the association <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.macwester.org/>here</A> or the other best bet is to take a look at a Macwester 27 with the track fitted.
Clearly how far forward it runs will determine how much sail you can reef and retain its shape. It is critical that you can get the foot of the sail tight with all the sail out.

Trevor

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[Gordonmc]

An alternative to sheet tracks is the barber haulier system. If you have a fixed block at the moment, all you need is a second block forward on a line running through an eye on the deck.
Adjusting the length of line alters the angle of the sheet.

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[RufusM]

Thanks for your advice, lots of ideas to go at.



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[tome]

If I were fitting a track from scratch, I'd rig a barber hauler and use that to alter the lead of the sheets with different amounts of sail out. Follow the sheet lead to the deck and mark. This should give you a pretty good idea, and you can chose a track which overlaps by a safe margin.

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[macd]

Whatever working length you end up with, it's always a good idea to install extra length -- say 6 to 9 inches -- at each end of the track, since this is stronger. Otherwise, sheeting hard at either extreme of the track puts higher loading on the end fasteners, since they have no neighbour to share the strain.

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