[Public-list] Roller furling sails

Fri Oct 1 08:35:06 PDT 2004

Gord comments that he has a 4:1 outhaul for his main that he really likes. I have
gone to 10:1 to cope with tennis elbows and arthritis which limits effective pull.
We have an exit on both sides of the boom at the cabin so can control the flatness
of the main by whomever is closeby,  and under any pressure  of wind on the sail.
    The system  is inside the boom and  requires 3 blocks, 3 turning exit blocks, 2
cam cleats,  one wire rope with  an  eyestrap and two flexible lines. It helps if
both end plates of the boom are attached with bolts,  so that the endplates can be
easily removed. If you still have rivets, this is a good time to change them.
    We atttach  one big single sheave block  to the clew of the main. One flexible
line is attached to the outer end of the boom and passes through  the block on the
clew of the main and then through a turning exit block mounted at the out end of
the boom  in the groove that normally holds the  boltrope of the foot of the sail.
 (I removed some of the top edges of the boom aft of the black line measurement,
14.25 feet from the mast  to allow for easier cutting of the hole for the exit
block). To the end of this line that is now in the boom is attached a triple
sheaved block with very little excess length on the line so that the block is near
the aft end of the boom when there is no tension on the foot of the sail. An
eyestrap is attached to the inside of the bottom of the boom within  2 inches of
the gooseneck. A wire rope is fixed to the eyestrap (before attachent of eyestrap
to boom) with enough length to allow for a double sheaved block to be attached to
the outer end at a position that is near the exit blocks that will be cut into the
sides of the boom - in my case, at the cabin aft ,  and these exits  were offset on
the boom so that there is about 15 inches difference in distance to the gooseneck
for  the port and starboard side exit blocks. The wire needs to be long enough
toallow the double to be close to the triple but far enough away to allow for
maximum adjustment and minimum possibiliies for entanglement.  With 10:1 purchase,
you will have line hanging (tied up)  from the cam cleats when tension is on the
sail!
    Two cam cleats were mounted on each side of the boom  aft of the exit blocks,
again with offsets to avoid weakening the boom at one point. The second flexible
line is then taken from one side of the boom and cam cleat,  through the exit
block,  lead back to the outside of the triple, then  to the one side of the
double, then  to the centre of the triple, back to the other side of the double,
then to the third sheave of the triple and then out through the other side exit
block and to the cam. This sounds like spaghetti but it really works well. In
practice, it is easiest to add a tail to the wire rope so the double block  can be
slid to outside the aft end of the boom.  One then feeds the second line through
one exit block and out to the rear of the boom, does the weave between the 2
blocks, and then uses a fish to exit the last exit block. Retrieve the tail with
the wire rope and fasten the wire  to the eyestrap and eyestrap to the boom.
Replace both boom ends. You now have control. There is 5:1 on the system with the 2
small blocks in the boom and this is doubled with the block on the clew.  I have
not indicated what blocks I used to avoid trade names,  so if any of you want the
numbers of the parts I used, contact me off list
Don

Gordon Laco wrote:

> Hi there -
>
> We race and cruise Surprise on Georgian Bay - upper Great Lakes.
>
> I had a 140 made to put on the Harken roller furler our boat is fitted with.
> The furler works fine - and the sail....well it transformed my opinion of
> the boat.  I wish now that I had bought a slightly larger one, a 150 would
> have been better.  I guess we became traumatized (and disapointed) during
> that first season with this boat sailing under a blown out 170 that laid us
> on our ear in 12 knots of breeze.
>
> We have found that mainsail draught is important...carrying too much draught
> in it in a breeze while beating just puts the brakes on. (Excessive weather
> helm) We now have a 4:1 outhaul that leads to a point on the boom near the
> gooseneck so we can adjust it on any point of sail.  Some day I will order a
> new main.  I have been faithfull to the Fernandes family of Triton sails all
> my life.  The son now runs the loft since the passing of Joe, the father.
> Joe was the top sailmaker for the Lake Ontario Alberg fleet back in the days
> when the A30 was a hot one-design up here
>
> We had the sail fitted with a light dacron UV shield - I hate the weight and
> curl you get from floppy Sunbrella.  Also - we never "reef" the sail on the
> furler.  That kills it quickly and besides, the sail shape you get is
> horrible so we carry a 110 % jib to change down to in heavy conditions.
>
> We race in a PHRF fleet and can win or place if conditions favour us.  There
> is only one Alberg 30 in our club, but as they will not be persuaded to race
> we are out there every week duking it out with boats less than half our
> weight, longer waterlines and bigger rigs.
>
> "Conditions that favour us" are those that combine flat water, light air and
> lots of reaching.  Some people are surprised at how we can shift along in
> ghosting conditions...well the answer is that going slowly means that our
> short waterline is not a factor; and with our great weight and narrow
> slippery hull once we get her moving we just don't stop.  We accelerate more
> slowly but can glide through lulls and keep our speed up in tacks very well.
>
> We do tend to loose ground on the beats, and gain it again off the wind.
> Funny thing is this is the precise opposite of what the old wooden Folkboat
> was capable of; despite the fact that she was also a heavy full keeled boat
> with a relatively short waterline and it took me a long time to get used to
> what we deal with now.  The big diff of course is the Folkboat was stiff as
> a house, could tack through 80 degrees and could carry sail like nothing
> else on the water; the Alberg despite its many positives cannot count
> stiffness and weatherliness as two of them.
>
> On the beats we concentrate on getting the most of what the boat is capable
> of to minimize our disadvantage, and also concentrate on being as evil and
> clever as possible tactically so as to be "lucky" as possible with regard to
> lifts and shifts.
>
> A big boost this past season was the flowering of my elder son Peter and his
> friend Duncan as mast and foredeck men... I have grown to expect that the
> spinnaker will go up seconds after rounding the windward mark; and we have
> the courage to carry it to within yards of the other end.
>
> Gord Surpise #426
>
> > I'll let someone who sails the Great Lakes answer, then.  On the
> > Chesapeake Bay, I'm often glad to have a big genny.
> >
> > - George
> >
> > Chris Lawrence wrote:
> >> Great lakes and sailing mostly, thanks
> >>
> >> Chris Lawrence
> >> 24 Scarborough Road
> >> Toronto, Canada M4E 3M5
> >> T: 416-698-5136 F: 416-698-8953 E: chris.lawrence at sympatico.ca
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: public-list-bounces at alberg30.org
> >> [mailto:public-list-bounces at alberg30.org] On Behalf Of George Dinwiddie
> >> Sent: 30 September 2004 09:33
> >> To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
> >> Subject: Re: [Public-list] Roller furling sails
> >>
> >>
> >> Where are your cruising grounds?  The prevailing winds make a big difference
> >> in sail choice.  Also, what are your preferences on sailing vs. motoring?
> >>
> >>  - George
> >>
> >> On Wed, Sep 29, 2004 at 08:37:12PM -0400, Chris Lawrence wrote:
> >>
> >>> Has anyone recently put on roller furling and had a sail made for one?
> >>> Any advice or comments re make of furling and size of sail would be
> >>> appreciated - my thoughts are a mid-sized headsail is probably best if
> >>> one is strictly cruising.
> >>>
> >>> Chris Lawrence
> >>> Cirrus #500
> >>
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>
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