[Public-list] Roller furling sails

Gordon Laco mainstay at csolve.net
Fri Oct 1 08:44:33 PDT 2004 

Hey Don - 

Great description of how to achieve a nifty outhaul... I should have said
that 4:1 like we have is not really enough; with our set up we have to cast
off the sheet to make adjustments if it is blowing.  I like your set up
better - wounded elbow or not!

By the way, I am staying in the water until freeze up again this year, then
I will join you at Dutchman's.  In the spring you will see us tackling new
toe rails and a topside paint job.

Cheers - Gord #426 Surprise






> 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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