[Public-list] Roller furling sails

Fri Oct 1 16:43:01 PDT 2004

You're very welcome.

Gord

> Thanks Gord I will contact Triton sails and am also looking at your outhaul
> solution - sounds like I just added another thing to my growing list of
> needs
> Best regards
> 
> Chris Lawrence
> Cirrus #500
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-list-bounces at alberg30.org
> [mailto:public-list-bounces at alberg30.org] On Behalf Of Gordon Laco
> Sent: 01 October 2004 07:21
> To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
> Subject: Re: [Public-list] Roller furling sails
> 
> 
> 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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