Ramsey after work

johnbaker17 · Post by **johnbaker17** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:29 pm

I know I'll be catching the backside of the best wind today, but I need to keep my job. ETA for Ramsey is 5:30. Anyone else for a later session? Anyone who can tell me if I'm rigging my new sail properly?
I haven't gotten my blaze orange hunting cap and flare gun yet, but it's on my to-do list.
John

SteveJ · Post by **SteveJ** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:49 pm

Your new sail will take a lot more downhaul than your old sail did. Make sure you get a downhaul tool to help. The loft sails have a lot of range but you will want a bigger one for the lighter wind days that we get a lot of. Hope you had a great time on the lake today.

johnbaker17 · Post by **johnbaker17** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:41 am

Yeah... I read all the instructions and they said the downhaul tension would be "more than you would expect" so I really cranked on it. I've got a downhaul tool, and I pulled till it seemed it wouldn't pull any more. It was all tight along the luff, so I think it was good.
When I first went out yesterday I had my outhaul very tight, but when the wind started dwindling I loosened it quite a bit. Pulling it back up out of the water the sail filled right away and I had more power than before the adjustment. Nice!
I haven't messed with the baton tensions yet, and I maybe should. I had a bit of trouble getting the ends of the batons to slide over to the other side of the mast anytime I turned around. They stick into the mast and want to be on one side or the other.
The only other issue I had was the velcro on the foot pad came undone once while I was cruising. I had to undo the outhaul to release tension on the foot, then pull the velcro strips back together. It never happened again after that, but that was when I decided to leave my outhaul a little looser for the lighter wind.
John

Josh J · Post by **Josh J** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:29 am

had a bit of trouble getting the ends of the batons to slide over to the other side of the mast anytime I turned around.

I have a couple loft sails and you just need more downhaul. It could be that the mast is not a good fit for the sail but in my experience you just need more downhaul. Pull till you can't go any more and then another 2 or 3 cm.

Josh

johnbaker17 · Post by **johnbaker17** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:24 pm

Okay, I'll shorten the strap at the top so I can pull the sail down further. I'm not in any danger of wrecking my sail am I? Just seems like a lot of tension. But then all I've been using are the old clothy triangular sails, so this is a whole new world to me.
John

SteveJ · Post by **SteveJ** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:58 pm

My loft sails have a range for mast length and boom length on the bag and the sail. This is a good guide for setting up the sail if you know how long your mast is and you have measurement markings on your mast base. The top leech edge of the sail should be loose and the sail should have a few wrinkles in it to twist and spill too much wind. More downhaul and more wrinkles for high wind and less for light. The batten tension is good when you do not have any wrinkles in the sail along the batton sleeve. The sail should rotate properly if the battens in the middle of the sail end in the middle of the mast after you downhaul it. I find I do not need much outhaul tension at the end of the boom unless I am trying to sail in very overpowered conditions.

Josh J · Post by **Josh J** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:12 pm

Totally agree.
The loft website has good info if you didn't get enough included with your sail.

http://www.loftsails.com/

http://www.loftsails.com/att/pdf/trimguide06.pdf