Questions? Furlers, jibs and control.

[MadMacX]

Hi Guys,

While sailing the last few days I kept wondering how much my CDI FF affected the shape of my jib. My furler retracts counter-clockwise, so when the wind is from starboard the furler luff is aligned with the sail, however, when the wind is from port, the furler luff is aligned with the direction of the boat. When sailing are you supposed to adjust the furler with the furler line or does it make any difference?

Another question; the PO had shackles attached to the jib sheets, (I guess he did not like tying a knot each time he sailed), compared to a knot, these shackles seemed rather heavy, is it OK to use shackles? (Other than the fact they beat the heck out of the front of the mast).

Last question; I learned to sail on a 27' Hunter and my instructor said that the only time you should need to touch the wheel was when you changed course or docked your boat. I must admit that the Hunter was a pleasure to sail, but that's not my issue ( I'm sure a Beneteau would be a pleasure too, but I own a Mac). My question is what am I doing wrong that I have to fight my boat to maintain a course when sailing? If I get a decent breeze the boat wants to point to the wind and I have to wrestle it back. Yesterday I sailed, single handed, for six hours in 12-15 MPH gusting winds and when I was done, it felt like I was arm wrestling all day. Am I trying too hard to maintain a course? I was taught to pick a point and sail to it, is that wrong? To the point, is it me or the boat?

Thanks,
Pat

[DanBurke]

Hi Pat,
My previous boat was a C&C 25 so I can appreciate your challenges. Keel boats and water ballasted boats are two very different creatures with VERY different sailing characteristics. I will provide my two cents regarding your questions.
1)the furler should be aligning itself properly on either tack. Check to see that the drum is "bottoming out" with the sail slot centred.
2)I would get rid of the shackles and go with a continuous sheet that stays on the sail permantly. No bulky knots, no shackles to clang around, no accidental opening of the shackle!
3)I might suggest you need to de-power your boat. When trying to point I found that less is more. Dropping your traveller will get rid of a lot of the helm you are feeling. And the most important thing I discovered was to always detach the motor from the steering mechanism. The 50 hp Honda is a monster. this made a world of difference. When reaching and with proper sail trim, I am able to leave the helm to retrieve a fresh beer from the cooler without any mishaps.

Hope this helps,
Dan.

[Kelly Hanson East]

and my instructor said that the only time you should need to touch the wheel .....

Nothing wrong with the boat, you just need a new instructor.....

[Terry]

What Dan said in #2 & #3 about the engine is good advice.
I might also add that I solved a portion of that 'pointing into the wind' you mention by tuning the rigging a bit. Tuning your rig means to change the mast rake & bend to better match the boat and get the shrouds and stays to the correct tension. (you need a Loos Guage) I found that by getting the mast more perpendicular to the boat that it loosened off on the weather helm (pointing to windward) substantially.
While I do not have a CDI I have heard that it does have some luff impediment in that you don't have the jib halyard to use to adjust the luff with.

[MadMacX]

Dan, thanks for the info.

1) I'll check that out on Saturday when I go out. When I put the new jib sail on, last week, everything seemed to be correct, but I'll check. I never really checked how the furler "looked" with the old jib, but with the new one I am paying more attention. It just seems to me that the furler luff should follow, or lead, the sail luff.
2) I went to WM this afternoon and picked up a new jib sheet....shackles.... gone.
3) What do you mean by dropping the traveler? I have a , no traveler. Never thought about detaching the motor. Mine is only a 25HP but it is still quite a bit of weight. I'll have to give that a try. When you detach the motor does the steering lighten up a bit?

Terry, your help is appreciated.

I think that I will start by just getting my mast to a neutral position, right now it has a definite bow in the middle. A friend of mine has a Loos Gauge and has offered to help set the tension correctly, but what is the actual correct tension that is required on a 26X?

As always, this site is a wealth of knowledge because of it's members!

Pat

[DanBurke]

Oh yeah, I forgot you don't have a traveller on the X. Your other option is depower by simply easing the mainsheet. This will create "twist" in the sail thereby spilling some air, giving you less helm while maintaining power heading into some chop. And of course, there is always the reefing option which will allow you to trim your mainsail without being over powered. Give both a try to see what set up works best.
Disconnecting the motor is night and day! It will make a world of difference to the feel of the wheel and will be far less of a workout.

good luck.

[Terry]

I think that I will start by just getting my mast to a neutral position, right now it has a definite bow in the middle. A friend of mine has a Loos Gauge and has offered to help set the tension correctly, but what is the actual correct tension that is required on a 26X?
As always, this site is a wealth of knowledge because of it's members!

Pat

About 10%-15% of breaking strength, it is marked on the Loos guage for 5/32 wire. Too much rake aft is what causes the rounding up, a more neutral position may help. You also have a backstay to induce mast bend which the M does not have.

[bscott]

Set your mast rake at 2*. Pointing will be much better with a jib on the cabin top with the car set so the sheet extension bisects the middle of the luff in the middle. 15 knots is probably too much sail for a genny unless you have luff tape.

I use a triangle traveller. One 4:1 vang from the pedestal to the boom and a second 4:1 vang with it's own boom bail to the leeward rail. This allows me to adjust the tension on the main to flatten the sail and I can ease the main in a puff and still have tension on the boom which avoids the big belly of the main when the boom lifts as it travels to leeward. You can try to use the boom vang but the stock 4:1 vang is too weak and too small. Garhauer has a boom vang that is OK but adds alot of weight and is a PIA to trailer.

My Loose is 200 on the lowers and 250 on the uppers. Wind over 10 knots, I harden up the backstay to further flatten the main and harden up the forestay. It sounds like your foestay is too loose but unfortunatley you cannot harden up your jib halyard to give you a flatter entry unless you go forward and figure out a way to harden up the CDI's internal halyard. I think Delevi accomplished this on his boat.

You should also experiment with the center board. Raising the board to 50% in winds over 15 kts will reduce weather helm. The borader the reach, the higher the board until you are full up on a DDW reach.

Scott had a great mod for disconnecting the motor which works great for sailing and trailering and cost less than $10 to install. It does relieve the steering pressure and I found that I could maneuver the boat with the engine running and still imobilized, using the rudders only. Not so good in reverse though.

Bob

Bob