Main Sail Flogging

[Neo]

I took her out in a 17knt wind today because I wanted to try reefing the main.... little did I know ...
So many things went wrong. I forgot the bucket for starts and my friend did his best to hold her into the wind while I sat next to the mast and wrestled with the main.
1st hoist .... Heeeeeling!!! ... Bugger forgot to fill the ballast tank .... I'm very lucky
2nd hoist..... BIG gust ..... HEEEELEEING !!!! .... almost standing on the stanchions to stop myself going for a swim ... Could work out how tie down the leech to the boom
3rd Hoist .... Tack hooked down, chew tied down and we're off, sail down wind!!!.. But what's the big baggy belly hanging over the boom?
Wind changes direction, boom goes mad and at 2.5 Knos it take a few seconds to steer back on the wind again .... Look up and the sail has ripped wide open 2 ft just below the lowest batten. .... BuggerBugger!!

Despite all this I had a great day and even managed to get the the Mac on the trailer in a 15 Knot cross wind too

Big questions .... Can I be rid of the belly?.... And is there much to trim on a reefed Main?

I'm off to the sail loft

[kadet]

Been there done that, well except ripping the sail, but I did pop the rivets on my outhaul and pulled it off the boom then had to motor 25kms back to the ramp with a 30 knot breeze

All part of the learning process. The big belly was probably left-over sail bunt, roll it up and tie it up with the reef ties.

[Neo]

You have 3 reefing ropes (maybe more?) ... All I did was Clew and Tack ...I need to double check for more eyelets

Are those blue Ropes/Ties something special

[Curwen]

When a sail rips like are they repairable or does that mean somebody is going sail shopping?

[grady]

When a sail rips like are they repairable or does that mean somebody is going sail shopping?

If you snag it, flogging or somthing like that and have it rip it usually can be repaired. If it just blows out in higer wind the sail is probably old, weak and not worth repairing.

[Neo]

When a sail rips like are they repairable or does that mean somebody is going sail shopping?

If you snag it, flogging or something like that and have it rip it usually can be repaired. If it just blows out in higher wind the sail is probably old, weak and not worth repairing.

Hmmm .... two sails in two weeks this dam Mac will be the death of me .... but a good way to go!

[sailboatmike]

You may be able to fix the sail with some good quality heavy duty "Main Tape" which is self adhesive and can also be sewn on for extra strength , if you use it patch both sides then sew it onto the sail. Main tape will run you to around $20 for a 3 yard roll.

I just patched about 30 small holes (think they were from the sail being stored without being dried properly by the PO) and a couple of small rips of less than a inch in length.

At this point I just need to keep my sail going for a few months, the poor old 20 plus year old original is very soft and that original sail material is VERY thin to start with, probably only designed to last a few years in light winds below 10knts at best.

[kadet]

Are those blue Ropes/Ties something special

No any piece of rope that can fit through the grommet will do. You now know where the reef knot gets its name

[Tomfoolery]

Are those blue Ropes/Ties something special

No any piece of rope that can fit through the grommet will do. You now know where the reef knot gets its name

I have short lengths of 1/4" nylon through the grommets, with a stopper knot on each side so they don't fall out. Then a reef knot to tie the two ends together when the sail is reefed. Otherwise, they just hang there. If there's little chance of needing a reef, I'll take them out, but there's no harm in them just sitting there with the sail flaked, so that's where they live half the time.

[Neo]

Thanks for the photo Kadet

Another nice idea Tom..... what if I used a thin/light dyneema permanently in the reefing eyelets ... would that be Ok?

[grady]

Thanks for the photo Kadet

Another nice idea Tom..... what if I used a thin/light dyneema permanently in the reefing eyelets ... would that be Ok?

That works great. I do it on mine. Put a stopper knot on ether side of the grommet.

Here is the best pic I have where you can see them

[Neo]

Thanks Grady .... are they about 7 inches long?

[Neo]

I found those other reefing eyelets Kadet.

All the Mac manual states is this.....
To reef, release the mainsail halyard and lower the sail until the reefing eye on the front edge of the sail (about as high on the sail as the first batten) can be hooked into the hook that is attached to the gooseneck. Then re-tighten the halyard. Release the line that holds the rear end of the sail to the boom. Pass the line through the reefing eye on the sail (near the bottom batten), around the boom, back through the reefing eye, then to the cleat at the end of the boom.

So without using those additional eyelets I had the baggy belly and I put the clew under too much stress and the sail ripped at the clew and the leech .... Lesson learned

All the best.
Neo

[yukonbob]

Sounds like the main sheet was cleated while you were trying to raise the main? leave it lose and you shouldn't heel, will be easier to keep pointed and put less stress on you and the rig

[Neo]

Thats right it was just holding the boom.... How else do you stop the boom acting like a monster with a baseball bat in his hands!!!