Less is more even when there already is less.

[Bolo]

I guess you could chalk this up to "even and old dog can learn new tricks". I was sailing the Chesapeake this past weekend and there was anywhere from 6 to 12 knots of wind with lots of wind shifts Yea, it was a strange wind day but it was August on the bay. My point of sail was somewhat of a broad reach and I had all the sail out but with Vesper having heavier cruising sails the 135 Genoa just wouldn't form up right and kept collapsing under its own weight. Then I noticed another sailboat off to my port that was going a bit faster with a rolled in jib and, after a quick look with the binoculars, it was not motor sailing. So I rolled in about 40% of my Genoa and went faster! A little bit faster but definitely faster because there was less "sail weight" for the wind to contend with and the head sail formed up more like a wing. So when the wind blows less and that jib just isn't doing it's job then less sail is more and not just in a high wind situation. I am an old dog and I did learn a new trick yesterday.

 

[ConchyDug]

Interesting, 6-12kts is the sweet spot for a 130-140% genoa.

Which headsail track are you using for a broad reach?

 

[Bolo]

Interesting, 6-12kts is the sweet spot for a 130-140% genoa.

Which headsail track are you using for a broad reach?

Don’t quite understand your question.

 

[Christian Williams]

If I'm only off the wind for half an hour, I let the sheet bear on the lifeline. But more than that, I feel obliged to change the sheet to the outer track, which is kinda irritating if there's any wind.

Snatch blocks are the answer, but they're expensive and flop around . I find my old Ronstan double genoa cars are relatively svelte and worth the re-leading trouble.

 

[Bolo]

Don’t quite understand your question.

Ok, if you’re referring to the track that the jib car runs on then you should know that my E32-3 only has one car on the inner track so no choice there. But it was obvious to me that pulling in some of the Genoa to the point where it started to “shape up” was the answer. Also as a side benefit, being able to see ahead under the foot of a head sail in a crowded harbor such as Annapolis can sometimes be is also a plus. I’ll even do that when there is plenty of wind and then let the rest of the head sail out after I’m clear of the traffic.

Spring Sailing

youtube.com

 

[Bolo]

If I'm only off the wind for half an hour, I let the sheet bear on the lifeline. But more than that, I feel obliged to change the sheet to the outer track, which is kinda irritating if there's any wind.

Snatch blocks are the answer, but they're expensive and flop around . I find my old Ronstan double genoa cars are relatively svelte and worth the re-leading trouble.

Christian, over the years I’ve collected about four snatch blocks that I’ve used to control jibe and as jibe preventers but now I do that (jibe control) in other better ways. But I guess I could slack off the jib sheet at the car, slip it into a snatch block on the other track but I don’t think that would have helped the low wind situation I was in as much as rolling in part of the Genoa because…well…that worked and was easy to do.

 

[ConchyDug]

No need to rerun the jib sheets use an old sheet, splice a snap shackle on it, buy a $60 rubber coated snatch block, boom now you can barberhaul a genoa. Keep you jib sheet on the primary and take the barberhauler to a cabin top. You have infinite adjustability by playing both lines and the snap shackle allows for a quick release.