Foresail dragging on the bow pulpit.

[edokarura]

Fellow E-Yachters,

The foot of my headsail is resting on the bow railing on pretty much all points of sail. It's on a Harken roller-furler and I have pulled the halyard swivel up as far as it will go and have run the drum/basket as far out as as the manual says I can (2 inches of exposed thread on the turnbuckle - see pic). Neither of these two things solved the problem so I tied in a loop of line between the tack swivel and the tack (see pic) to allow the halyard swivel - and thus the sail - to sit further up the headstay and pull the foot off the railing.

But this can't be the correct solution, can it? Should I just put in an extra long shackle and be done with it?

I asked the sailmaker if the sail wasn't too big. He said that the sail fit the boat and the problem was that the bow railing was too high. This didn't sound right. Would someone really design a boat this way? The railing, I assume, is original.

I have what I believe to be the correct amount of rake pulled into the mast (the main halyard hangs 5 inches aft of the mast at the main boom) but anyway, pulling in more rake would do nothing more than straighten up the head stay. It wouldn't pull the headsail further up and away from the rail.

Thoughts?

Ed
"Kinnaree"
'91 E-34

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Ed,

I also have a loop of line about 4 - 6 inches tied to the tack of our E30+. I wasn't comfortable with the full two inch adjustment on the Harken roller furler, so I've adjusted ours to be only about an inch. I think more potentially weakens that toggle connection even though the Harken manual says that up to two inches is ok.

I don't think the bow pulpit is built wrong--I've seen lots just like that. Even with the line at the tack, the foot of our headsail does rest slightly on the bow pulpit. I don't think that's a problem except that the sail picks up a bit of darker metal dust/oxidation from the pulpit. That can be avoided by cleaning the pulpit periodically with metal polish or even just boat wax.

Having the sail up a little bit higher also helps with visibility ahead.

Frank

 

[DanielW]

Same issue on my E28-2, I was told by the previous owner that the sail was cut close to the deck for racing and sure enough, when we are beating and it is hauled right in, it is nowhere near the pulpit or the guardlines and really comes into its own. My main issue is having zero visibility forward on that side of the boat. If you look at photos of the big regattas and racing events you will see that this is a pretty standard cut for the big racers. So, consider this your best possible sail for on-the-wind performance. You can get a higher cut sail made for cruising or just live with it touching the guardlines when sailing offwind. Mine occasionally needs a helping hand to get it over the guardlines on some points of sail and I put some sail tape on the contact point to help with the chafe.

 

[edokarura]

Okay, I'm convinced that the sail is the right size. I guess I need to build a lower bow pulpit and tie in a piece of line or install a longer shackle on the tack.

Thanks, guys!

 

[Christian Williams]

The foot of my headsail is resting on the bow railing on pretty much all points of sail.

Wait, I'm confused. It doesn't touch the pulpit when close hauled, does it?

If you have a decksweeper genoa, it is normal for it to touch the pulpit and the forward lifelines as soon as you bear off. You can lead the lifelines to the base of the pulpit, which may help.

Cruising sails are cut higher, for (much!) better visibility and less chafe. You can get the same effect, however, by roller furling a decksweeper ten percent.

If there is room to put a pennant on the foot of the genoa and raise the foot higer, by all means do it.

It means the decksweeper was not designed for your boat anyhow.

 

[DanielW]

Or just live with it, like this guy

 

[Seth]

Normal

All boats have this unless the headsail is cut with a pennant to get the tack above the bow pulpit, but this just reduces the size of the sail. As you correctly note it does not happen when trimmed in for close-hauled sailing, but rather you see this when reaching with the sail eased. This is totally normal and the sail is built with reinforcing material around the tack to protect from chafing against the rail. If you wish, you can add some extra stick on material (same thing as spreader or stanchion patches, but I don't think it is needed here. You are fine, and this is perfectly normal and correct.

S

 

[PDX]

Older boats (mine for example) had a differently shaped bow pulpit. It looked like a bent half circle supported by wheel spokes. The life lines dead ended on the deck, at the base of the bow pulpit, leaving a gap. Sail fold over was less severe but still happened.

 

[adam]

I've got a hank-on jib and I fixed the "problem" by putting a small piece of wire and raising up the sail about 1'.