Topsail trouble.

[John B]

I always hated the cut of my topsail.. too much unecessary nock and it was cut out of period for my boat with a long tack overlapping the gaff . So last year I had the foot recut and most of the overlap removed. Now it sets like a busted bum and I've got a regatta on friday. I'm still hoping I can trim some of the girts out of it but..... :rolleyes:

easy to get up there when you're sailing along on the wind at 6 knots anyway...a bit of a stroll up the hoops.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/pb1d9461859b58fd993fb2fab890eda49/f03252e6.jpg

Might have to be a new topsail for next year. redface.gif

[Ken Hutchins]

Cool. smile.gif

[Jase]

So I shouldn't rub in that we got ours re-cut after last seasons flapping one... and now it's b-udifool.

tongue.gif

http://www.classicyacht.org.nz/files/forumJP/Topsail.jpg

[John B]

bloody cheque book racing :D

[Jase]

lol, if only... I think the cuzzy is a sailmaker tongue.gif
we are so poor we actually have to work on the boat ourselves... The paid hand got fired yrs ago tongue.gif

[John B]

wish I could get my forestay looking like that.

[Jase]

Sometimes i think thats all I am there for :D to get the handy billy on the jib halyard up nice and tight smile.gif

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Mine never looks like that, either! :D

That's a very long topsail yard - how do you stow it?

[ 02-13-2006, 05:14 AM: Message edited by: Andrew Craig-Bennett ]

[Hwyl]

It's an obvious comment, but it seems to me you could ease the sheet quite a bit and it lookks like you've got to figure a way to get lots more luff tension.

Is your topmast sagging off?

[John B]

Hwyl, there's 2 things I'll do with the trim. One is shift the sheet 'back' 2 inches on the jackyard(I moved it 'foreward' 4) and I'll slack away that intermediate tack point where the sail finishes at the heel of the yard.You're no doubt right about the sheet tension but I was testing. I should be able to pull the thing as tight as I want without those girts I reckon. At least... thats what I could do before.
Its the old problem.... made 3 changes at once and now I have to find which one is wrong. Nevertheless, there is still something wrong with the recut IMO ,but you get that.

The yard is pretty good actually. Its trapped at the heel and very close to chocka block. It does bend off a bit but its supposed to do that.

I think I just need a supersize-me like Rawene. :D

[ 02-13-2006, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: John B ]

[Jase]

heh we shortened it by 8 inches this year tongue.gif

you'll need more than that to counter the bucket I'm tying on your rudder :D

[Jase]

looks ok in this pre mod shot... Guess that high peaked main cuts down the area available for topsail, but, i'd rather have it on the main i think.

http://www.classicyacht.org.nz/files/forumJP/yone.jpg

[John B]

Ahhhh.. the old Cavalier 32 #1 light genoa from 1970frozenstiff eh. Gee they knew how to make good sails back then.
Thanks for the pic. I forgot where it sheets. ( about a foot further aft than it is in that shot ) :D

[John B]

since some comments have been made ;)
A bit of tweaking got rid of most of the problems so I guess it gets to live for another day....
before
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/pb1d9461859b58fd993fb2fab890eda49/f03252e6.jpgafter http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/p9a8bf0f221d355d8c7fc3e346d03174c/f022552e.jpg

[ 02-20-2006, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: John B ]

[Hwyl]

I was just looking at the "Forumites and their boats" thread. Tops'l looks nice in that (I know the wind is light)

[John B]

It was setting fine on the wind Gareth.. so it was just the fact that after the minor recut ,I'd shifted the sheet and altered the tack to the yard that bent it out of shape.And I was messing about with a hank on the tack/foot line and it was that which had been jammingthe hoist/set which then made me less tolerant etc etc. So I changed that for a block and all things being equal... its actually better through the luff now and not venting off as was happening with the foot overlap.

[ 02-26-2006, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: John B ]