M-17: Mainsail shape
Hi all, I'm trying to figure out if "Star Cross'd"s mainsail is blown out and needs re-cutting or replacement. Here's what I observe: 1. It's not ***clearly*** obvious that the point of maximum roach is forward of the center of the sail (like a good airfoil ought to have). 2. The sail doesn't seem particularly flat, seems to have a pretty good roach, maybe 6-9 inches at the deepest part 3. I can't seem to get the telltales on both the sides and the leech to fly horizontal at the same time, unless it's blowing pretty hard. The telltales on the leech seem to spend a lot of time sucked around to the windward side. I do all sorts of fiddling with the downhaul, outhaul, traveller, cunningham, flattening reef, and only a good stiff breeze (10+ knots) seems to keep all the main telltales flying. 4. Star Cross'd does seem to go to weather "appreciably", at least on smooth lakes. On bumpy, lumpy, Santa Monica Bay, it's a lot of work to consistently maintain a high pointing angle. Jerry M. has said before that if the sails are blown, the boat will refuse to go to weather. Unfortunately, I haven't raced it against other Monty's to know if I'm performing comparably. Can anyone who has a new M-17 sail tell me if their sail looks and behaves like Star Cross'd's mainsail? Thanks. I should probably send these questions to Kern Sails, they should know for sure. Thanks again for any help you can provide. John Fleming M-17 #357: "Star Cross'd"
Hello John, Last weekend Cathryn and I were invited to join the local racers for the afternoon. Our sails are really old and yet we were faster than a Catalina 22 with newer and larger sails on the downwind leg and held our own an the reaching leg-we fell behind badly on the upwind leg-in particular the head of our jib would start to luff and we would have to fall off the wind a bit to keep the whole sail pulling. The telltales on our sails don't stream as they should either, even in a good wind and after trying different adjustments. I have priced new sails from several places-when I contacted North Sails I was connected to Cruising Direct [ I think this is a North subsidiary? ] and was given a very good price. A few days later I picked up a Cruising Direct brochure at Marine West [ maybe a West subsidiary? ] which included good prices on CDI furlers. We are thinking of getting the whole setup here- has anyone done business with Cruising Direct? Are they the same as North? Prices: main $393; 110% jib$337; CDI FF2 $359. Rope or foam reefing pad is extra. Last week a low pressure front moved thru northern California with winds on Scotts Flat Lake at about 20 with higher gusts. Cat and I are first year sailors so this was our first time to enjoy[?] getting the rail in the water and tying in a reef in the main. Cat is still not sure if she had fun but I did and we both enjoyed meeting the challenge of bigger weather. we are trying to come up with one of those sailing "ratios", you know...AF [amount of fun] = number of bruises/ the % reduction in sail area...or something like that! Plan to get two reefs in the new main but still unsure what % jib to get so that it still has good shape when reefed to work with the second reef in the main, maybe a 120% that will go down to about 90%? We plan to get out to the S.F. Bay where 30 knots is typical on summer afternoons. Any advice or info is appreciated. Ron and Cathryn Goodspeed M17 "hula pie" #025
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John Fleming -
ron and cathryn goodspeed