[Rhodes22-list] Fully Battened Mainsail From JSI
Roger Pihlaja
rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
Mon, 26 Aug 2002 16:51:15 -0400
Richard & Toad,
I have the following address & phone numbers for JSI:
Johnson Sails Inc.
The Sailing Source
P.O. Box 20926
St. Petersburg, FL 33742
800-234-3220
813-576-1306 (FAX)
I don't know their internet URL.
I ordered my mainsail in November, 1994 for a March, 1995 delivery. The
"Snowflake" winter discount price was $776 with free S&H when I placed a 50%
deposit at the time of ordering the sail. My customer service rep was
Leslie Ramsdell. My invoice number was 075296-0, dated 03/03/95. My
customer number was 707800. The product was called a "club race mainsail" &
I ordered one additional reef point, insignia, & 3 full length battens.
Surely, with one of those numbers, they can find the order & sail cutting
data.
I supplied the following measurements:
Max Luff: 21' 8" To Band
Max Foot: 9' 0" To Band
Max Bend: 3"
A: Aft face of mast to bearing point of tack fitting: 1-1/2"
B: Top of boom to bearing point of tack fitting: 1/4"
C: Aft face of mast to bearing point of reef hook: 1"
D: Aft face of mast to end of groove or track: 5-3/4"
E: Bottom of the luff groove or track on the mast to top of boom: 10-3/4"
F1: From back of mast along boom to 1st reefing block or padeye: 8' 2-1/2"
F2: From back of mast along boom to 2nd reefing block or padeye: 5' 9-1/2"
X: From bearing point on boom outhaul to the top of the boom:5/8"
Y: From black band on end of boom to the end of the bolt rope groove: 7"
Z: Width of shackle jaw on boom outhaul: 1/2"
Outhaul Car: No
Luff: 7/16" Sail Slugs
Foot: 7/16" Bolt Rope
Included in above price: 1st reef point, tapered battens, shelf foot,
cunningham, draft stripes, numbers, radial reinforcements, leech line,
telltales, sail bag, & sail ties
Sail Cloth: 5.6 oz/sq yd Dacron
All Grommets & Other Hardware: 316 SS
Headboard: UV Stabilized Engineering Thermoplastic
You guys should know that Dynamic Equilibrium has a 3:1 boom downhaul to
adjust mainsail luff tension. So, I do not use my cunningham grommet & I
instructed JSI to design & build the sail for applying luff tension via a
boom downhaul. FYI, this method of applying luff tension works so much
better than a cunningham that you should consider switching over to it.
You should also know that after I got the sail, I found there was some
interference between the leech & the double backstays, particularly with the
boom in the upper position. Remember, the sail is very roachy. If I was
careful, it was possible to gibe from one tack to another without hanging up
the battens on the backstays. But, I was afraid I'd get careless one day &
break a batten. In addition, there was the issue of chafing the leech
against the backstays on every tack. I just hate having to baby my
equipment.
My solution to this potential problem was to modify the masthead casting.
It turns out the ID on the fitting at the rear of the masthead, where the
double backstays attach is 1". I took a piece of 1" X 1" X 7-1/2" solid
aluminum barstock & MIG welded it onto the back of the masthead. It extends
aft 6" from the rear of the masthead casting. So, there is about 1-1/2"
sticking into the masthead casting & it's MIG welded all around. After
welding, I rounded all the square edges to streamline the aluminum extension
& thru bolted a HD padeye for the backstay attachment point out near the end
of the extension. To prevent the thru bolted nuts from ever coming loose, I
tack welded each of the nuts to the studs on the padeye. The net result is
that my double backstays now attach about 5" aft of the standard attachment
point at the masthead. My full length battens & roachy leech never
interfere with the backstays now. My design is probably overkill, but I
never worry about my backstays coming loose, chafing, or breaking something
at the masthead. We sail Dynamic Equilibrium hard & frequently go out in
pretty rough conditions. Sailing starts to get fun when they post the small
craft warnings, don't you agree?
Oh yes, I shouldn't forget to mention that I've also beefed up the
attachment of the masthead casting to the top of the mast. Instead of pop
rivets, my masthead casting is drilled & tapped for 1/4-20 UNC X 3/4"
stainless steel round head machine screws. With all the extra stress at the
masthead from a tri-radial spinnaker & the extra leverage of my extended
backstay attachment system, I didn't trust the shear strength of the pop
rivets. Don't forget to isolate the stainless steel from the aluminum with
a good anti-seize compound during assembly.
Good luck guys. I've been very happy with this sail. It's been holding up
very well. The shape still looks crisp & fresh even after almost 9 seasons
of sailing. The only maintenance I've had to do has been annual cleaning,
minor restitching last year at the headboard, & I had a 3rd reef point
installed 2 years ago.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christine Allison" <sailnut@asan.com>
To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2002 8:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Mast Bending & PHRF Rating
> Message<I have 3 full battens on my mainsail. It's very roachy & holds
its
> shape very well. It's from JSI in Florida. I have sail slugs on the luff
&
> a bolt rope on the foot. Hoisting & lowering are not a problem. It will
> sometimes fall down the mast when I let go of the halyard.>
>
> This sounds like what I am looking for. Do they have the measurements? Do
> you have their URL? Did you order any special options?
>
> At the risk of prying what did your sail cost?
>
> Richard Smith
>
>
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