[Rhodes22-list] Loose-Footed Mains

[James Barron]

Robert:

When I click on the link sent by Leland I get the following article from 
Sailnet:


Racing sailors in particular are keenly aware that once the breeze pipes 
up, you need to make certain adjustments to keep your sail shape optimized. 
With a mainsail, that begins with tweaking the halyard to achieve a luff 
tension that's in the ballpark for the given conditions. Then-if your boat 
has a standard Marconi rig-you'll begin making adjustments to the backstay, 
outhaul, and cunningham to fine-tune the sail's overall shape. Of course, 
the most frequent adjustments are made using the traveler and the 
mainsheet, and on board the most aggressively raced sailboats, the latter 
is rarely cleated.

Of all these controls, perhaps the one most overlooked by non-racing 
sailors is the outhaul. Most boat owners follow the 'set it and forget it' 
approach with this control line. But a properly attended outhaul can afford 
you surprising control over the lower portion of most mainsails. I say most 
mainsails because there are different design approaches to the foot section 
of these sails. On the vast majority of mainsails, you either have a foot 
that's attached to the boom via slides or a bolt rope, or you have what is 
known as a loose-footed arrangement wherein just the tack and some portion 
of the clew are attached.

It used to be that 90 percent of mainsails seen on board recreational 
sailboats were constructed with an attached foot. However, that situation 
started to change during the 1980s after America's Cup sail designers began 
experimenting with loose-footed mainsails. As with most sail design 
innovations, permutations of this approach eventually trickled down to the 
recreational arena and became commonplace. These days, the majority of new 
mainsails are designed with a loose-footed arrangement.

But, besides attachment methods, what really are the differences between a 
loose-footed mainsail and one that's attached along the boom? Proponents of 
the former will tell you that loose-footed mainsails are easier to rig and 
de-rig because there are fewer attachment points and less hardware 
involved. Consequently, there's almost always less friction as well, which 
is a boon to those trimming the outhaul. Equally important is the fact that 
a loose-footed mainsail enables you to more easily rig reefing lines by 
tying the bitter end around the boom. And some sailors will tell you that 
having a loose-footed mainsail makes it imminently easier tie on a boom 
preventer, but I recommend you affix preventer lines to the boom by using 
dedicated hardware like a padeye. (Most booms aren't designed to sustain 
the point loading that is likely to occur when you tie a piece of line 
around the spar's midsection and subject it to high loads.) A further 
advantage to loose footed mainsails is that they make it possible to load 
full battens into the sail when it's not already bent on the boom, and that 
is often easier and more convenient.

Are there disadvantages to loose-footed mainsails? Yes, but these are 
relatively minor. First, while sailing close-hauled with the mainsail 
trimmed in hard and the outhaul taut, some loose-footed mainsails will 
produce foot flutter. On board most boats, this is really more of an 
annoyance than a performance detractor. And second, some long-range 
cruising sailors customarily use the foot of their mainsail to collect 
rainwater. Depending upon the amount of rainfall, this can be a pretty 
efficient collector, and you obviously can't do that with a loose-footed 
mainsail.

What about mainsails with an attached foot? What advantages does this 
system offer? The only true advantage to this system is that it allows the 
mainsail to have a conventional shelf-foot built into it. A shelf foot is 
characteristically a lighter weight piece of cloth that is sewn along the 
foot of the sail from the tack to the clew. This section also connects to 
the mainsail along the boom, ordinarily via slides or a bolt rope. When the 
outhaul is loosened, the shelf opens up to produce a fuller shape in that 
portion of the sail. When the outhaul is tightened, the shelf essentially 
closes up and flattens alongside the boom. The downside is that the 
hardware involved (slides or bolt rope) will eventually increase the cost 
of maintaining the sail due to the wear and tear of these items.

It should be clear at this stage why the majority of sail designers these 
days favor loose-footed mainsails. Neither concept offers a significant 
performance advantage under sail for most types of boats, but the 
loose-footed approach can provide significant advantages from a maintenance 
and equipment handling standpoint. Also, the fact that almost any existing 
boom can accommodate a loose-footed arrangement, but an attached foot 
mainsail requires a boom with either a foot groove or a track further 
strengthens the loose-footed argument. Of course every sailboat has its 
idiosyncrasies-as do most owners-so discuss these options with your 
sailmaker before you commit one way or the other. If you do that first, 
you'll be much happier no matter what option you choose.

About the Author: Dan Dickison is known throughout the sailing community 
for his in-depth articles on a variety of sailing topics. His resume 
includes stints as a staff editor at Sailing World, Editorial Director of 
SailNet, and Editor of Practical Sailor. In those capacities he has written 
principally about racing, sail handling, and maintenance. He has also 
written over 50 freelance articles that have appeared in major sailing 
publications around the world.


-----Original Message-----
From:	Robert Skinner
Sent:	Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:53 PM
To:	The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject:	Re: [Rhodes22-list] Loose-Footed Mains

Nothing showed up.  What am I missing?

/Robert

Leland wrote:
>
> http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35266
> http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35266
> --
> View this message in context: 
http://www.nabble.com/Loose-Footed-Mains-tf4137717.html#a11768785
> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list

--
Robert Skinner  "Squirrel Haven"
Gorham, Maine         04038-1331
s/v "Little Dipper" & "Edith P."
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