[Rhodes22-list] A question of size and shape (sails ye salty dogs sails)

[Rick]

John,

Two things affect how much you need to furl your head sail to keep from
heeling over too much:  the wind speed and your point of sail with respect
to wind direction.

Especially if you have IMF, the larger your head sail, the better your boat
will sail.  There's no sin in sailing with the the genny furled down.  In
fact, that's pretty much the reason for having a furler.  You'll find the
CDI furler foil does a better job than the GBI one maintaining the shape of
the partially furled sail.

Raking an IMF mast back won't bend it--it is too thick.  However, raking
while close hauled will increase speed and improve control by tightening the
forestay to give better headsail shape.

Rick

On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 2:41 PM, John Shulick <jsbudda at verizon.net> wrote:

>
>  Hello to the forum,
>
>  After extensive negotiations (groveling, begging, etc...) with the Admiral
> I have been authorized (allowed) to replace my blown out 35+yrs old 175
> genoa and GB furler with new equipment. Over the last 2 yrs. sailing at
> Kinzua has shown me the 175 is really not suited for the conditions I have,
> namely wind gusts that can double in velocity usually accompanied by 90* or
> more shifts in direction. I never fully unfurl the genoa unless the wind is
> so light that the sail can't or won't (not sure which) fill properly. My
> research into the archives show the older rhodes came with 150 genoas and
> my
> 71 certainly falls in that group. My question to the forum is at what
> approximate wind speed would you begin reefing in a 150 genoa and would a
> 135 or less be even better for the conditions I'm facing. Also I'm looking
> for a furler and would appreciate any info on which ones offer more sail
> tuning options. A final item of thought, has anyone out there in rhodes
> land
> experimented with mast rake and/or mast bending by use of baby stay tension
> to alter mainsail shape and performance.
>
> All comments are appreciated
> Thanks in advance
> John Shulick
>
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