Sagging Boom

[Jimmyt]

Agree - but don't know him well enough to know if he has $800++ for a new main vs a few bucks to rig a topping lift - just to allow him to be on the water sailing like crap (which I consider to be a LOT better than being at work). Even with the sail flapping like a bedsheet on the line, I bet I've sailed on worse....

[BOAT]

He could get a used sail at minneys?

[Curwen]

I checked the weather and it should be perfect sailing weather for me, might be a bit cool for the Admiral, but we have cool weather gear for her. Since the leaves are starting to turn, she will get at least a drive up a pretty canyon with the leaves in transition.

I'll try to take some pictures to help illustrate what I am experiencing.

[Jimmyt]

I enjoy being on the water - even if I'm sitting in still air. We generally take a picnic and go for the day with no real destination except to get away. We pretty much have two seasons; hot and humid, or cool. Some colorful leaves, but most are either green or brown all over the yard. Sounds like you have the makings for a nice outing. Hope you (and mostly the Admiral) have a good time!

Some pics of your sail dilemma would be helpful. One of the many smart folks will probably be able to give you the solution once they get a good look at it. I can only give you the duct tape and bailing wire fix...

[Hamin' X]

Bolt ropes do shrink and the result can be seen below.



More info HERE.

~Rich

[Judy B]

Bolt ropes do shrink and the result can be seen below.



More info HERE.

~Rich

Hi all,

I respectfully disagree with what the authors of the post wrote. There is no reason to tighten the halyard luff past "no wrinkles" on most modern mainsails.

Most modern sailmakers don't pre-load the mainsail bolt rope anymore. Better quality sails have low stretch, synthetic bolt rope in the luff for sails with slides. Hyde sailmakers haven't preloaded the bolt rope in the mainsail since the 1990's. There are a few one design dinghy sails which we still preload, just so that they can be made fuller and more powerful in light air.

Most modern sailmakers will make the sail about 0.5% too short on the luff, to allow for future stretch. High quality bolt ropes put into mainsails with slides actually stretch a bit in the first few years of use. After 20 years or so, they get brittle, hard and inelastic. 20 year old dacron three strand bolt rope is often shrunken.

Fair winds,
Judy B
Sailmaker

Nowadays, most cruisers and racers will loosen the luff tension enough to have horizontal wrinkles.

[Curwen]

Finally took some time to get an image from my brother...



The mast is low, I thought I pulled the main as far up as far as I could. Thoughts?

Could be important to solve for the spring. I am applying for a job that is located on the other side of the lake I live on. Instead of a 35 minute commute around the lake, I'd rather sail/motor for 45 minutes to a marina on the other side of the lake and jump on my 70 cc scooter to get the rest of the way to work.

[BOAT]

Yeah, your living the dream if you can take your boat to work every day. Very nice - the 26D looks like a 'real' sailboat - very nice.

Something just does not look right on that main sail - let's just say I don't like the cut of your sail - I know it has a big M on it but it looks like it was cut for a smaller boat than yours to me. It could just be the perspective of the photo.

[Wind Chime]

The mast is low, I thought I pulled the main as far up as far as I could. Thoughts?

Looks to me like that factory sail it is not hoisted all the way up. Too much space between the head of the sail and the halyard turning block near the top of the mast.

Possibility; is the main-sheet and boom-vang completely free and loose when hoisting the mainsail? If not it will stop the sail from being hoisted to its maximum height.

[BOAT]

Hey Chime,

I zoomed in on the picture and I saw wrinkles in the main - they were starting at the end of the boom and fanning upwards toward the mast.

It's almost like as if his bolt rope was too short? Maybe if he pulled on the halyard real hard and tried to stretch out that sail on the bolt rope side it might flatten out a bit??? (Judy need to look at that thing)

Something is goofy there. I can't figure it out.

[Curwen]

Boat,

I agree that the sail does not look like it is all the way up, the pulley for then main sail is right at the top of the mast. I'm a big boy and I pulled on the halyard fairly hard to make sure it was up all the way up.

I'm trying to determine if it was me not hoisting the sail properly or if there is something wrong with the sail.

Thank you for your thoughts,

Curwen

[BOAT]

Well, that sort of answers all the questions guys - he said he has the halyard pulled all the way up as far as it will go and he still has wrinkles in the main so from my point of view there are only two things that can cause this:

1. the sail is cut wrong
or
2. his goosneck has been moved (his goosneck needs to be lower on the mast).

[Tomfoolery]

Hey Chime,

I zoomed in on the picture and I saw wrinkles in the main - they were starting at the end of the boom and fanning upwards toward the mast.

It's almost like as if his bolt rope was too short? Maybe if he pulled on the halyard real hard and tried to stretch out that sail on the bolt rope side it might flatten out a bit??? (Judy need to look at that thing)

Something is goofy there. I can't figure it out.

Shrunken bolt rope is my first impression, based on the wrinkling and the headboard being so far from the top. I cut mine loose at the stitching at the tack, and it made a huge improvement. Mine's an original main sail, as it appears the OP's is.

[Wind Chime]

Hey Chime,

I zoomed in on the picture and I saw wrinkles in the main - they were starting at the end of the boom and fanning upwards toward the mast.

It's almost like as if his bolt rope was too short? Maybe if he pulled on the halyard real hard and tried to stretch out that sail on the bolt rope side it might flatten out a bit??? (Judy need to look at that thing)

Something is goofy there. I can't figure it out.

Shrunken bolt rope is my first impression, based on the wrinkling and the headboard being so far from the top. I cut mine loose at the stitching at the tack, and it made a huge improvement. Mine's an original main sail, as it appears the OP's is.

Yup,
1) first thing to do is ensure the vang and mainsheet are loose (no sense cutting the rope if no no need).
2) if booth those are loose and the sail will still not hoist all the way, it is a shrunken bolt rope that can easily be cut free from the tack of the sail. Takes 5 minutes and presto!

At the last BWY rendezvous in Annacortes, Todd cut loose about 4 ropes in the fleet. He said that if they were to continue selling MacGregor's, he would cut all the ropes on the new sails before they sold them (assuming your using sail-slugs as most are).

[BOAT]

I would like to see a closeup of the goosneck.
I can't see it in the picture because it's covered up by the jib.

I'm curious to see that the goosneck hardware is not upside down.