IF I had a cunningham, yes, I’d use it to tighten the luff after cranking a reasonable amount on the halyard. The bigger the sail, the more tendency there is for the top part of the sail to get pulled higher and tighter than the bottom part - that’s where a cunningham is handy. It allows you to tighten the luff a little more at the lower part of the sail. I’d rig it with some crazy little 6 to 1 block affair that would not require the use of a winch - sort of like the topping lift.
First of all, thanks for all the great posts by all. Never can learn enough from the experience of others.
I just got back the final drawings from Martin Padilla at Somerset Sails (Barker, NY) and we finalized several element of the new NS 354 sail
We started with the excellent and detailed Precision Sails calc (thanks you, Craig Stanley, S/V Matou, NS 354 #70, Tampa!!)
Then he input into his program which will create a NZ-inspired bi-radial using the 10 oz Marblehead cloth
I asked for two reefs although NS 354 #72 was re-rigged for only one by the prior owner (he got rid of the in-boom reefing and the 2nd reef by re-run the two lines so that one controls the luff and the other controls the leech of the 1st reef point).
*** I would like everyone’s opionion if I should go back to two reefs and re-install the in-wishbone boom reef system as the boat was delivered from Hinterholler. ***
(Having said that, since our sailing is exclusively on San Francisco Bay and we’re not trying to max speed for distance runs, if the winds get too strong, I just ease off the sheet to reduce the heel and the the speed drops a bit. I can’t remember the last time I reefed so there’s that…)
I went with two full battens and two partial using the very fine Harken Battcar system that was installed when new from 25 years ago (I found New Old Stock Battcars/Battslides from that era on Ebay for peanuts) using
2 Harken 1774 - 22mm non-CB Battcars (for the track) and two Sailpower 1 5/8" Aluminum Batten Holders (for the luff of the sail) for the top two full battens
14 Harken 1777 - 22mm Sliders for the rest of the luff.
1 Harken 1792 - 22mm non-CB Double Head car and headboard for the head
I guess the two big questions that I still have are 1) is 10 oz the way to go? and 2) do I have too much roach (~2’ at the second batten point)…
Michael Jabara
Hobbes II - NS 354 #72
San Rafael, CA
Barry, could you tell us how your Precision Sails is working, Any other details other than the dimensions would be helpful (cloth type, weight, how well the reef points align with the wishbone boom blocks, wishbone boom position when properly choked/tensioned).Thanks!
Michael Jabara
Hobbbes II NS 354 #72
San Rafael, CA
