Mike: Try taking a photo for us. There is much discussion and experience with Nonsuch sails.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
My sail has a dedicated cringle about 15” up from the tack that I run my Cunningham line through. I use the smaller winch inboard of my halyard winch to cleat off the Cunningham. I don’t need to tension the Cunningham using the winch as hand tight is plenty to remove any crows feet from the lower half of the luff. As for the crease in your sail, the best bet is to play around with various minor changes to sail shape using TL, halyard, choker, a bit at a time till you start to see an improvement.
Pat Furr
NS 26C #133
Bandolero
Charlotte, VT
Botts put a cunningham in my wishbone sail about a foot above the tack. It should solve your problem, if you cannot get enough tension on the luff. For the time being you could try to tension the luff using the first inboard reefing pennant to see if it makes a difference. If it does, one can add a cunningham during the winter. I have a cunningham on my gaff sail.
John Newell
Mascouche 26C 1
Toronto
Photo of the Botts sail taken by him at the RCYC Rendezvous 2006
Hi Mike -
Checking out your photo, just maybe, your topping lift is as drum-tight as it looks. It should be loose and floppy and not supporting the end of your boom at all - the boom should be supported (when the sail is raised) purely by the sail’s cut (as if there were no topping lift at all). Maybe it’s just an illusion but, if I’m correct, loosen off that topping lift, and maybe the various wrinkles will go away.
Only rarely (in very light air to create some curvature in the sail) do we “support’ the boom” by tightening up the topping lift. Its real job is to support the boom when not sailing.
Good luck.
Ernie A. in Toronto
To Bathwater.
It look as if the topping lift is taut from the photo. Ease it and all should smooth out unless the safety cable is too short and in that case you will not be able to ease the topping lift sufficiently..
John Newell
Mascouche 26C #1
Toronto
Ashley looks like she is, indeed, enjoying the weather. (I’m being presumptuous … this IS Ashley, right ??).
How low can you go, you ask. On a very calm day, while anchored or at your slip, haul the sail right up. Then, totally release the topping lift. Untie or undo the safety line or safety cable. Create the condition as if you had NO topping lift or safety line. There should be enough line, in the topping lift tackle, such that the boom is held up by the sail and the topping lift is quite loose. Take a good tape measure and measure how high off the cockpit floor the end of the boom is (as the loose topping lift stays loose).
OK - drop the sail totally. Now, the boom is held up by the topping lift and it, likely (or it SHOULD be) somewhat higher than the previous measure. Measure this to confirm that the topping lift does hold the boom higher than the sail just did. Slowly, lower the topping lift until you reach a point where don’t want it to ever go lower, if the tackle breaks and the safety line must hold it up. THIS measurement must be somewhat lower than the boom was when you first measured it as the sail held the boom up. Otherwise, the safety line or the topping lift line is simply too short.
I must have used the word "measure’ a lot - I hope that this isn’t confusing. How low can you go ?? As low as you can tolerate the end of the boom falling before the safety line stops it from giving you or others a concussion. Just make certain that neither your topping lift or its safety line are holding the end of the boom up when the sail is raised. They must be slack when your sail is raised.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Looks like the sail cloth in the areas around the middle two battens has weakened and they are collapsing in. Try loosing the tension on the batten or going to a thinner batten. Other option is a more reinforcement at inner end of the batten. Show it to a sailmaker.
The topping lift on my 26 is fully released in anything over about 8 knots of wind. That may help … but I think the battens are the issue. Try the topping lift off, if the does not work …it’s the battens. I had that issue with my sail, went to lighter battens on the lower two and the problem went away never to return.
Thor
If there’s a leech line adjustment on the sail, you might try playing with that.
It’s the only thing I can think of that hasn’t already been mentioned.
– Bob
Solar Wind
Nonsuch 26C #143
From the appearance of that bottom batten, it looks as if the leech has been stretched. A sailmaker may be able to put pickups in which should keep the sail functional for a while, but it would be nice for Santa to slide down the mast with that new full batten sail you dream of.
Ron Weber
N22 Magic Time
Punta Gorda Fl