Sport Today

I just got my first sail with battens.  It also has 1 cam.  I couldn't
believe how  hard I had to pull on the down hall to get it to look right.
Is this kind of mast too stiff for the sail?  Will this damage the sail?

Thanks
Norm

Norm:
If you don't have at least a 6:1 downhaul ratio (3 pulleys on the sail,
and 3 or 4 on the mast base then you have not yet experienced "hard
to downhaul".
How are you determining that the sail is downhauled correctly.
Is the seam in the luff sleeve running at the same angle with the
mast centerline?

Also, if you could tell us what brand and model the sail is,
and what kind of mast you are using.
There were some older DIN masts that were very stiff and didn't
fit many sails at all.

It probably won't damage the sail, but the sail also may not work
correctly.
later, Roger

Hello Norm, I once had a similar problem to what you are describing, I used
an old fibreglass mast on a four cam race sail, It didnt damage the sail,
however it certainly affected its performance, I believe the fibreglass adds
to much weight aloft and wont let the sail twist off at the top during
strong gusts, I eventually purchased a new carbon fibre mast and the
difference was remarkable, the sail became much easier to controll and
certainly lighter to use, which naturally helps allot when waterstarting.
Personally I would get rid of the fibreglass mast a soon
a possible. I believe that a carbon mast will increase your performance and
pleaseure of using the sail by at least 30 percent. I hope this helps and
good luck in the future, cheers steve

On Sun, 02 Apr 2000 15:50:36 GMT, "Norm Bosse"

#I just got my first sail with battens.  It also has 1 cam.  I
couldn't
#believe how  hard I had to pull on the down hall to get it to look
right.
#Is this kind of mast too stiff for the sail?  Will this damage the
sail?

First your mast and sail may not be compatable in how the curve is
built into the sail. This will cause your sail to be full in one spot
and too flat above or below that.

Second you may be able to rig the sail and make it look good but the
mast could be too soft. This would cause it to deform the sail as you
sailed. That means extra work and instability with your center of
effort changing up and down and back and forth.

Bottom line is a good sail deserves a decent compatable mast. In fact
it is the single most important thing you can do in my mind. You
should be able to sail it without having wrinkles form laterally
(usually below the boom) and it should be easy to lay on your harness
line and not have the rig pulling first your front hand then your back
hand (shifty pocket or center of effort). The right mast can make all
the difference in how good you can jibe.