New Jib etc.

[rfrance0718]

I bought a new jib (150) this Spring and I've used it a couple of times now. I really didn't expect to see much difference in performance, but I might be wrong about that.

I've bought a lot of new sails in the last 40 years or so, but up to this point, never a new cruising sail. i would say that I've bought a dozen new sets of Thistle sails and as many new Laser mains. When you are racing, old sails start to slow you down, but not all of the time. I usually find that new sails give me confidence and keep me in the mix. On the right day, a boat speed day, I can tell that they are keeping me in the mix. But a lot of days aren't boat speed days, the difference in winning and loosing on those days is all tactics and strategy. At our little lake it's rarely a boat speed day, and I usually race with my second set. I can tell when that second set is truly shot, and that's when I buy a new first set. So I'm saying that after 6 years of half time total use, a set is truly shot. After 3 years of half time use a new set is ready to be relegated to being second set.

On the Oday, my old jib and current main were probably made in 2004, by the same loft as my new sail.. So that's 20 years of full time use, a heck of a lot longer than I would ever use a racing set, but speed differences are way to subtle to know from feel, and, to be honest I never expected the Oday to sail upwind very well.

So, back to my new jib. On Friday evening I sailed out to an anchorage about 7 miles away. The first half of the trip was a close reach, with a reef in the main, and the genoa out full. (I reef the main on a reach to balance the helm. The Oday is beautifully balanced close hauled, but she loads up substantially when I start sailing off the wind. At any rate, after about 3 miles, I rounded the West end of South Bass Island and now had a destination directly upwind.  I took the reef out, and sailed about half of the distance on starboard, and had to tack when I got to Rattlesnake Island. At that point, it was a 90 degree angle to the anchorage and I was expecting another tack, as the Oday has never tacked through 90 degrees. The boat did behave well on both tacks, with the tiller locked in the center, and making 5 - 6 mph. There was a lot of heal, which seems to suit the wing keel. At any rate, I was truly surprised that I was able to lay the anchorage. The track on the GPS was an absolute right angle, and I would say that the old boat was pretty proud.

It could have been that I hit a 15 degree shift right when I tacked but the next morning I had to tack up the channel between Middle Bass and South Bass, and had a similar result. Going forward, I'm going to buy a new main next Spring and I'm planning on getting a new forestay which will allow me to decrease the rake. I would expect that to give me more balance on the reaches, but might cost me upwind, a trade off that I wouldn't want. We'll see.

The one pic shows the new jib and the reefed main. You can see that the new sail is a bit long in the luff. The length of the furler extrusion limits the height. I'm going to talk to the loft about that. The last pic is my latest project. It's a removable seat that allows one to sit in the gangway, facing forward, and getting some shelter in a blow. A friend of mine had made one for his Creelock and Tami liked sitting there. So it's really a honeydew item, but I'll use it as well. Taami is going to add a cushion after I apply some finish.


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[Timm R Oday25]

I also have a new sail , 135% genoa.. I'm very anxious to see it being used.
How do you adjust your traveller to windward ?

[rfrance0718]

It slides behind the new seat by about an 1/8 an inch.

[rfrance0718]

Or do you mean how do I hoist it to weather without control lines? I let it drop down before a tack, or luff the main for a second and pull it up to weather.

[Noemi - Ensenada 20]

My mom used to like to sit in that space on my boat.  I took my parents sailing a bunch of times when I still lived in Michigan. 

[Riley Smith]

It's time for a new sail for the catboat. I noticed a pinhole where something has been rubbing while traveling. I'm afraid to even price it! What is so bad is I have a brand new main in the shop for the old Victoria that was only used maybe a half-dozen times. Maybe I can find someone that will buy it. The new sail looks great!

[Frank B.]

The new sail looks great, I guess it has been about ten years since I've gotten a new one.  At that time I bought a 130 and an asymmetrical spin, almost wish I had not bought the spin, have not used it much, it really works great and looks cool, but I single hand a lot and it is normally easier for me to run wing and wing the way my sailing grounds are.  My main is original 2005 but it has had one trip to SailCare.

Seat is a great idea, wouldn't work for me, don't have mid boom sheeting, however I've considered changing to it many times, I've had both and prefer mid boom.

I think you're right, performance is often "all things being equal" i.e. using the old sails well can make the difference.  I recall coming on the lake and seeing a San Juan 23 about a half mile ahead of me and I decided to see if I could catch it.  Did exactly that in about three miles. No way my Compac 23 should keep up with that boat. BTW, I think that boat is available for the taking, in the owners back yard and he has aged out.  It is dirty and needs work, but has good bones.  Tupelo, MS.