[Rhodes22-list] trimming a furling mainsail

[James B. Connolly]

The following advice was recentlty promulgated on Sailnet.  The Rodes 22 is
not (normally, at least) equipped with a vang.  I recall some talk of the
backstay-mounted traveler compensating (partly?) for the lack of a vang.
Based on the attached description of the problem they had on their Beneteau
(I think) it doesn't seem to me that it would be a complete solution.

1.  Does the R-22 have noticable leach flutter as described here?  If so,
how is the leach flutter dealt with?

2.  Do you spend a lot of time fiddling with outhaul tension?


Jim Connolly
wannabe



> Mainsail Furling Issues
> What can you tell me about trimming a furling mainsail without battens?
>
> Sue & Larry respond:
> Our first cruising boat had an in-mast, roller-furling mainsail and we
> found only a few differences in trimming that from a conventional
> mainsail.
> With no battens to support the leech of a traditional mainsail, it will
> flutter away and be very inefficient. To help reduce this problem on
> mainsails designed for roller-furling use, the sail has been modified by
> cutting away some of the leech and leaving a much more concave looking
> shape. This certainly helps with the fluttering leech problem,
> but doesn't
> entirely remove it.
> The boomvang is your best help here. By tightening down on the boomvang,
> the end of the boom is pulled down, resulting in the leech tightening and
> allowing the sail to hold a good shape with no flutter. The snugging down
> of the boomvang, in combination with some outhaul tension, always
> gave us a
> reasonable sail shape for sailing upwind. As we bore away from
> the wind, we
> would release some of the boomvang pressure and some of the outhaul
> tension. You'll find that as you point further away from the wind, the
> leech has less of a tendency to want to flap, and the leech tension is no
> longer needed, nor desirable for good sail shape.
> Just a tip we learned about using our in-mast roller furler: It's often
> necessary to fully release the vang tension prior to furling in the sail.
> This will help eliminate any snags as the sail is rolled into the
> extrusion. Good luck.