[Rhodes22-list] genoa size

[Dennis McNeely]

Paul,

I share your frustration with the sheet catching the baby stays while 
tacking. When I bought Magic Moments from her previous owner, the genoa 
sheet was a single long line with a cow hitch 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_hitch) securing the middle of the line 
to the clew. The knot is simplicity itself, but to tack, the baby stays 
have to pass between the two sheets, which the knot secures parallel and 
adjacent to one another. That is the very spot that catches the baby 
stays - and it was driving me crazy, especially when short tacking. I 
came up with a two part solution:
    - change the cow hitch to a clove hitch 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove_hitch), so the two sheets leave the 
knot at a very 'open' angle, making it much more difficult for the knot 
to hang up on the stays. I secured the clove hitch with thread to 
prevent it from loosening when the sail luffs and flops around.
    - when I had the genoa restitched last year, I had the loft put an 
extra grommet in the foot of the genoa, about 70% of the way back from 
the tack to the clew. I read somewhere that tacking with a large genoa 
could be made much easier if a line was run forward from the cockpit to 
a block at the pulpit and back to that grommet, as pulling on the line 
from the cockpit then pulled the foot of the sail forward, eliminating 
the need to go forward or furl the genoa while tacking. Apparently the 
line is one type of a 'tricing line'. Once you have a tricing line set 
up, you can change tacks "in a trice" (literally, with one tug).

With regard to the sail wanting to collapse in light air, my biggest 
problems occur while broad reaching or running. The apparent wind is 
slow while working downwind, and the weight of the sail takes a certain 
pleasure in collapsing despite your best efforts. Fortunately, the 
previous owner had purchased a whisker pole, which supports the genoa's 
clew outboard and minimizes collapsing. You can secure the end of the 
whisker pole with a topping lift and/or a fore guy and after guy to 
prevent the weight of the pole from pulling on the leech and collapsing 
the sail forward or prevent a gust of wind from causing the pole to 
lift. You can even furl the genoa while the pole provides control for 
the position of the sail's clew. Gybing with the pole set can be a 
little daunting though (especially if single handing) - you've got to 
furl the genoa, retract the whisker pole (it telescopes), swap sheets 
(and possibly the after guy) at the outboard end of the pole, and 
re-extend it on the opposite side of the boat. It can make for a real 
dance if the bow is bouncing around much at all ;-)

The big genoa is a challenge, but it's a godsend on days when the wind 
is only barely cooperating. Good luck with yours.

Dennis

On 10/15/2011 10:16 AM, Paul Krawitz wrote:
> On my new 2nd Rhodes, I find that the 175% genoa is too much sail in heavy
> air and too heavy/floppy in light air. And even with plastic rods covering
> the shrouds and cylindrical vinyl turnbuckle covers, it gets readily tangled
> during tacks.

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