[Rhodes22-list] Code Zero

[Peter Nyberg]

A couple of years ago I decided that the 175% genoa that came with my boat was too big to be a good general purpose head sail.  So, I downsized to a 135%, but being concerned about light air performance, I also bought a UPS (both sails from Doyle - Salem loft).

I knew about the UPS (Utility Power Sail) from discussions on the list back in 2003 - 2004.  The sail was not mentioned on the Doyle website, but the salesman (Chris Howes) assured me that they could still make me one.  I was pretty surprised when I got it, because the 2019 version of the UPS was quite a bit different than 2004 version.

The 2004 UPS was made from nylon.  As Mary Lou's pictures show, nylon comes in colors, and back then you could pick the colors you wanted. I'm not sure what fabric was used in the construction of my UPS, but while pretty light, I'm sure it's heavier than the nylon fabric, and it only comes in white.

 As for rigging, the IMF mast can accommodate two 'halyards'.  When I got my boat, one 'slot' was being used for the mainsail boom topping lift, and the other was unused.  So, now the second 'slot' has the halyard for the UPS.  For the tack, there's an eye on deck just aft of the head stay, a small block attached to the eye, and a line (tack-line) runs through the block.   Both the halyard and tack-line are 1/4".  When the UPS is not deployed, the working ends of these lines are clipped to the deck just forward of the mast (where they can be reached while standing in the cabin).  The other ends go to cam cleats at the aft end of the cabin roof.

Note that there is no furler in this set-up.  

To deploy the UPS, I put the sail bag down on the cabin floor and pull out the head and tack corners, and attach halyard and tack-line. Pull some on one, then some on the other until the luff is tight (being careful not to let the ends of the sheets get away from you). In very light air, I do sometimes have to go on deck to coax the head past the spreader.  

The UPS has its own set of sheets (3/8").  Often, only one will end up being used, but two are needed.  I'm pretty sure that I've never tacked the UPS, but I've jibed it plenty of times.  

There's one more line that helps when retrieving the UPS.  It is permanently attached to the tack, and when the sail is deployed it runs back to the cabin.  Trying to pull in the tack using the clew and foot will tend to make the sail fill with air, which is not what you want at this point.  Pulling the tack in with this line while leaving the sheets slack works much better (as I found out the hard way). 

Naturally, I've got a YouTube video that discusses and depicts some of this, which can be found here: https://youtu.be/8Jcl55uFkbA

Peter Nyberg
Coventry, CT
s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)