hi all,
most of what i've learned about setting sail shape and position, over the last 2 years, on my 13 foot sailing dingy seems to have been set on it's ear by my first sailings on my 1982 nacra 5.2
the whole traveler thing is a new ball game and learning to use the traveler and downhaul to spill air, rather than the main sheet is new to me. (though the dacron sail is in very good condition it probably still is the original and somewhat
blown out
? and probably not very controlable with downhaul, at least with the current system???
anyway in the setup manual for the nacra they say,
tie a stop knot through the traveler sheet to prevent the traveler car reaching the end of the traveler track
previous owner has it rigged so that traveler car stops about 1 foot short of the end of the track. is there any advantage in downwind sailing to reducing this to 6inches?
eric e
those rigid, slot sails on the c-class cats are facinating
Mine is set at about 1 foot also...maybe a little less. I very rarely travel out to that point though.
On cats you don't sail straigh downwind like you do on mono's. You gybe downwind just like you would do working upwind. So rarely do you travel all the way out, most of the time you are still sheeted in pretty tight and not sailing to low, that way you use the extra speed the cat makes to make up for the longer distance.
I am sure there are some others who can better explain.
If your sail has stretched just cut the relivant length off the top....jusat enough to make the downhaul work again. Do not cut the bolt rope though, resew that to the new length. Replace the plate at the top and maybe even a little, angled batton and it will create a whole new sail for you.
1 way to get a square top i guess, thanks for the advice guys
eric e