How far on the side the sail should go when running. On the laser, the sail is about at 90 degree with the boat. On my cat, the further the sail can go when the sheet rope hit the stopper knot is about 45 degree. I think it should go 90 degree but want to be sure to evaluate the length of rope I need.
you can't go 90* on a boat with side stays (shrouds) that are behind the front beam
going on a deep downwind run you should be able to travel out (at least to your hiking straps) and sheet out
if you have a stopper knot preventing you from doing this you need to correct that ASAP ( you dont want to get caught in a big blow and not have enough mainsheet to work with)
On your I-18, your main should be centered and sheeted most of the way down wind with your spin up. If you have enough sheet to travel all of the way out and let the boom hit the stays, you have considerably more sheet than most F18s.
If your running without the spin, traveling all the way out is plenty. You will still be sheeted fairly tight.
Keep in mind that you will rarely want to sail dead down wind. I like to keep the tells on the bridals at about 90* with the apparent wind.
-- Greenville SC
Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans --
I think the point is that while you CAN physically sail a beachcat dead downwind, it's an extremely slow thing to do, although sometimes can be required as MN3 states.
Different from Dinghies which might want to sail that way.
That can help a lot if the boom is high enough to allow for the pig tail and still not go block to block when sheeted hard.
i mean sailing VERY deep, esp when restricted to a 8' wide channel and your sailing south in a south blowing wind... your gonna go deep (or tack 300 times like Austin Powers driving a golf cart in a tunnel)
DDW leads to accidental gybes, which leads to concussions, and worse ... spilled drinks
Although 2 weeks late, here are the pictures as promised. This is what most of the boats in our fleet look like when fully traveled and sheeted out. Notice that stopper knots keep a few feet of sheet on the tramp.
Edited by bacho on Jul 28, 2014 - 05:51 AM.
-- Greenville SC
Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans --