I've noticed and issue with my mainsail... I have three sets of tell tails on it, top, middle, & bottom. When close hauled, I can easily get the top and bottom tails to stream nice, as well as the leeward middle one, but the windward middle tail will be flipping up.
I'm not entirely sure what control I need to fix that, or if maybe I should leave it be. A couple of ideas I've had, but haven't had the chance to try yet...
1) Maybe more downhaul to flatten the sail.
2) Maybe the battens near the center of the sail are too tight and I need to loosen them a bit.
What do you think might be the issue?
How to get center tell tails streaming.
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Posted: Nov 15, 2024 - 09:10 PM
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Posted: Nov 16, 2024 - 07:22 AM
I would try #2. Tell tails on the windward side that are too far forward will encounter turbulence from air going around the mast. Don't get too obsessed with this, it is generally difficult to get all of them steaming back at the same time, it is the ones on the leeward side of the main that are much more important and it is easier to get them to behave.
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Posted: Nov 20, 2024 - 04:34 PM
luffing telltales on the inside are only a concern if you feel underpowered. I have always focused on the tell tales on the leech 2/3 up the sail. I would try the following:
1. more mainsheet - until the leech stalls
2. more downhaul unless the hull isn't flying
3. batten tension should be tight enough to pop the batten down (while horizontal)
4. may have too much mast rotation.
5. pre-bend in mast may not be matched up to main sail luff curve.
6. Sail shape is past it's prime... too much draft - new sail.
It really depends on how intense you want to get to focus on #4 & #5 and how much money you want to throw at it for #6. Once the wind is 13+ knots, you'll be dropping mainsheet and probably naturally overpowered where the inners will be luffing anyways.
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Scott
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Posted: Nov 20, 2024 - 08:45 PM
80% of your power comes from the leeward side of the sail. Don't worry too much about the windward telltales. The middle sag is common with older sails. If downhauling the sail is difficult, you may need to replace the bolt rope to allow more. The rope inside the sail shrinks over time and will not stretch out enough to let you downhaul hard. Lay the sail on the ground and see if the luff lays perfectly flat, or is it curled up a bit. You can pull one end of the cord out by cutting the stitching, and sew on an extension to the current one, then tie the top to a tree and use your mainsheet to pull the foot hard to suck up the extension. Cut and sew the extension while the tension is on but you have lessened it a bit to allow you to work the needle through.
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Posted: Nov 21, 2024 - 01:16 PM
Adding to what others have said - I would not fixate too heavily on the middle telltails. On a sloop rig, the telltails in the body of the main tend to be pretty useless. The upper telltails on the main and the two sets on the jib are the ones to watch.
In my experience, the telltails in the top third of the main are most critical. I would put one or two sets in the upper panels. Your sail will stall from the tip down. If you are looking for power, just watch the upper telltails and if the windward is streaming up, then you can sheet in more. If the leeward is streaming up or forward, then you’ve overdone it and you need to immediately sheet out to reconnect flow. This will eventually be able to be done almost entirely by feel and you’ll only need to refer to the telltails in light conditions when it’s easier to stall the sail.
sm
