It could be, David,

but I doubt it. The sail has been designed and cut the same way as the last three sails I have made, and the shadow pattern doesn’t look different from them.

I therefore suspect other reasons.

• ·         The CE of this rig is 300mm aft of the CE of the Bm rig when the sail is set with 10% balance. I can easily increase the balance to 13 – 15% by moving the sail 200 – 250mm forward.

• ·         I am a spoilt kid. After having had only fin-keel boats with balanced spade rudders for the last 35 years, I am used to fingertip control, even when the rudder is set at some angle. The big unbalanced rudder of a folkboat has higher tiller forces, even at a low rudder angle.  I have sailed a lot in folkboats, so know them well.

• ·         I should not worry about speed until I have put on new antifouling. She is quite dirty. Still, close-hauled we went just below 5.0kts and when beam-reaching, we touched 6.2, so it is not bad.

Arne

Second sail in Ingeborg

Today we had the second test sail of Ingeborg. In a stronger F3  -  F4 she performed fairly well, but not spectacularly so. She does need to be slipped and have her bottom repainted. In addition, I think she had a bit too much weather helm this time. Studying my photos of the sail, I see I can shift the sail quite a bit forward, at least 20cm without having to move batten parrels. I just need to replace the standing tack parrel, which was too short.

We did a few gybes with full sail, and so far there has not been any sheet tangle. The sail itself sets well, after I adjusted the HK parrels of the two lowest panels. Still, there is a bit adjustment left to do with the sheetlets: I always tie them on with a bit too much rope, so I can shorten them until I am happy.

I do feel I am getting better control now: A good indication is that I sailed Ingeborg right back into her berth, just as I use(d) to with the others.

Arne

(the album has been lost)

Phil Brown wrote:

It must be so satisfying to get to this point.  Will you use a pair of rolling hitches with shoemaker splices to attach you lazy Jacks line to your topping lift? Also what knot(s) do use use to  attach the aft end of you batten and Hong Kong parrels to the battens.?

Phil

Phil,

I will basically use the same style of sail catcher as used on Frøken Sørensen (that black bridle). That involves hoops tied to the topping lifts with rolling hitches and shoemaker's splices and also a hoop tied to the boom.  This is one reason why I like to use 3-strand rope when I can  -  so easy to splice one way or the other.

The photo below shows how the HK parrel and batten parrel is tied on. This was an early version. I later cut the line for HK parrel longer to let me secure it with a trucker's knot. That gives a 3-part purchace and is easier to adjust with load on it. The main thing is the hose-clamp, which secures two hoops; one for the HK parrel and one for the batten parrel.

Masterfully done, Arne!

Tonight, after a long day of tying up the last batten parrels, HK parrels , THP, YHP, sheetlets and wotnot, I had the first little sail on the bay in perfect test condition (F1-F2).

It looks very promising, so far (hardly enough wind to inflate the panels properly), and the balance was as perfect as one can dream up  -  a one-finger-light weather helm when fully close-hauled.

Open photo below and step forward for three more.

Cheers, Arne

PS, 17.6. The use of 60mm ball-bearing blocks from Selden for all the halyard blocks has been a grand success. In combination with using only 8mm halyard (5-part) this makes hoisting the sail quite light. I also took care of aligning the blocks on the yard with those on the mast top. The low friction means that the sail comes down very quickly as well -  I must pass the halyard over the winch for braking to save the gloves...