What is happening, is that the mainsail is "blanketing" the foresail, which means that it is stopping the wind reaching that sail.  Without any wind in it, the sail swings back towards the centreline of the boat.  I would personally recommend anyone contemplating a two-masted boat to rake the forward mast so that it leans forward.  In this way, gravity tends to keep the sail hanging out, even when there is no wind.  It might be possible to induce some rake into your existing mast, but removing all the wedges and using them to force the mast against the front of the partners, but this very much depends on how the step and partners are built.

Generally, this blanketing effect is a problem once wind and waves increase.  As you say, a number of people have found an effective solution is to sail under main alone and to reef and sheet in the foresail.  However, some people find the boat sails better under foresail, with the main reefed, so it would be worth experimenting.

Hello there!

I'm in Ibiza now.

First of all, I replaced lifting blocks to larger ones and it definitely changed the picture. 

Now I have problems with my foresail... I replaced some ropes that were connecting sail to battens and yard and smoothed out the sail as it was kinked before. After this was done it appeared that the sail has much more balance. In order to deal with it I added a high luff hauling parrel and a static tack parrel, though I think the amount of sail before the mast is still larger that it should be. When I sailed I noticed that the foresail changing tack when I'm about 10-20 degrees to the wind (on running I mean). In the beginning I even liked it, because it allowed me to go goose wing easily, but later when I had to reef, the situation get worse and reefed foresail changed the tack on 20-30 degrees from the wind. As my course was almost exactly with the wind it was really frustrating that I had to tack and with such a large angle. Actually I had to keep a larger angle, because the boat was very not stable and all the time tried to fall to the wind too much or from the wind (sorry, not sure what are the correct words in English), - any side, but not the course I wanted. I'm not against working out, but this time I had to rotate the helm like a propeller to keep it on course. :)

What do you think, people, am I right assuming that this was caused by excess of balance on the foresail or there are other (additional) reasons?

Thanks!

Thanks a lot for everyone for help!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find blocks of the right size, hope to find it in my next stop. Tomorrow I leave Menorca, so I'll have a chance to see the status of the sails in action. I guess I will ask more questions on my next stop :))))

Hi Evgeniy,

The fact that you can haul easily at the mast suggests that the friction is all in the lower block.

This could be due to the cheeks (sides of the block) pinching the rope - maybe it was designed for a smaller rope.

The problem could be  a worn out bush or roller bearings admitting salt and dirt to increase friction. 

I would put some newspaper on the deck below the block, then drip some olive oil into the blocks spindle/ roller bearings / or bush,  to temporarily lubricate it.  Test by raising sail, If there is a vast improvement, i would then wash out the block by pouring boiling water and a drop of washing up liquid over it to clean out the block and wash out salt ,  and getting rid of the oil before it attracts dirt  - catching all the mess in the newspaper. Don't now try to read the newspaper - you should have done that first...!

Once cooled and dry inside the block,  try raising sail again .

• If it still works easily then well and good , but expect dried salt to build up in the future, spray with fresh water when you have access to hose - filling tanks etc.
• 
  
• If the friction has returned then buy a new block, the best you can afford, maybe with ball or roller bearings rather than a plain bush but in either case, it's always good to buy one with a larger sheave overall diameter so the rope doesn't have to turn through such a tight bend. The bigger the sheave diameter the better it will be.
  

PS.

I have just found what i was looking for PJR page 171, " when specifying blocks, excessive friction is avoided by ensuring (a) that the diameter of the sheave is at least twice the circumference of the rope or six times it diameter (preferably more), and (b) that the swallow' of the block is substantially wider than the diameter of the rope, to avoid rubbing against the insides of the cheeks."

Ash

Chris Gallienne wrote:Evgeniy

I would not move the halyard connection more aft than the 50% point - there are others more experienced than me who may like to comment.

 

On Footprints the halyard connection is at 60% aft of the forward end of the yard. You can try attaching the halyard on the foresail at this position and then use the line which controls the fore and aft position of the boom on the mast to allow the boom to swing further forward on the mast, although the batten parrels will probably need to be longer to allow this to happen. By doing the above you will be setting the whole fore sail further forward on the mast. You may be able to do the reverse on the aft sail, that is move the halyard attachment further forward on the yard and use the boom adjustment line to push the lower portion of the sail further aft. Remember that a junk sail essentially hangs from the halyard attachment on the yard so there is quite a lot you can do to change the fore and aft position of the sail across the mast. The nice thing about the junk rig is that you can experiment in this way.