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Sail trapped between batten and mast when reefed

  • 13 Jun 2015 07:47
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    Reply # 3385099 on 3382680
    Anonymous member

    Thank you for all your help. Reef on starboard tack I can do now, softening the battens will have to wait until the sail comes off at the end of the season.

    Spence
  • 12 Jun 2015 20:23
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    Reply # 3384785 on 3382680
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Roy could well have a point here. I have used tp reef on sb. tack if possible and often with a bit wind left in the sail. That could be one reason why none of may sails have holes in them at the mast.

     

    Arne 

    Last modified: 13 Jun 2015 16:08 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 12 Jun 2015 12:29
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    Reply # 3384266 on 3382680
    Deleted user

    Spence, I wonder if you bring your boat head to wind to reef, as per Bermudan rig.  It should be possible to reef with the wind in the sails with junk rig, and if you put your boat onto the tack which blows  the sail away from the mast the force of the wind should tend to belly the material out away from being trapped.  Not an expert here, just a thought.
  • 12 Jun 2015 10:26
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    Reply # 3384190 on 3382680
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Spence

     There could be more than one reason. Frankly, this problem has not shown up on my old boats’ sails, neither Malena at 32sqm, nor Johanna at 48sqm , and not on my newer boats either (Broremann, 10sqm and Frøken Sørensen, 20sqm). However, I think I spotted a little hole in the sail of Edmond Dantes (Odyssey III, 48sqm) last summer.

     ·         I guess the sail cloth could be one factor. Johanna’s and Malena’s sails were nylon, so although the sun is hard to it, it seems to be quite resistant to rubbing/chafe.

     ·         The slippiness of the mast’s surface could also be a factor, and also the mast’s diameter  -  bigger diameter leads to bigger contact surface and reduced chafe.

     ·         Could a naked aluminium mast rub the canvas harder than a painted mast? I dunno.

     One sensible thing to do would anyway be to pad the battens well at the mast, but that requires making new and wider batten pockets there. The padding would at least dampen any clang-clong noise, but hopefully the pressure on the sailcloth trapped between the battens and the mast will also be much reduced. My un-informed hunch is that this is the key to reducing the chafe.

     Arne

     

     

    Last modified: 12 Jun 2015 10:27 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 12 Jun 2015 07:22
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    Reply # 3384124 on 3382680
    Anonymous member

    You have my commiserations, but for what it's worth, the chafe probably won't go any further.  I had holes in my sail before I even raised it, having managed to put a seam ripper through the material when unpicking some duff stitching!

    You mention you have PVC over the battens (and I assume, over the cloth).  If this is a stiff plastic, it is possibly the villain.  The hard end of the PVC might be what's chafing the fabric.  If that's a possibility, I suggest you take it off and sand it so that the edges are rounded.  Or possibly the mast lift is the culprit.  In that case use some soft hosepipe round it, or change to a softer rope. 
  • 11 Jun 2015 19:32
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    Reply # 3383461 on 3382680
    Anonymous member

    Thanks Ueli,

    The problem is that the bunched sail material when the sail is reefed is getting between the batten and the mast.

    Spence
  • 11 Jun 2015 14:42
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    Reply # 3382864 on 3382680
    Anonymous member

    hi spence

    the battens are usually on the inner side of the sail (between mast and sail) – so the chafe problem should be reduced to the spars and the batten pockets (if these are continuous across the mast).

    the battens (or the pockets) need some protection in this area…

    ueli
  • 11 Jun 2015 08:16
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    Message # 3382680
    Anonymous member

    My sail becomes trapped between the mast and batten when reefed. It has chaffed a hole through

     the sail on the lowest panel and there is evidence that it happens on the next two.

    This season is my first experience with junk rig. The sail is an Arne type sail made with Odessey

    Material and the mast is aluminium. The battens are in the sleeve at the mast and the sleeve is

    Pvc.

    That is to say that the sail is trapped between the anodised aluminium mast and the pvc sleeve 

     over the batten. 

    I have tried a large patch of stick on sail number material to

     stiffen up the material in way of the mast to encourage it to fold away from the mast. The 

    Sail number patches don't adhere well to the sail and soon detach. They are on the non coated

    side of the material. 

    Can anyone help? I cannot find a reference to this problem but cannot believe it does not happen

    to others.

    Thank you in anticipation of your advice or your commiserations for damaging a brand new sail.

    Spence
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