Arion's wrinkles (As in Lecky's Wrinkles)

  • 21 Dec 2012 10:55
    Reply # 1164593 on 1163875
    Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Graham Cox wrote:....

    I have also refitted my HK parrels.  They are no longer needed to control the diagonal creases in the sail - they are almost slack when the throat hauling parrel is set up - but they do help a great deal to stabilize the sail when hoisting and lowering in a swell.  The HK parrels go slack of course as each panel is furled but the panels above retain their relationship, an important issue for my HK sail which has 1.22m between battens in the lower 4 panels.  And I proved to my satisfaction today that they do not detract from windward performance at all (neither does the mast).  Arion was going like a freight train on both tacks.
    ....

                                                                 Stavanger, Friday

    Graham, I am glad to see the good result of your trials. The way your HK parrels work is exactly as I hoped for when I mentioned them a few days ago. Your success is also a testimony of the success of these JRA discussion fora. Used correctly - and with a dash of sound scepticism - there is a lot of know-how and exiting ideas to pick from here.

    Cheers, and

    Merry Christmas to all of you - I must start doing some Christmas preparations here, whether I like it or not...

    Arne

  • 20 Dec 2012 23:13
    Reply # 1164314 on 1163875
    Those aren't wrinkles Annie, they are character lines, well earned.  Happy Christmas to you too and I hope you have lots of wonderful sailing in the New Year.  Happy Christmas to you too Paul, and all my other friends in the JRA.  Your advice and encouragement has been vital to Arion's success.  I had such a good day yesterday that I am going out again today with an old friend - he skippered schooners in the West Indies for many years and now lives in Cairns.  We met as boys when he was a deckhand on a yacht in Durban many moons ago.  Today I am going to take some more photos and post them in my members album, then I'd better get down to writing that article I promised Brian and David some time ago.  Now that I have a happy conclusion it will be a pleasure to write.
  • 20 Dec 2012 19:59
    Reply # 1164225 on 1163875
    My God - at first I thought it said Annie's wrinkles!  That's what happens when your egocentric, I guess.

    I am saving these ideas in my Junk stuff folder, to try some out when I get sailing again.  If it ever happens :-(

    Your contributions are always intersting, informative and lucid, Graham.  Keep up the good work!  It's wonderful that you are now happy with your new rig and I'm sure all your friends feel the same.  Good for you for persevering.  Hugs for Xmas :-)
  • 20 Dec 2012 17:53
    Reply # 1164139 on 1163875
    Graham, I really do appreciate that you are taking the time to document your experiences, problems and the solutions which are working for you. I will be bearing your experience very much in mind when I start rigging LC (it's only a month or two away now).

    Following your lead, I will also be documenting the process as I go. 
  • 20 Dec 2012 10:41
    Message # 1163875
    Not as in the wrinkles in my sail!  I do still have a few of those but hardly any.  I have just come in from the perfect daysail, 12 - 15 knots of wind, clear skies and a smooth, sparkling blue sea, and I do believe that I have finally tamed my sail.  I believe I can now reef or furl it in the dark.  The Paul Fay style of standing luff parrels have transformed the way the battens stack - I now have positive batten stagger when reefing or furling.  I still need the long fixed batten parrels as well, or the sail hangs too far away from the mast and puts too much load on the Paul Fay parrels.  There is a little bit of extra friction when hoisting - no problems when lowering - but that is easily overcome by using the winch handle to hoist the last two panels.  In the past I was able to sweat it up by hand with just one turn of the halyard around the winch. It is a small price to pay.

    The other two developments that have been vital to taming the sail are the Arne style of throat hauling parrel that transforms the way the sail sets, and the Paul Fay style of yard hauling parrel which works in tandem with the throat hauling parrel to peak up the yard.

    I have also refitted my HK parrels.  They are no longer needed to control the diagonal creases in the sail - they are almost slack when the throat hauling parrel is set up - but they do help a great deal to stabilize the sail when hoisting and lowering in a swell.  The HK parrels go slack of course as each panel is furled but the panels above retain their relationship, an important issue for my HK sail which has 1.22m between battens in the lower 4 panels.  And I proved to my satisfaction today that they do not detract from windward performance at all (neither does the mast).  Arion was going like a freight train on both tacks.

    Now that I have confidence that I can handle my sail in all conditions, particularly in minimal visibility, I can see no reason why I would revert to a flat sail.  On the other hand, if I only had a flat sail and was fully committed to long distance voyaging, with little coastal sailing planned, I would not bother upgrading.  (I have a few friends who sail this way, spending long periods in particular ports before making another bluewater passage.  I have always done a bit of both.)

    Last modified: 20 Dec 2012 10:46 | Anonymous member
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