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The Importance of Being Curvaceous

  • 15 Jan 2011 19:27
    Quote
    Reply # 496423 on 495536
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Stavanger, Saturday

    Yes, it makes sense moving the stretch from the middle of the flat junk sail and out to the edges. Instead of re-cutting the head of the sail with a curve, one may cheat by tying it on to the yard with care:

    Tie the throat and peak corners tightly to the yard but tie the middle part with a bit slack. This moves the load out to luff and leech even if the yards bend a bit. I often recommend stitching a boltrope tightly around the sail too since the simple tabling is a weak point in many flat junk sails. The non-stretchy bolt rope will save stress in the sail, keep the luff and leech taut and free from fluttering, and with some luck even a tiny bit of camber may develop too..

    Arne

    PS: That trick of carefully tying the sail to a yard, boom and mast to re-shape the sail a bit is well known by gaff rig sailors.
  • 14 Jan 2011 03:14
    Quote
    Message # 495536
    Anonymous member
    Graham Cox has sent me some photos of a JR Eventide, "Tulka", in Queensland. I've put one into the Box, 'miscellaneous photos' folder, because it illustrates a point perfectly. The sail is a standard Hasler that has been cut flat, with a dead straight head. The yard is bending a bit, as it must, with the result that the luff and leech are going slack, and the centre of the sail is taut, to the detriment of both its performance and its longevity - the tablings will flutter and tend to destroy themselves.
    By all means have a flat-cut sail, if it suits your sailing style, but please  -  round the head of the sail as much as the yard is going to bend, and then a little more. And it wouldn't hurt to put just a little rounding on the seams of the top two triangles either.
    In order to end up with a flat sail, you have to put in some curves.
    Last modified: 14 Jan 2011 03:14 | Anonymous member
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