Rigs revealed.

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  • 06 Nov 2010 01:57
    Reply # 457947 on 376780
    Thanks David.  I appreciate the access the JRA gives me to experienced sailors I can bounce my ideas off.  I felt that a "souped up" Hasler/Mcleod sail was my best option but wasn't sure.  The lower panel widths on my sistership's sail are 1.22m.  Given that I need a slightly shorter luff length,  and the need to develop cambered panels, mine will probably end up a little less.  I'll let Russell work that out and also ask him to develop the fanned top section with the extra battens.  From my experience with Minke, I think the sail at 36 sq metres will be plenty big enough.  Off now for a week or so sailing in the islands...
  • 05 Nov 2010 07:59
    Reply # 457399 on 457263
    Graham Cox wrote: I would like to look at that drawing of Annie's Fantail rig.  My sistership, Minke's, Hasler-Mcleod rig is about 38 sq metres and I reduced that to 36 sq metres (about the same as my current rig's area) to fit my shorter mast.  My hope was that the increased power of cambered panels would compensate for loss of area.  I took David's generic fantail sailplan home last night and had some good fun playing with it.  I wish I had a mathematical mind that could develop such a clever program.  However, I ran into problems with it.  To get a sail of 36 sq metres with that formula gives me a length over battens of just under 5.5 metres, which is unfortunately too long for my short, fat, heavy boat.  I need a sail with a higher aspect ratio.  I remember Blondie Hasler saying that junk rigs were best suited to longer, lighter boats, for several reasons. As it is, the Hasler-Mcleod sailplan I currently have ,with its straight leech and a length over battens of 4.6 metres, has just enough drift aft for the sheetspans when the sail is fully hoisted (about 1.5 metres).  The drawings I have seen of boats with curved leeches seem to have much more drift on the sheets than the original Hasler-Mcleod sails.  I cannot get the sheets further aft withour major redevelopment of my self-steering rig, strengthening of the davits etc, and I cannot afford to do any more modifications than necessary.  To get a length over battens of 4.6 metres with David's generic sailplan only gives me a sail area of 26 sq metres.  I suppose I could either increase the vertical width of the panels or add a couple of panels to the bottom to increase the aspect ratio, though I am not aware of the implications of this for this type of rig.  Being a deeply conservative sailor, I am still sitting in the Hasler-Mcleod camp at this stage, with cambered panels and maybe Arne's transitional panel, because I know what I've got with this set-up. For me, besides what I perceive as the limitations of my boat's design, the criterion of performance is a little below affordability and ease of handling. However, I am listening avidly...
    Given your constraints on sail width, sheeting base and the character of your boat, I'd agree that it does seem that you'd be better off with a more-or-less Hasler/McLeod sail, with wide, cambered parallelogram panels, with the top sheeted batten extended and set at a slightly greater angle than the lower battens, and with the top fan split into three panels for best control in wild conditions. I've put a photo of Badger into my 'miscellaneous' photo album which illustrates what I mean.
    Last modified: 05 Nov 2010 07:59 | Anonymous member
  • 05 Nov 2010 00:40
    Reply # 457263 on 376780
    I would like to look at that drawing of Annie's Fantail rig.  My sistership, Minke's, Hasler-Mcleod rig is about 38 sq metres and I reduced that to 36 sq metres (about the same as my current rig's area) to fit my shorter mast.  My hope was that the increased power of cambered panels would compensate for loss of area.  I took David's generic fantail sailplan home last night and had some good fun playing with it.  I wish I had a mathematical mind that could develop such a clever program.  However, I ran into problems with it.  To get a sail of 36 sq metres with that formula gives me a length over battens of just under 5.5 metres, which is unfortunately too long for my short, fat, heavy boat.  I need a sail with a higher aspect ratio.  I remember Blondie Hasler saying that junk rigs were best suited to longer, lighter boats, for several reasons. As it is, the Hasler-Mcleod sailplan I currently have ,with its straight leech and a length over battens of 4.6 metres, has just enough drift aft for the sheetspans when the sail is fully hoisted (about 1.5 metres).  The drawings I have seen of boats with curved leeches seem to have much more drift on the sheets than the original Hasler-Mcleod sails.  I cannot get the sheets further aft withour major redevelopment of my self-steering rig, strengthening of the davits etc, and I cannot afford to do any more modifications than necessary.  To get a length over battens of 4.6 metres with David's generic sailplan only gives me a sail area of 26 sq metres.  I suppose I could either increase the vertical width of the panels or add a couple of panels to the bottom to increase the aspect ratio, though I am not aware of the implications of this for this type of rig.  Being a deeply conservative sailor, I am still sitting in the Hasler-Mcleod camp at this stage, with cambered panels and maybe Arne's transitional panel, because I know what I've got with this set-up. For me, besides what I perceive as the limitations of my boat's design, the criterion of performance is a little below affordability and ease of handling. However, I am listening avidly...
  • 04 Nov 2010 23:59
    Reply # 457228 on 455200
    Paul Thompson wrote:
    Graham Cox wrote: Thanks Paul, my sailmaker friend, Russell Streckfuss, of Storm bay Sails in Tasmania,is familiar with Odyssey 111 and enthusiastic about using it, so that is one decison made.  He is also enthusiastic about making me a cambered sail and has a good software program to develop the optimal panel shapes, so that is another one, with many thanks to the JRA members who have given me the benefit of their experience while developing my ideas.  I'd love to just dive into the project immediately but there are logistical reasons why I cannot.  However, I should be conducting sailing trials next August  or September, and I am sure I will have a lot more questions to ask about setting up the rig later on.
    Say Graham, did you or Russell ever meet up with Scot Carter? He had a very well built Tahitiana called Storm Bay and he hailed from Storm Bay, Tasmania. I met him in Cape Town and again in the Caribbean and the States. A really, really nice guy.

    I remember Storm Bay but did not meet Scot.  Saw the boat on the east coast of Aus once.  I'll ask Russell, though he has only been in Tasmania for six or seven years.  He was cruising before that and based in Coffs Harbour in his younger days.
  • 04 Nov 2010 10:44
    Reply # 456789 on 376780
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Stavanger, Thursday

    I have a print-out of the new JR for Annie’s Raven 26, Fantail. As David says the leech is pretty straight, so if batten no 3 is made a bit longer than the others, I think that tacking can be done without having to think of the sheets. However the leech is still leaning a good deal forward. My experience is that long gybes will always be a problem with forward-leaning leeches no matter that the sail is a H-M sail or fanned sail.

    On my Johanna the sail tips a bit forward when fully hoisted because the mast is a bit short. I therefore had to fit rubber hose batten extensions to get trouble-free gybing ( see NL 42 p18-20). As soon as I reef a panel, I haul the sail aft with the luff/throat hauling parrel. On my dinghy Broremann the leech is upright or even leans a bit aft so there the batten ends almost never catch the sheets when gybing (see NL 53, p 8-9).

    I guess that the matter of long gybes without sheet tangles is less important with deep sea sailing in mind (one can always haul in the sheet and make a short gybe). However with my kind of sailing; in and out among skerries and islands, I find trouble-free gybing to be very welcome. I therefore try to design rigs with this in mind.

    Arne

  • 04 Nov 2010 06:28
    Reply # 456748 on 456708
    Graham Cox wrote: Hi David, Just sent a copy of your generic drawing to Russell for his interest.  I have a Hasler Mcleod drawing for Arion as fitted to my sistership, which I thought worked quite well apart from light winds to weather.  With cambered panels to hot it up I think I'd be pretty happy with it, perhaps with a transitional panel as Arne now uses, and perhaps Badger too, giving four parrallelogram (?) panels and three fanned panels above.  Russell won't be starting to build my sail for a while yet though, so I remain open to exploring other concepts.  What I like about the Hasler rig is the straight leech which makes the sheets easy to set up.
    The sheeting was never a problem. The top sheeted batten was extended, with the top sheet span attached to its outer end ( a good idea on any JR sail). This ensures that the sheet doesn't get foul of the sail.
    Also, have a look at the sail I drew for Annie, which she has now made. It's only a little smaller than the size you need, and it was designed to be easy to manage, backing away a bit from seeking ultimate performance. The lower leech is straight enough that sheeting will not be problematic.
  • 04 Nov 2010 03:58
    Reply # 456708 on 376780
    Hi David, Just sent a copy of your generic drawing to Russell for his interest.  I have a Hasler Mcleod drawing for Arion as fitted to my sistership, which I thought worked quite well apart from light winds to weather.  With cambered panels to hot it up I think I'd be pretty happy with it, perhaps with a transitional panel as Arne now uses, and perhaps Badger too, giving four parrallelogram (?) panels and three fanned panels above.  Russell won't be starting to build my sail for a while yet though, so I remain open to exploring other concepts.  What I like about the Hasler rig is the straight leech which makes the sheets easy to set up.
  • 04 Nov 2010 02:09
    Reply # 456674 on 376780
    Thanks David.  I am more of a vagabond sailor than an experimenter and working towards a compromise (via a steep learning curve) that will offer me the cheapest, simplest rig that will have reasonable performance, but all I can say is thank goodness for the experimenters!  If Blondie Hasler had not been willing to try all sorts of new ideas where would we be now?  It is good to see the tradition carried on by yourself and others.  That some of you differ in your conclusions only makes it more fascinating, a movable feast as Hemmingway called it, and this website is the perfect vehicle to share that information.  I will take a closer look at your fanned sail drawing.  What is the essential improvement this gives over the  Hasler-Mcleod sail, and does the leech cause any complications with the sheetspans?  Whatever profile I finally settle on, I have decided to go for a straight-battened cambered sail, using Odyssey 111 material, and Russell is happy to develop the cambered panels for this on his computer.
  • 02 Nov 2010 11:06
    Reply # 455394 on 454314
    Paul Thompson wrote:
    Graham Cox wrote: I remember David used acrylic on Tystie's big red sail. as he called it, the junk sail he had before going to a soft wingsail.  I remember he had some chafe issues with it.  I'd like to ask him about his experiences with that sail, his views on the best sail material to use (Odyssey 111?), and some other issues.  I remember he had a vang on the boom to haul the sail across the mast when before the wind.  How did that work in practice?  Did it make a significant difference to the balance of the helm?  My sail, at about 350 sq feet, won't be quite as large but it is still a big sail on a 24 foot boat. (You can see photos of my boat on Bruce Roberts Website on the Tom Thumb 24 page.)  I also seem to remember, from photos I saw in PBO shortly after Tystie's launch, that he did not have fixed batten or yard parrels.  I would have thought they are essential to control the sail when hoisting ot lowering.  Perhaps I missed something. What were the significant factors in the decision to change the rig, and what other advice would you give to sailors contemplating relatively large, low aspect ratio single sails?

    Graham, sorry for the delay in replying, I'm travelling around England with infrequent internet access.
    Actually, Tystie had two "big red sails". the first was made by Chris Scanes (I was too busy boatbuilding) from acrylic, with barrel-shaped cambered panels in the lower part, and an essentially Hasler planform. This wasn't satisfactory, because 1. acrylic can't handle the chafe in such a big heavy sail, and 2. the Hasler planform is not really all that good. I came home from trips up to Lofoten and around Scotland (5000 miles), and made the second sail myself, to the planform that is shown in 'sailplans in current use' in the public pages, with shelf-foot cambered panels in the lower section. This was a great improvement, with better performance, and I sailed it for a further 10,000 miles. The running rigging ended up as:
     3 part halyard; 3 part sheet with two 3 part spans (30:1 winches for both); a yard parrel that was fixed to the yard as far above the halyard attachment as possible; an upper luff parrel that started at the heel of the yard, went around the mast to the third batten down, around again to the fourth batten down, and to the deck; a middle luff parrel to the fifth and sixth battens down; and a lower luff parrel to the seventh and eighth battens ( the eighth being the "boom"). This lower luff parrel came aft through a clutch, and returned forward through a clutch to go up to a block in the middle of the eighth batten, around the mast and back to the becket of that block. This is not so much a kicking strap (if you pull too hard, the batten just bends), more a means of hauling the sail across the mast for running. This is very effective on a low aspect ratio sail, reducing weather helm greatly when running fast and overcanvassed.
    All those luff parrels give good control over the tendency of the sail to crease diagonally, and Hong Kong parrels are not needed. They also give sufficient control over the sail when hoisting and lowering, so that fixed batten parrels become less necessary. I seem to remember having one fixed parrel on the yard, one in the middle somewhere, and one on the bottom batten. The effect was to reduce the drag of parrels around the mast, when hoisting and lowering.
    Why did I change to the ketch rig? mostly for the usual reasons of having more options, more belt-and-braces, for ocean sailing. Why did I change to the wingsails? Because I'm an experimenter, and I don't like to do the same thing twice; and because the performance with two JR sails would not have been as good as with one JR sail. The extra performance of the wingsails made up for the loss in performance by going to a split rig.
    Before I left to go voyaging, I made a sail to the fanned planform for Peter Manning's "Malliemac", the sistership to "Tystie". It will be interesting to sail her when she's launched next year, and compare how she goes to how Tystie goes now, under her improved wingsail rig. Who knows? It might be that I will wonder why I ever changed. A lot of "progress" turns out to be sideways, not forwards!
    In conclusion, there's no doubt in my mind that the fanned sails that I made for Tystie and Malliemac are good sails. They are pushing the upper limit of sensible area, though they will be fine sails in a smaller size, say up to 400 sq ft. I have put a drawing, in a form that can be scaled to any desired size, into my own photo albums, in the 'Tystie' album.
  • 02 Nov 2010 04:51
    Reply # 455200 on 454511
    Graham Cox wrote: Thanks Paul, my sailmaker friend, Russell Streckfuss, of Storm bay Sails in Tasmania,is familiar with Odyssey 111 and enthusiastic about using it, so that is one decison made.  He is also enthusiastic about making me a cambered sail and has a good software program to develop the optimal panel shapes, so that is another one, with many thanks to the JRA members who have given me the benefit of their experience while developing my ideas.  I'd love to just dive into the project immediately but there are logistical reasons why I cannot.  However, I should be conducting sailing trials next August  or September, and I am sure I will have a lot more questions to ask about setting up the rig later on.
    Say Graham, did you or Russell ever meet up with Scot Carter? He had a very well built Tahitiana called Storm Bay and he hailed from Storm Bay, Tasmania. I met him in Cape Town and again in the Caribbean and the States. A really, really nice guy.
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