That pesky mainsail
John Berling (berlingj@fuse.net)
Tue, 18 May 1999 21:17:49 -0500
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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Hi Potterers!
I've been thinking about ways to clean up the mainsail -- that is
how to get all that material out of the way when the main is not up, or
when it is only partly up. Seems to me there are a couple of
possiblities, but I also realize that I'm obviously thinking about this
long after so many others have put their experienced heads to the
problem, so: tell my why these won't work!
1. Why couldn't a roller furling be adapted to the mast/boom, in either
a vertical or horizontal position? This seems like the perhaps simplest
solution, but then, if it's so simple why don't I see it being done...
2. I saw a sailing kayak where the main (only) sail simply wrapped
around the mast, and the entire mast turned in a socket to roll the sail
in or out. I just saw a picture of this, so I'm not really sure how it
works -- seems like the sail must be either all the way out, or all the
way stowed around the pole, because trimming the sail if it was "reefed"
would only put a twist in the sail. Still, an interesting basic concept
that seems like it might have possibility...
The main thing is, in the already small cockpit of a P15 a lot of extra
sail hanging down, in the way, obscuring vision, catching air and
creating dangerous situations, etc... is a problem. Lazy jacks are of
only minimal help. How do folks deal with this one?
John B
P15 Hyperion
2118