RE: Lowering the main
hlg@pacbell.net
Wed, 7 Jul 1999 08:59:08 -0700
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>Group,
>It seems to me that a main downhaul, similar in principle to a jib downhaul,
>might prove to be a cost-effective solution. Lubricants such as dry slide
>also help. However, the higher the wind speed, the greater the reluctance
>of the sail to come down and the greater the panic of the skipper.
>
>Richard
>Lubbock
>
One thing I like about my gunter rig is that the sail can be raised and
lowered instantly since the sail is attached to a yard, and the halyard
("haul yard") just raises and lowers the yard.
I have a loop of line that acts as a lazy jack to support the lowered spar
and the boom and to gather in the sail. The lower end of the gunter yard
needs to be secured to the mast in some fashion to prevent the yard from
swinging free. I use a gooseneck and track, but the stock Potter just had
plywood jaws straddling the mast.
There was an article in Messing About in Boats by someone who converted his
18-footer (a Sovereign, I think) to a gunter rig.
Harry
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA