Mainsail lashing

[Dennis]

After sailing Mary Ann for one season I am now thinking about the (small?) modifications which would make its second season even more enjoyable.

I had the mainsail lashed on conventionally (as per the Honnor Marine manual) but found that when raising the mainsail, the lashing would often get snagged around the end of the tabernacle bolt, thus preventing the sail from fully raising. Hardly a major problem, but a regular irritant.

I have considered two possible solutions:

1) Fitting parrel beads instead of the lashing.

2) Fitting a gooseneck to the mast just above the tabernacle. This would raise the boom, giving the added benefit of less ducking when going about.

Solution 1 is quite straightforward, but how many beads would I need? I notice that Jack (Oak) has beads fitted to Merlin. Has anyone else tried this?

Any information would be gratefully received.

Regards

Dennis

[oak]

Hello Dennis,
Dave on Credence posted a couple of pictures on the old Yahoo site.
looks nice and orignal,quicker to unlash the main if mast dropping although I am going to experiment with mast dropping with main attached.
they come in ash,beech or box.

just be careful that they can not come out of the sail.I lost one bunch like that when I had a reef in,
still trying to seal my hatch
cheers
Jack

[oak]

Dennis,just rereading your post.what about reversing the bolt.or shortening it?
my mainsail usually hangs to port when lowered.
Jack

[Dennis]

Hello Jack

Thanks for the reply(s)

Maybe its me (or my computer) but there seems to be some words missing from your first reply!

Is it me being thick? is it you useing some sailoresque shorthand? or is it just bloody computers?

Cheers

Dennis

[oak]

nothing missing on my computer Dennis,

I try to break up paragraphs as some of these 6ins chunks of words are hard to read
Jack

[Dennis]

Hello Jack

Your post now makes sense since I looked at the photo of Credance on Yahoo.

I had a general trawl around whilst on Yahoo and noticed that Adept also used parrel beads (4 sets) as well as having a gooseneck mounted on the mast. Actually that boat is not too far from me, it is based at Blyth. However I do not think that Alan Greenacre has joined this forum.

I think I will go down the wooden parrel bead route initially, I just need to work out how many I need.

Any further advice gratefully received.

Cheers

Dennis

[David Hudson]

Parrel beads are US: http://www.classic-chandlery.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DA0924-00-022&Category_Code=parrel-beads&Store_Code=Traditional-Chandlers

Ouch - expensive! But I take your point on raising / lowering the mainsail.

For me, the advantage of lacing is that; if properly set; there is little gap between the the mainsail luff and the mast.
This makes for as good aerodynamic efficiency as you are going to get with this form of rigging. It's also much cheaper.

If parrel bead users have any views on this, I'd be pleased to hear their views.

David Hudson
Tokoloshe

[oak]

I still have the mainsail laced on my McNulty Longstone mast but I find if it is tightly laced its quite difficult to get the main up and down.I am not sure that having a gap between the sail and the mast matters very much.most other gaff rigs seem pretty loose.

Its certainly easier to drop the main with the p. balls which is why I changed as I am invariably single handed.
I bought my box p.balls from France,nothing like Classic marine prices,although they have gone rather dark with the damp.in spite of having soaked them in linseed oil
Jack

[David Hudson]

Good afternoon Jack

Given the developmental stage of the Cutter, I agree that parrel beads are an excellent idea.

I saw a section of carbon fibre mast at the boat show.
Can't say whose Cutter but think of all the weight we'd save and the improvement in righting moments
would be amazing! Take some ballast out and we'll have the Cutters planing. Perhaps we''ll end up foiling!

As to backstays; running I presume; that's a good idea in theory but the benefit to a Cutter is debatable.

Now I've got that lot off my chest, I'm going back to fitting out Tokoloshe.


David

[Dennis]

Hello David

I have to agree with Jack regarding the tightness of the lacing. I find that if the mainsail is laced close to the mast the lacing tends to bind against the mast when raising and also when lowering the sail. This can be a particular nuisance when you want to lower the sail in a hurry.

I find that I can tighten the luff nicely using the winch on the throat halyard, and the boat sails well like this even without any lacing. All the lacing seems to do is prevent the sail falling off the side of the boat when it is lowered. Because of all this, I tend to have the lacing set so that there is a 1"-2" gap between the mast and the luff.

To return to the original problem which prompted this thread. Because the lacing becomes very slack when the main is lowered, it tends to drop down around the tabernacle and subsequently snags the end of the tabernacle bolt when the sail is raised. Hence the thoughts on parrel beads!

quote: "I saw a section of carbon fibre mast at the boat show."

Everytime I raise my mast I wish it was made of carbon fibre, the HM masts are not lightweight (mine weighs 25Kg bare, just the wood) the SA masts are slightly lighter because of the hollow construction, but are more prone to splitting. However, one of the major attractions of the capecutter is the aesthetic appeal of the boat, and I think that the wooden mast and spars are a big part of that attraction.

How about a wood veneered carbon fibre mast!

How is the fitting out of Tokoloshe going? I hope you are going to post a few photographs of any non-standard or other interesting bits.

Dennis

CC19 #100 Mary Ann