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I would have thought that the primary purpose of the jib is to aid pointing when sailing to windward. However, I see in the video that the luff of the jib is always very loose. Have you tried increasing the tension on the luff?
Tony, I originally tensioned the jib like any other jib and made sure the self tacking feature maintained the normal shape. Later I decided to add the tensioner to the self tacking jib just to find the best tension and to see if the ideal tension varies significantly with points of sail and wind strength. I found that it did vary enough to leave the tensioner in the rigging. Oddly I found that I had a speed boost if I relaxed the jib more except when in a close reach, thus the looser jib. When I am trying to point high the jib is tensioned normally. I wondered if anyone would spot the looser jib in recent videos.
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(I also note that the jib seems to be radially cut, which is unusual for a jib). What are the advantages of that construction?
My understanding is that the radial cut allows the sail maker to minimize stresses on the high stress areas of these light weight sails. The advantage is longer life. Code 0 material is very light. I've been told radial cuts maintain the designed shape/camber when the lines are tensioned or winds change. I will call the sail maker today and get his take on why he chose this cut. The cheaper crosscut jib allows the user to alter the shape and camber better using jib lines and works well with heavier materials. At least this is my understanding. A crosscut jib might work just fine. I wanted a very thin material that I could roll up easy when taking the jib down to store it. This led to my choice of material and ultimately the cut of sail.
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What are the advantages of this jib? Faster speed or better sailing point or...? Curious.
When I tested the speed difference I did not have the ability to quickly drop and raise the jib. I was using jib sheets not the self taking mechanism. I measured (GPS) about .5-1.5 mph increases when the jib was up. I will need to redo the testing with these changes and report back. To me the bottom line is the advantages are mild increases in speed, better pointing and getting more out of lighter winds. Now I can sail in wind ranging 8-10mph where before I needed 10mph or above to enjoy sailing.
It will be interesting to see if the reacher and the jib compliment each other or if the reacher can help with pointing too. Will let you know in February!
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