Mainsail Stretch

Hey All,
A question on mainsail stretch. The pic below shows me just after shoving off from our dock. This is a '76 H16. There is hardly any wind as I was just out testing my righting bag. I haven't yanked on the boom to 'pop' all the main battens yet.

I have a 3" block, 6:1 system and can pull block-to-block without difficulty. I have the maximum rake set on the mast. Downhaul is set with a bit of tension, and the main halyard barrel is hooked in. Outhaul doesn't have much tension either. Main batten ties are set without tension, just enough to hold the battens in.

Question is: When sheeted block-to-block, the main has quite a bit of draft in it's shape. (Excessive draft I think, as the shape isn't really that 'flat'). Is this sail material stretched beyond limit? You can see the wrinkles plainly. Can I take the sail to a loft and have them cut off about 3" from the sail foot in order to have less material to flatten-out under tension? I've seen other 16s sails and their's is much more smooth when beating to weather.

I'll bet a new sail's material is stiffer. Just wondering if my main is worn out and what the possibilities are for salvage. Dumping $$$ into a replacement (even a real good used one) is an option.



What do you think?

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Eric
H16
Sail# 11500

I think you should get the fenders out of the water.

Your not racing
The sail's not visibly damaged - in fact, it looks pretty good for its age.

What exactly are you worried about? The wrinkles? Those wrinkles are in every Hobie 16 sail ever made - especially in a loose configuration like that (not much downhaul, battens not popped, not sheeted in).

Yes, a new sail is stiffer, flatter and faster, but not faster enough for you to really notice any difference.

At the moment the picture was snapped I had yet to pull the fenders up. I don't sail with them in the water.

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Eric
H16
Sail# 11500

I'm just giving you a hard time - my point is that the sail looks fairly good, from what we can see in the picture, which is not that much.

A real evaluation is difficult from pictures. You need to take pictures with the sail sheeted in and from different angles - behind the boat, looking up from the boom and down from the mast head.

Eric, my sail sets up about the same on my 16 how much tension do you have on the downhaul? i have mine right around the 4 to 6 area on the mast chart. The only wrinkles i have left are by the window but i have no trouble with it at all.
Mark

In "Sailing San Francisco Bay", Kimball Livingston calls sailing with your fenders out "Marina Del Rey Racing Stripes", which I thought was freakin' funny.

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Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

~~(\_~~

Thump690,
There was no chart on the mast ... I purchased the boat used. I would like a mast chart for repeatability but would have to check for availability and installation instructions. I usually set the downhaul based on watching the luff and trying to make it smooth.

On the day of the picture the downhaul is just tight enough to pull the gooseneck below the bolt-rope slot of the mast track. I was just testing that day.

_________________
Eric
H16
Sail# 11500