Barber Hauler idea

Thanks Hogman

Mod done, such a great idea. Cant wait to try it out. Love the non permanent mods.

Thanks

Dan

I had a similar idea some time ago using railblaza hooks.
It works fine.

Barber hauler test:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdg2ZqDgRgo

_________________
Biagio

I tried the notch at the end of the paddle idea (from this forum) recently from the back seat of a TI. The first time I tried it, I thought the paddle was too long so put a "hook" lower on the paddle. However the second time I tried it, the notch at the end of the paddle seemed about right. The other end of the paddle can go in your lap but the constant "push" gets tiresome. I also tried it with the paddle pushing on my life vest which was more comfy and I "thought for a second" about sewing something on to my life jacket that would keep the paddle contained in a particular spot. First picture shows the sail shape you get.

I made the notch just big enough to fit the little blue line used to tie up the furled sail. The knots in this line are too big to fit through the notch (which is about 1/4 inch square). I wanted to stay away from the mainsheet and its fittings to avoid any embarrassing tangles or hang-ups.

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

What I tried just picks up the clew of the sail near the sheet hook. Its seemed to work fine. Has anyone actually had a tangle doing this (or speculation that it might happen)?

Since the purpose of all of this is to improve the down wind sail performance, its somewhat interesting to look at sail shape. I also sort of thought that the leach of the sail was a little too open and bringing the sheet down a little might tighten it up a little. Attaching the sheet to the aka bars also might do this but maybe too much? Dont know. This was very easy to do and Im happy so far.. (and still have three more ends of paddles are arent cut up yet..)

I am probably being overprotective of ther mainsheet, in case adjusting it while it passes through the notch in the paddle causes any damage. Additionally, the little blue rope can be considered sacrificial...

As regards trrimming the sail, ideally, both the foot and the leech should have similar tensions, so the clew should be moved in the direction of the looser side, to optimise pulling power.

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

in other posts in this forum i saw some complicate tension line to keep the sail more open in downwind.
i dont like extra lines and cleats therefore, at least for me, the options are only 2.
1. notch in the paddle
2. bungee on the aka

at the moment i am used the second solution. my hauler is just a bungee with a hook that i manually put in the sail hook.
i push the bungee at the extreme side of the aka (i have quite long arms and no haka).

my questions are:
- if u fix the bungee to the ama handle, how do u hook to the sail if u dont have hakas.
- the sail shape that u can get with a bungee is different from the one that u can get with the paddle/notch that in this case is acting as a boom. with the paddle u can push the sail wider and upper than with the hook. which shape is better in your opinion?

As I said earlier, the most efficient sail shape has both the foot and the leech with similar tension. I have in fact just fitted Railblaza "C" hooks out near the ends of the amas, and I suspect the the best sail shape will actually involve BOTH the paddle notch for horizontal placement, with the C hook for vertical. I can further tweak the shape by only putting one of the mainsheet lines in the hook. We shall see what works out the best....

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

This is what I did, however it doesn't fall under the "simpler" side of things, and definitely adds some lines, however it works simple and doesn't effect comfort or mobility like having a paddle wedged against you.

I put a block on the mainsheet line so that no matter what position I have the hauler in, I can furl/unfurl easily. I then have that block pulled to the rear of the ama (this is on a TI) with the blue line you see on the ama. The second blue line in the bottom of the pic goes to the other side and is just relaxed until I want to pull it the other direction.




This picture shows the other block on the outer portion of the aka bar and then running to a cleat. The line has enough slack to reach the seat comfortably, with just enough extra, then goes through the other cleat and out to the other side.



When i'm not using it, I just cleat it with a little tension to keep the lines out of the water. When I want to use it, I uncleat both sides and pull whichever way I want it to go and re-cleat. I can adjust how much I want at anytime as well as the mainsheet line without any drag. Since the hauler connect to the block on the mainsheet line with clips, I can leave it unhooked if I don't want to use it and there is nothing in the way of normal use. I almost added another block on the inboard end of the aka bar so that blue line would be tucked in closer, but haven't found it to be needed really.

The only drawback is that the hauler lines lay right at your back as you switch sides, but I plan to add a bungee of some sort to pull the block back down the line and keep it from snagging on my life jacket or seat back. It's not a major hassle, but does catch if not tended to. Just needs a slight pull as gravity isn't quite enough to pull the block towards the back on it's own.

Do you find that tension on the barber hauler lifts the rear end of the ama?

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

It may a little, but it's not really noticeable unless you are really looking for it. Usually when you are leaning to that side, the ama is already up so there really isn't much difference.

Another experiment on the barber hauler idea for down wind sailing. I had been using the paddle to hold the clew of the sail out but the force at the other end against your body gets real old.. So Ive been trying the barber hauler idea using the idea I got from this forum. Someone had posted a while ago about some hook or something like that that they had mounted at the end of the aka and I cant find that link.. but this is similar. Edit.. it was Hogman's post that I was trying to find.. its in this thread on the first page.

Its simply a solid AL pin on the rear Aka, details are in the pictures. I use the paddle to attach the sheet to the pin and also detach. I use the paddle for changing tacks also (moving the sheet to the other side). Im doing this from the rear seat and it works nicely in lighter winds. In higher winds, the forces are just too high to be able to use the paddle to attach the sheet on the pin but that is probably a good thing. I wanted to use a 5/16 AL rod but seems the hardware stores around here only stock 1/4 and 3/8 so I am using 1/4 for now and it actually seems strong enough.. But I will probably go with 5/16 if I ever can locate the stock.

Im fairly pleased with the down wind sail shape. I had to drill two holes in the Aka (OUCH!!!) but I dont think it will compromise anything as the holes are in an area where the forces are "in line" with the tube rather than trying to bend the tube and I have a fair amount of time on this already with no issue.













Last shot is the other end of my paddle. I sit in the back seat solo so use the paddle to both pull the CB down and push it back up.

I agree that is quick and easy. The only issues I can see with that method is 1. you can't move the sail part way out, it's either all or none. 2. difficult to adjust sail tension with the rope accross the bolt. 3. your anchor point is much more forward causing it to pull down much harder on the sail.

None of those are major factors though, and it is much simpler with less line to get tangled with. I like it.

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk

I have added a Railblaza "clamp" at the outer end of the aka, and fitted "C" hooks into them. I can then hook the mainsheet in them for downwind. If I don't want to hold the sail out so far, I simply hook ONE of the two lines, which will split the sheeting angle between them. No holes drilled...

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Tony, I suppose after you got the spinaker/reacher, you dont use the "barber hauler" much. Im still considering that.. but Ill try this simple setup for a while first.

Its definitely a compromise for simplicity of rigging. As mentioned, you cant adjust things much. There is about one spot where it seems to work - about where its shown in the pictures. The sheet ropes do move fairly freely past the peg but part of the reason for that is that you can only get the sheet rope on the peg in lighter winds. In higher wind (say over 10 knts) the forces are too high to use the paddle.

The one thing I need to mess with is can I get the sheet off that post if I were to lose the paddle - like it gets ripped out of your hand if a blade hits the water and your moving fairly fast. I have not tried this yet but maybe you can let out of the sheet and head up wind or something like that and get it to release.. dont know. I dont think there is any chance of the sheet getting accidentally caught on the peg, its just getting it off in a hairy situation that Im worried about.

Regarding the optimum spot to sheet from, I noticed in this thread that I had taken a picture in the past using the paddle "whisker pole" and if you put the paddle next to your body down low where it is least uncomfortable, it puts very little downward force on the sheet and you can see in the first picture that the sail leach is really opened up - twisted off. I think this is not good especially down wind where you are mostly trying to generate drag.




The picture below is one I just posted with the sheet rope on the peg and I think the optimum sheet spot would be moved OUT maybe a foot or so and maybe back a little. However, it does pull down a lot and this seems to really pull in or cup the leach. I dont think you would want this much if you were using the sail for reaching but for down wind where it mostly drag you are looking for.. it might not be too bad.. You would probably have to get two TI side by side trying different spots to know for sure.