Loose Sail foot

[Jesperbrum]

Hi i just go a new main sail. And have to get used to new trimming.. but I do not understand why the bottom leach is fairly loose.. it’s like I can’t tighten the main halyard enough to get the wrinkles away?

Do I got to much mast bent?

I don’t got a Cunningham but will apply it one of the next days.

The sail is a full battern and the boat is a Beneteau 331 with turnbuckle as backstay

[44'cruisingcat]

Not sure I'm properly understanding the question.

Is it the foot that seems loose? Maybe more outhaul.

On our boat, as the breeze picks up and I apply more mainsheet, the lower part of the luff gets loose. More halyard tension smooths it out, but I have to ease the mainsheet before adding halyard tension.

If it's the lower part of the leech getting loose, while the top isn't, I'm not sure how that would happen, if the sail fits properly. You may need to talk to your sailmaker.

[StuM]

From your reference to halyard and cunningham ans mast bend, I assume you mean the luff is loose at the bottom, not the leech? If so:



Luff rope, slugs or some sort of battcar?
Friction in the hoist and the weight of the main on the lahyard will always in result more tension towards the head than towards the foot of the luff.


With a loose footed main, this is generally even more so.



Basically, that is why we use cunninghams.

[Jesperbrum]

It’s the leach of the sail just at the mast and around 2 foot from the very bottom.
got rutgertson battcars and I defently got a lot more friction in the new main with full battern.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Jesperbrum

It’s the leach of the sail just at the mast and around 2 foot from the very bottom.
got rutgertson battcars and I defently got a lot more friction in the new main with full battern.

That is the luff. The leach is the aft edge.


Either more halyard and smoother cars/slides, or some downhaul tension. No problem, fairly normal.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Jesperbrum

It’s the leach of the sail just at the mast and around 2 foot from the very bottom.
got rutgertson battcars and I defently got a lot more friction in the new main with full battern.

Leech (or leach) = trailing (loose) edge of sail.
Luff = leading (against mast for mainsail, on forestay for headsail) edge of sail


If you've got more friction with the new main, that will increase the tension difference between head and tack, making the cunningham all the more important.

[44'cruisingcat]

If you can't get the slack out of the lower luff using halyard tension, it's possible that the luff of the sail is too long for the hoist of the mast.

[Kestrahl]

Please do us all a favor and post some photos

[donradcliffe]

When you try to pull the sail up tight, have you loosened the mainsheet and the vang??