Jib bunched up

[moegev]

Dear all,


I am learning to sail mostly on my Columbia 10.7. It has no roller furler.

Here's the issue:

The tack of the jib attaches down at the bow such that that on any tack, the jib sits on the bow pulpit. In other words, the foot of the sheet rests partly on the pulpit, life lines when sailing.

On a normal boat is this the way it should be? Should the jib not fly well above the pulpit?

is there a way to add a length of cable or a solid piece of stainless steel, such that the bottom of it is attached to where I currently attach the tack of the jib and the top of said steel or cable is what attaches to the jib's tack?

Any help much appreciated!!!!!

Best,

Moe

---So I messed up real bad. I bought a boat. Many problems, much to learn.

[MarkSF]

Yes you could add a piece of wire with eyes at the foot. But only if there is room at the top of the jib, for it to move higher, if you see what I mean. My smaller jib has the same thing at the top of the sail, as it's a little smaller than foretriangle. I'd suggest getting a sailmaker or rigger with the right tools (ie, hydraulic crimper) to make it.


NB, the downside is making the boat a bit tippier, as centre of effort of the sail will move upwards.

[billknny]

A jib is designed to be most efficient as a sail for going to windward. When you are sailing close hauled the jib is pulled in tight and should not be on the pulpit. When you bear away, and the sheet is eased, and the sail rides out away from the boat, it is not unusual for a large jib it to ride up the pulpit.

The reason this happens is racing sailors don't use a jib for reaching, so they don't see it.

A jib is at its most efficient when it is cut as a "decksweeper" with the foot of the sail right down on the deck when trimmed for close hauled work. Cruisers hate this because they can't see what's coming. Racers love it because they go 0.01 knots faster.

[moegev]

Yeah, there is plenty of room at the top of the forestay. Lots!

[moegev]

Thanks to everyone! Great answers and I am learning a lot.

---good point on the center of effort!


Before going to sailmaker to get something nice made, could a thick line looped over with some kinda knot do for now? As in to sail it back from the drydock to the slip?

I just don't want the head sail to blow suddenly. I do know the line will stretch with time.

[Don C L]

It's ok that it rests on the pulpit, not a big deal, but it will stain the bottom of the jib a bit. You can definitely add what is called a pennant, and it does lift the tack up of course. Since you have room up top, a pennant is a good idea. It can be made of steel cable or just a length of no-stretch line, like the same line that the halyard is, tied with bowlines top and bottom. You can go around the world that way. The raising of the center of effort will probably not be noticeable, and unless you are racing the more air escaping under the bottom of the jib (making it less efficient) will not bother you either. The only thing you'll need to adjust is the lead, that is where the jib sheet block is placed (as long as you have the jib sheet blocks on track,) it will be moved aft a couple feet or so so that the jib retains its correct shape and does not have a twist in it. If you can't move the block and there is a twist in it, it's not the end of the world, just slower.

[sck5]

Dyneema line should do the trick. It stretches about 5% at the beginning and then stays pretty constant after that. No problem getting back to your dock. Knots with dyneema are a bit slippery so make sure somebody shows you the knots to use if you dont already know

[moegev]

Thanks again to all!

[dfelsent]

Or have fun and splice a loop of dyneema. Samson and New England ropes have splicing instructions.
Guessing 1/4” dyneema would be overkill strong, not expensive and easy to splice.

[roverhi]

12 strand Dyneema/Spectra is easy to splice. Lots of videos on you tube on how to do it or you could stitch in eyes on a short piece of line. Probably not much more than a foot long to clear the pulpit. Unless your boat is really large 3/16” would be ample. FYI, the line is called a pennant that is attached to either the tack or head of a sail.

[txg]

We do use hank-ons on our 35ft as well. All our six different foresails have a small dyneema loop on them. No fancy splice but just a simple figure eight - knot.



When doing a leg that is mostly upwind we do not use the loop as we want to keep the sail as low as possible and chafe is not an issue. When going mostly downwind we use the loop to get the sail above the pulpit. Worked fine like this for the last 10000miles.

[Sailmonkey]

I used three strand polyester as a pendant, one end spliced to the job tack, the other end spliced around a thimble.

No reason to pay a sailmaker for this!

[tenchiki]

Or just use a lot of loops of small stuff (I use 1/8" dacron) between the tack eye and a shackle, to make an adjustable tack pennant. It sure beats splicing up something (or having someone else do it) and discover it isn't quite the right length... The load is pretty light on your size boat, and it is an easy DIY project.
It's what I use on the jib for my Dolphin 24 in SF Bay.