Sail slides and track

Welcome to PocketShip.net! This bulletin board is for builders of the Chesapeake Light Craft-John C. Harris "PocketShip" design, a 15-foot micro cruiser sailboat built from a kit or plans.

For more information on PocketShip, click here: http://www.clcboats.com/pocketship

This site gathers PocketShip builders in one place. Here you can share photos, tips, questions, and---eventually---your sailing adventures in PocketShip! CLC will also post design updates and tips here as they come up.

We'll try to knock down spam as quickly as possible.

Moderator: John C. Harris

Forum rules
Spam or commercial posts will be deleted.
This is a civil forum: no flames or drunken tirades.
Please stay on-topic.
PocketShip's Web Page: http://www.clcboats.com/pocketship
If you need CLC customer service: http://www.clcboats.com/forms/contact_us.html
We'll try to delete spam as soon as it appears.

Re: Sail slides and track

Postby TassiePete on Sun Nov 08, 2020 11:32 pm

Hi Mike,

When the lacing is done like it is shown the picture, the line goes slack everywhere as soon as the halyard is eased as the sail is lowered. Because of that, it doesn't bind. The only issue with this setup is that the lacing might get mauled in the tabernacle hinge, when lowering the mast. This is easily fixed by attaching small blocks of wood to the mast just above the hinge, or, a bit of bungee cord to keep the lacing clear of the hinge.
The gaff doesn't really need to be fixed to the mast. The cheek-block is only a few inches above the gaff, and the luff tension keeps the gaff at the mast. There are two holes in the gaff with a loop (a soft shackle) of 4 mm Dyneema going through them. The throat of the sail is attached to that loop and the block is attached to the top of the loop. The tension of the halyard is acting on the throat of the sail - not on the gaff. The gaff is only kept in place by the loop. I do have a little line around the mast to secure the gaff jaws, but it doesn't do anything. Even with a reef in the sail, the gaff stays at the mast by halyard tension and the lacing.
Speaking of reefing: the lacing will need tightening and securing on a little cleat when putting in a reef, but the lacing is never really tight anyway - it merely stops the sail from going too baggy. The tension on the throat halyard does most of the work ...

Cheers,

Peter
TassiePete
 
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 4:31 am
Location: Port Huon, Tasmania ( Down Under )

Re: Sail slides and track

Postby Mflyer65 on Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:14 pm

Thanks Wayne and Peter,
I looked at the gooseneck and it had just the very slightest amount of light coming through the middle portion. I went ahead and corrected it and it seems to be better. But I slightly overcorrected on the last try and it actually is significantly better now. Interesting.
I also examined several of the track slides and found some with bent ends that can dig into the surface of the mast if angled hard enough. I removed the track and indeed there were several areas where the mast surface was gouged a bit. I filed some of their edges down. I will try again after the rains come and go here in NC.
Peter,
I am still interested in your method of attachment. Seems the only real effort to make the change would be to build a gaff jaw and then work through the lacing and a few other things to have it all working. I may tackle this as my winter project. I may end up with 2 versions of a gaff by next spring. Of course I would need to remove the slides on the sail and that would leave me more work if I wanted to return to the track method. But, then again, it's really the journey and not the destination for me.
Thanks all,
Mike
Mflyer65
 
Posts: 67
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 12:09 pm
Location: Durham, NC

Previous

Return to PocketShip Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests

cron