SAIL LOCO wrote:

.... My problem with a loose
footed main is your in a bind when the one and only slug at the clew breaks.

And with a shelf foot, do you honestly expect the foot bolt rope to hold the sail
if the clew slug breaks?? Sorry, but it ain't gonna!



I
just bought a new main this past spring and I was given the loose foot pitch
but I opted for a shelf foot. And I race.

The only reason to have a shelf foot is if it's mandated by one-design rules OR you
get a rating hit for a loose foot. The shelf adds nothing to the sail except a
place to catch rain water. But a lot of people like them better, just like a lot of
people liked gaff rigs better (and swore they were faster, stronger, etc etc) back
in the days when Marconi rigs were newfangled.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

And with a shelf foot, do you honestly expect the foot bolt rope to hold the
sail
if the clew slug breaks?? Sorry, but it ain't gonna!

LOL......... Well you tell me how a bolt rope is going to lift out of the slot
especially when it's held by the tack fitting and the outhaul? There is no way
a 5/16" rope is going to lift out of a 1/16" wide slot. Duh "it ain't gonna"
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport

The only reason to have a shelf foot is if it's mandated by one-design rules
OR you
get a rating hit for a loose foot. The shelf adds nothing to the sail except a
place to catch rain water.

Douglas, I never said they were better. I only said the loose foot wasn't
better and that the shelf foot was safer if you lost the clew slug.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport

SAIL LOCO wrote:

And with a shelf foot, do you honestly expect the foot bolt rope to hold the
sail
if the clew slug breaks?? Sorry, but it ain't gonna!

LOL......... Well you tell me how a bolt rope is going to lift out of the slot
especially when it's held by the tack fitting and the outhaul? There is no way
a 5/16" rope is going to lift out of a 1/16" wide slot. Duh "it ain't gonna"

If the stress is enough to rip the slug out of the track, or break the connector
between clew & slug, yes it is. Been there, done that..... it rips across the foot
of the sail like a zipper.

If the problem is chafe where the slug is strapped to the clew, then yes your foot
might stay in the track.

The tack fitting is at the other end of the foot, how is it going to help keep the
clew in place? Loco, you're not an engineer are ya?

BTW I used to not believe in putting a relieving line on the sail between reef
point & boom when reefed... but now I do... guess why?



The only reason to have a shelf foot is if it's mandated by one-design rules
OR you
get a rating hit for a loose foot. The shelf adds nothing to the sail except a
place to catch rain water.

SAIL LOCO wrote:
Douglas, I never said they were better. I only said the loose foot wasn't
better and that the shelf foot was safer if you lost the clew slug.

Well, sorry to disagree. The loose foot is slightly faster and (as outlined above)
I don't think the shelf foot is going to hold the foot & clew if the clew slug is
ripped out... the clew slug is much stronger to start with, if it breaks why
wouldn't the weaker link also break? Sort of like tying a kite string to a piece
of chain, and saying 'now I'm safe if the chain breaks.'

BTW the shelf foot of a Lightning mainsail will hold about 1/2 gallon of water,
and in a roll-tack will dump 6 pints of it down the skipper's neck.... one more
reason I like loose footed mains!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

If the stress is enough to rip the slug out of the track, or break the
connector
between clew & slug, yes it is. Been there, done that..... it rips across the
foot
of the sail like a zipper.

Unless your talking about a different type of slug than I have ever seen I
don't know how a big round slug could pull through a 1/16" or 1/8" slot. Ok I
could see the foot ripping along the bolt rope if the sail was old.

If the problem is chafe where the slug is strapped to the clew, then yes
your foot might stay in the track.

That's what usually happens. The strap fails.

The tack fitting is at the other end of the foot, how is it going to help
keep the
clew in place? Loco, you're not an engineer are ya?

I never said that. My point was that the entire foot would stay in place on
the boom. A sail with a bolt rope, even if the clew slug attachment failed,
would be held in place because of tension between the tack and outhaul. My
engineer (simulated in the matrix) brain tells me this.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport

SAIL LOCO wrote:

Unless your talking about a different type of slug than I have ever seen I
don't know how a big round slug could pull through a 1/16" or 1/8" slot.

Umm, you were the one talking about it pulling out. I was just pointing out that
the slug & it's strap are much stronger than the foot shelf & boltrope.


.... A sail with a bolt rope, even if the clew slug attachment failed,
would be held in place because of tension between the tack and outhaul.

If the outhaul stays intact, then the foot will stay in place without the bolt
rope, too. That's how a Laser works

My
engineer (simulated in the matrix) brain tells me this.

Yes but do you have a digitally simulated slide rule?

Frsh Breezes- Doug King

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 17:22:18 -0400, DSK wrote
this crap:

Yes but do you have a digitally simulated slide rule?

I do. It's called a calculator.





Ave Imperator Bush!
Bush Was Right! Four More Years!

Horvath wrote:


Yes but do you have a digitally simulated slide rule?

I do. It's called a calculator.

Not the same thing. Not even close, dumbass.

DSK