"Thom Stewart" wrote in message
...

Wally, I'm very surprised at how many in this group have no knowledge of
what the main shelf is.

Thom,

Many of us are fairly new to sailing. I had no idea what a "shelf" was
before the recent discussions.

My main does not have a shelf .... and I'm fairly sure that most of the very
expensive laminated sails do not have one.


Regards


Donal
--

My main does not have a shelf .... and I'm fairly sure that most of the very
expensive laminated sails do not have one.

I'll bet they do. I think most people on here are confusing any main that's
attached to the boom with cloth as having a shelf foot. Most mains just roll
down and into the boom. A shelf foot is an extra cost option that allows the
main to maintain it's airfoil shape all the way down to a point parallel to the
boom. The main is attached to the boom with a foot made of inexpensive soft
Dacron that extends horizontally out from the boom (when the outhaul is eased)
to meet the main forming a flat shelf hence the name shelf foot. When the
outhaul is on hard the shelf foot disapears folding up on itself. It basically
has all the advantages of a loose foot but keeps the sail attached to the boom
along it's entire length. A loose foot may give the sail a very little bit of
extra sail area. Most laminated sails have either a shelf foot or a loose foot
only because of the person buying that type of sail is looking for a little
extra performance. A laminated mylar sail will still use a Dacron shelf.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport