Shape of Speed
 

After I asked for good books on sail trim...and it seems few
exist....Several folks suggested The Shape of Speed from North Sails
and Bennett Marine. I ordered it from Amazon, but the DVD was not
available in spite of saying "DVD edition."
So the tape came and I watched it...truly excellent and comprehensive
info on sail trim. Sure, it's stuff you've read before and heard
before, but it's still great to see it all explained so nicely and
demonstrated on boats underway. Some aspects of the tape are a bit
dated, but it's still quite usefull.
For 8 bucks on Amazon....well worth it. I'm still trying to find the
"best" text on trim that is good for my wife and also for more advanced
sailors. I'll probably order a couple of books and see what's what.



Robert B
Beneteau 35s5
NY

Heart of Gold
http://hometown.aol.com/bobsprit/index.html
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S8CqSXMnFaA

Shape of Speed
 

"Capt. Rob" wrote in news:1163895334.532372.6160
@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

I'm still trying to find the
"best" text on trim that is good for my wife and also for more advanced
sailors. I'll probably order a couple of books and see what's what.



I remember the "best trim" we had on a brand new Beneteau out in Charleston
Harbor. The main got stuck furled in the mast and the new owner tried to
"outhaul it" to straighten it out in the little slot. The boom car on its
little track popped off and little roller balls flew off in all
directions....

We never did get the main unfurled. Beneteau took the mast apart to get it
free and put a new car on the track....with new balls because the old ones
flew overboard. Sure glad we weren't way offshore....

Larry
--
Halloween candy sure has dropped in price, lately!

Shape of Speed
 

My slip neighbor bought a used Benny ( 34 ? ) with in mast
furling. The PO complained that it never worked right. My
buddy discovered that it was wound wrong inside the mast.
After he redid it, it worked fine.

SBV

"Larry" wrote
I remember the "best trim" we had on a brand new Beneteau
out in Charleston
Harbor. The main got stuck furled in the mast and the new
owner tried to
"outhaul it" to straighten it out in the little slot. The
boom car on its
little track popped off and little roller balls flew off
in all
directions....

We never did get the main unfurled. Beneteau took the
mast apart to get it
free and put a new car on the track....with new balls
because the old ones
flew overboard. Sure glad we weren't way offshore....

Larry
--
Halloween candy sure has dropped in price, lately!

Shape of Speed-Now Furler worries
 

The main got stuck furled in the mast and the new owner tried to
"outhaul it" to straighten it out in the little slot.


At my club we have several Beneteau's, Catalina's, Tayana 48, and even
a older Pearson 36 (among others) with in mast furling. They all have
had trouble without exception. Much of the time this is due to the
owner having it setup wrong and dealers certainly get it wrong, as in
the case of my friend's Tayana. Seldon actually handled the setup and
STILL got it wrong. Everyone ends up in an uneasy relationship with the
system after those initial problems. The only one I know who seems
happy is a O'Day 34 with a CDI system that furls outside the mast. It
looks a bit awkward, but doesn't seem to jam. No main furling system
would work well on a 35s5 because so much of the drive is provided by
the main.

For anyone interested, the CDI system is probably a safer and easier
(especially for cost) system, but is certainly a performance loser as
well.

http://www.sailcdi.com/sailpdf/Mains...gManua1_03.pdf


Robert B
35s5
NY

Shape of Speed-Now Furler worries
 

"Capt. Rob" wrote:

The main got stuck furled in the mast and the new owner tried to
"outhaul it" to straighten it out in the little slot.


At my club we have several Beneteau's, Catalina's, Tayana 48, and even
a older Pearson 36 (among others) with in mast furling. They all have
had trouble without exception. Much of the time this is due to the
owner having it setup wrong and dealers certainly get it wrong, as in
the case of my friend's Tayana. Seldon actually handled the setup and
STILL got it wrong. Everyone ends up in an uneasy relationship with the
system after those initial problems. The only one I know who seems
happy is a O'Day 34 with a CDI system that furls outside the mast. It
looks a bit awkward, but doesn't seem to jam. No main furling system
would work well on a 35s5 because so much of the drive is provided by
the main.

We have behind the mast furling that was installed by the PO. Works
fine. Doesn't get stuck (knock wood), and also doesn't make a lot of
noise in the wind like the in-mast ones do.

For anyone interested, the CDI system is probably a safer and easier
(especially for cost) system, but is certainly a performance loser as
well.

http://www.sailcdi.com/sailpdf/Mains...gManua1_03.pdf


Robert B
35s5
NY

Shape of Speed-Now Furler worries
 

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

At my club we have several Beneteau's, Catalina's, Tayana 48, and even
a older Pearson 36 (among others) with in mast furling. They all have
had trouble without exception. Much of the time this is due to the
owner having it setup wrong and dealers certainly get it wrong, as in


Geoffrey's Amel Sharki has in-mast furling of both main and mizzen. Amel
takes the HUGE approach...huge mast with massive gear-driven shaft in a
very large, open slot. If you don't pull on the outhaul and warp the shaft
into the slot, it works extremely well and doesn't jam. It doesn't even
have to be tightly wrapped as the space is much larger than it really needs
to be to wrap the main around the shaft. We've sailed it partially furled
very successfully in heavy weather when the reef wasn't quite enough. Half
furled in a heavy breeze it still pulls like a tractor. The only time it
"gets stuck", which is easy to fix by just letting go of the outhaul and
unfurling it, releasing the pressure on the shaft, is when you try to wrap
it too tight.

The new Amel 52, of course, has ELECTRIC furling on them all, right from
the helm....(c;

We still have to haul out the winch handles into the spray on the
Sharki....(d^:)
12 winches and winch handle-powered tracks, too. Winch handles all over!

Larry
--
Halloween candy sure has dropped in price, lately!

Shape of Speed
 

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 23:08:43 -0500, in message

Larry wrote:

I remember the "best trim" we had on a brand new Beneteau out in Charleston
Harbor. The main got stuck furled in the mast and the new owner tried to
"outhaul it" to straighten it out in the little slot. The boom car on its
little track popped off and little roller balls flew off in all
directions....

Those little balls can be painful. I was sitting on the rail when our
traveler exploded and wound up with some painful little blue pock
marks on my back. I'm glad I was looking away.

Bottom line: pick a system that will still restrain the sail even if
the balls fail or vanish.

Ryk

Shape of Speed
 

Ryk wrote in
:

Those little balls can be painful. I was sitting on the rail when our
traveler exploded and wound up with some painful little blue pock
marks on my back. I'm glad I was looking away.

"Yes, your honor. If it please the court, I'd like to show you my wounded
shoulder where THEIR schrapnel punctured my skin.", you tell the judge
during the civil trial for $12M in damages...plus lawyer fees and court
costs, of course...(c;


Bottom line: pick a system that will still restrain the sail even if
the balls fail or vanish.



No balls on the Amel. The traveler and outhaul car have big roller bearing
wheels that look like they belong on a monorail train on them....

They should for that much money, right?

Larry
--
Halloween candy sure has dropped in price, lately!

Shape of Speed-Now Furler worries
 

On 19 Nov 2006 07:23:31 -0800, "Capt. Rob" wrote:

For anyone interested, the CDI system is probably a safer and easier
(especially for cost) system, but is certainly a performance loser as
well.

All of the mainsail furling systems are performance losers because you
have to give up the roach sail area and the battens. Far better in my
experience, and just about as easy to use, is a lazy jack system that
will catch the main as it drops and leave everything piled neatly on
top of the boom.

Shape of Speed-Now Furler worries
 

On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:02:27 -0500, Charlie Morgan wrote:

There are now in-boom furlers for mains that work quite well.

Can they handle battens and a roached main?