The use of headsail Roller Furling and reefing systems on sailboats has increased dramatically over the past fifteen years. When they first became available, they were viewed as a novelty by most of the sailing community. Today however, almost every cruising boat, and even many racing boats are equipped with roller furling. There are may […]
If you are having problems with your furling system, first try to isolate the problem. Ideally, this should be done on the dock or at the mooring, not in a panic underway. Step 1 – Remove the sail. Step 2 – Grab the extrusion above the drum and turn the system (make sure you have […]
The basic goals of rig preparation and tuning is the same on all boats, whether racing or cruising; that the rig is safe and strong enough not to fail, and the rig is set up to ensure maximum performance. Before stepping the mast: (or check each spring by going aloft in a bos’ns chair) Check […]
The “Flasher” and “Gennaker” are their trade names for an asymmetrical cruising spinnaker. We used to call ours a “reachaway”. I now use the more generic “asymmetrical” term because since they were used in the America’s Cup a few years back, most people are now familiar with what they are. Although there are differences in […]
We are often asked if there area any upgrades and modifications can be made to the sails that would improve the performance of their boat. One of the most often asked questions is: Is it possible to recut my sails to tune them up over the winter? The answer is always a resounding maybe! First […]
Most folks have a normal boat checklist for the spring; new bottom paint, installing instruments, lubricating furling systems and winches are some of the more obvious pre-launching tasks. Many people neglect to give their sails a quick inspection before installing them on the boat for the season. The following is a quick checklist of some […]
Remove sails from boat – Don’t leave them on boom/furling system all winter. Leaving the sails exposed to the elements is a sure way of shortening their life. Inspect the sails for minor damage as you are removing them. Mainsail – Look for broken luff slides and shackles, worn webbing, loose or worn stitching, broken or missing […]
Mainsail trim made simple This is a quick guide for racers or cruisers to give you the proper mainsail trim for the majority of sailing conditions: Set halyard tension – Pull up mainsail halyard and remove 95% of the horizontal wrinkles along the luff of the sail. The exception is in very heavy air, remove all […]
Genoa trim made simple Set halyard tension – Pull sail up hard enough to remove 95% of the horizontal wrinkles along the luff of the sail for a laminate sail, and for a Dacron sail tension halyard enough to just barely remove all the horizontal wrinkles. Set Jib/Genoa leads – Use these guidelines for proper lead location. […]
VSP Lightning Tuning Guide There are many proven methods for tuning a Lightning. The measurements and the settings included in this guide are ones that I have found to be the fastest for VSP Lightning sails. Since crew, wind and sailing conditions and boats vary, you may find that slightly different settings are best for […]
