Jib Track Placement

[Billypage]

Hello everyone,
Im refitting my Triton 28. I removed the single pad eye that was used for the only jib the boat came with. Now I'm going back with jib track. My question is can some one tell me how to figure out how long it should be and oprox where it should go(for & aft,inboard & outboard)? My plan is to get a cruising 120%,100%, storm jib and some kind of light air sail. (gennaker,driffter).

Thanks

[Matt sachs]

I was going to post this question today, instead I'll just bring this one to the top.

[Bash]

Your best bet would be to consult with the sailmaker who will be building your 120%. The best fairlead placement depends on the clew height, and a good sailmaker can mark the exact range that the 120 will need for optimal. Then, the 100% can be designed to hit the same placements.

The gennaker will need a separate turning block as far aft as you can get it. Don't even think about running it through the jib fairleads.

One other thought: if my genoa was going to be a 120% sail, my jib would be a 90% with a high clew. You'll have a more versatile combination that way. Again, discuss this with your sailmaker.

[Stumble]

This is defiantly a sail maker issue. On most boats I would very heavily recommend against a 120 though. On some boats it might work, but for most it will be too large to go inside the stays, and too large to have a decent trim angle.

For most boats the best option is to go as large as possible inside (typically around a 105), or go large enough that the angle between the foot and the clew stat to come back to reasonable (135is). But for most boats the payoff is pretty bad until you got to the 155 range.

Typically a well cut sail will only need about 18" of track to cover most wind conditions the sail was designed for, so it doesn't need much. However a longer track does allow you to use the same cars with different sails (at some loss of performance since the lead angle isn't optimal for each sail).