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Old 22-04-2020, 18:00   #1
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Quickie Sailing primer for Leopard 44

After a couple weeks of sailing, I've noticed a few things about this boat that weren't covered in my one day sailing course.

1. Jib. very baggy, works good, gets very flappy when I go downwind, and ease it out. May need to pick up a whisker pole for dead down wind sailing.

2. Main, the twin mainsheet thing took a little getting used to. I finally got it to work by unlocking the lazy side, then tack, and easing the upwind side until the boom is about where I want it, then snug the downwind side. I don't know if this is the correct method or not, but it seems to work. I'm open to suggestions from any experts.

3. Boomvang. I thought it was supposed to have some kind of spring inside. doesn't seem to do anything except keep the boom from crashing on the deck.

The boom flies up when it gusts, or waves rock the boat. I can control it by cinching up both mainsheets, but then why have a boomvang?
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Old 23-04-2020, 00:43   #2
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Re: Quickie Sailing primer for Leopard 44

Jib controls. UPWIND If your jib is baggy, tighten the luff/halyard until a crease forms down the front of the sail, then let it off a couple of inches. Experiment with the jib travellers cars, if you pull the cars back it will stretch the foot of the sail. If sail shudders when beating tighten the leech line at the back of the sail. This might cause a hook in the leach, but it will stop the shudder. When sailing close to the wind sheet in tight till the jib almost touches the diamond wires if you have them.


OFF THE WIND
A baggy jib is good as it makes more power off the wind, not too baggy though. Ease the halyard a few more inches, ease the sheet out. For dead down wind use another line (spinnaker sheet if you have one) from the rear or middle mooring cleat or pulley and attach to the jib clew and use this as the control sheet, let the normal jib sheets go slack. A heavy duty snatch block on a dyneema tether is a handy way of repositioning and redirecting sheeting angles.


Boom vang, don't know the Leopard 44 set up but I imagine it is to stop the boom hitting the cabin top or maintaining the right angle for a furling mainsail. Catamarans tend to use the mainsheet traveller rather than the vang (most with slab reefing don't have a vang and rely on topping lift to keep the boom off the cabin top) to stop boom skying. Tension should be kept on the mainsheet and the traveller used to let the sail out, this will lessen the impact of the battens chaffing the sail on the side stays. It may not be perfect downwind trim but will save a few dollars in sail repairs. With the twin main sheet system to act like a traveller I would ease the windward sheet completely and crank down on the leeward, this will bring the boom over the leeward quarter, tighten the leeward sheet until there is some tension on the leech of the sail and minimal batten rub on the side stays.

My two bobs worth, not ever having sailed a 44, but a 38 and a 39. With this mainsheet system for up wind I would ease the leeward sheet and crank in the windward sheet till the boom was over the centre line or even a foot to windward. Crank down on the main halyard to flatten the mainsail. Pull the foot out tight. Install tell tales on the leech of the mainsail at the top 3 battens. When tell tales on the tightened jib are flying horizontal, haul in the main till the leech tell tales stall and then ease off till they flow.



Forgive me if you are a seasoned sailor and know all this stuff already.
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Old 23-04-2020, 09:00   #3
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Re: Quickie Sailing primer for Leopard 44

No this is good information. My only sailing experience is on a 14 ft Expo.

No traveler, that's one thing I need to get used to.

Use a line on Spinnaker pulley to control jib downwind, good info. This is the piece I was missing. I thought it would be handy to have one more line. The jib sheet pulleys are very close together compared to the width of the boat, and size of jib. Good for upwind, no where to go downwind.


Some sailboats have a rope which goes from midpoint on boom to base of the mast to control boom when sailing downwind with main sheets fully out.

I thought the boomvang was supposed to do that (maybe spring broken).

I finally rigged a line to do that, it helped a lot, but It's a lot of stress on a single line. A pulley with 3 or 4 loops would be better. Or take the spring out for repair.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. I'm going to get some more rope, and give this a shot.
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Old 25-04-2020, 13:18   #4
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Re: Quickie Sailing primer for Leopard 44

The phrase you are looking for is a boom preventer.. attach anywhere convenient on the boom and to somewhere fwd of this point .. hold the boom out and prevents a gyre.. and secondly can simply be used to locate the boom in a desired place.

For downwind you do not need a whisker pole, I would suggest to fix a block on your midships cleat, or toerail if possible and run your sheet through this..effectively mimicking the outboard track of a monohull..to switch from inboard to outboard simply bring the lazy sheet around and make fast to a cleat to hold the sail..ease the active sheet, rerig through the outboard block and trim, then remove the lazy sheet

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Originally Posted by capn_billl View Post
No this is good information. My only sailing experience is on a 14 ft Expo.

No traveler, that's one thing I need to get used to.

Use a line on Spinnaker pulley to control jib downwind, good info. This is the piece I was missing. I thought it would be handy to have one more line. The jib sheet pulleys are very close together compared to the width of the boat, and size of jib. Good for upwind, no where to go downwind.


Some sailboats have a rope which goes from midpoint on boom to base of the mast to control boom when sailing downwind with main sheets fully out.

I thought the boomvang was supposed to do that (maybe spring broken).

I finally rigged a line to do that, it helped a lot, but It's a lot of stress on a single line. A pulley with 3 or 4 loops would be better. Or take the spring out for repair.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. I'm going to get some more rope, and give this a shot.
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