Sail too long in the luff

[Ssas5342]

I have a sail off a Seawind 1000xl on my Seawind 1000 (extended to an XL) The sail is too long in the luff as the boom on the factory xl is a little lower on the mast.
I’ve attached the sail on what I assume is the Cunningham cringle, and it fits well.
I’ve noticed that the leech, or around 1/4 of the lower rear of the sail, is somewhat flatter than I would expect when under pressure. There’s a good belly in the sail and by tightening the top lift I can get some more shape towards the rear of the sail.
Apart from the obvious lowering the boom, (major surgery), does anyone have an opinion if this is caused by the sail being secured by the Cunningham cringle or is there a way to get a better sail shape?

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by Ssas5342

...is there a way to get a better sail shape?

Get a sail that actually fits the boat. You have a hot rod boat there, why are you mickey-mousing with crap sails?

[Gary Mc]

A sail maker can shorten the luff for not a lot off money. Ask one.

[Don C L]

For now using the Cunningham should be fine. Do you also have a flattening reef on the leech? But I'd recommend you take it into a sailmaker; it shouldn't be too much for them to set new cringles, if the sail is in good shape and worth keeping.

[Ssas5342]

Originally Posted by BillKny

Get a sail that actually fits the boat. You have a hot rod boat there, why are you mickey-mousing with crap sails?

Agreed, but I don’t have the money for a new sail.

[Ssas5342]

Originally Posted by Don C L

For now using the Cunningham should be fine. Do you also have a flattening reef on the leech? But I'd recommend you take it into a sailmaker; it shouldn't be too much for them to set new cringles, if the sail is in good shape and worth keeping.

Yeah I will consult with the local sailmaker. I’m sure a fixing point on the leech might help.

[caffel]

One trick would be to work with the outhaul tension in coordination w the Cunningham and see how that changes the shape. Make sure to check the leech cord as well. If the sail is on the new side, some time in use will stretch out the leech and the problem may fade.

[Halam]

How much is it out by? I had an eye fitted lower at the head on one of my sails and that worked well.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Ssas5342

I have a sail off a Seawind 1000xl on my Seawind 1000 (extended to an XL) The sail is too long in the luff as the boom on the factory xl is a little lower on the mast.
I’ve attached the sail on what I assume is the Cunningham cringle, and it fits well.
I’ve noticed that the leech, or around 1/4 of the lower rear of the sail, is somewhat flatter than I would expect when under pressure. There’s a good belly in the sail and by tightening the top lift I can get some more shape towards the rear of the sail.
Apart from the obvious lowering the boom, (major surgery), does anyone have an opinion if this is caused by the sail being secured by the Cunningham cringle or is there a way to get a better sail shape?

I suspect that by attaching the tack at the cunninham cringle and the clew at the normal clew attachment point on the sail you no longer have a straight (horizontal) pull from the tack to the clew. This could distort the shape.

The solution might be to create a new clew approximately the same distance up the leech that the cunninham is up the luff.

Be cautious though that you don't have the new clew attached where there is insufficient reinforcing material. A sailmaker can add some material to the corner patch so that you don't pull out that new clew in strong winds.

[onestepcsy37]

i bought a used but nearly new sail from a tartan 37 that looked like it would fit my csy 37, based on the published dimensions. when i hoisted it it turned out to be eight inches too long in the luff, but otherwise fit fine.
i took it to a sailmaker who wanted to cut a foot off the bottom of the sail. i thought that would be too much loss of sail area - the csy 37 is a heavy boat and needs all the sail you can put up. so i had him cut the eight inches off the head of the sail. lot less loss of sail area. he had to make a new headboard to fit it, and the head of the sail is now a bit flat instead of pointy, but otherwise fit great.

[zstine]

The Cunningham tight upwind and the flat shape is probably desirable up wind most of the time. a main is generally pretty flat when sailing to weather. if you look at most racing boats sailing upwind, the Cunningham is usually pretty tight. You may be loosing a little power off the wind in lighter conditions, but we're talking a few seconds a mile... you can loosen the luff at the halyard to get some shape downwind, as well as slacking outhaul, or just use the normal main sail tack and run with a baggy luff downwind. But if you're not racing, its probably not an issue... Post a Pic so we can actually see the shape.

[SaltyMetals]

You could use the cunningham , you could have a new cringle put in the leech but either way you lose sail area. Why not have a local sailmaker reduce the head a sufficient amount that would then result in the boom riding higher? That way you lose very little sail area and it is a simple and inexpensive adjustment.
Andrew

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Ssas5342

I have a sail off a Seawind 1000xl on my Seawind 1000 (extended to an XL) The sail is too long in the luff as the boom on the factory xl is a little lower on the mast.
I’ve attached the sail on what I assume is the Cunningham cringle, and it fits well.
I’ve noticed that the leech, or around 1/4 of the lower rear of the sail, is somewhat flatter than I would expect when under pressure. There’s a good belly in the sail and by tightening the top lift I can get some more shape towards the rear of the sail.
Apart from the obvious lowering the boom, (major surgery), does anyone have an opinion if this is caused by the sail being secured by the Cunningham cringle or is there a way to get a better sail shape?

Find a GOOD independent sail maker. There are still a few around. They have software to model your sail vs the designed sail and may be able to safely modify the sail.

My gut says add to the roach, that should be easier to reinforce. But hey I’m a delivery guy what do I know.

Of course if you add to the roach you move the COE up, as compared to the sail the boat was designed for. So you may have to feed a tad sooner.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by wingssail

I suspect that by attaching the tack at the cunninham cringle and the clew at the normal clew attachment point on the sail you no longer have a straight (horizontal) pull from the tack to the clew. This could distort the shape.

The solution might be to create a new clew approximately the same distance up the leech that the cunninham is up the luff.

Be cautious though that you don't have the new clew attached where there is insufficient reinforcing material. A sailmaker can add some material to the corner patch so that you don't pull out that new clew in strong winds.

Yeah that's why I asked about the flattening reef in the leech. If it is there already it works pretty well for shrinking the main (in conjunction with the Cunningham). I actually do that with my main to raise the boom the 4 inches or so when I get tired of it hitting my head.
I don't think sailmakers would think taking it down at the head would work too well.

[Ssas5342]

Thanks for the input. A few things to try. I’ll get some photos next tim I sail and post.