Jib too high?

I have raked the mast back such that the main blocks are pretty much touching. In doing so, the jib seems to be too high?

A picture is worth a thousand words, (but here it is in words)

Boat was converted to Turbo (I think), so furler is at base of jib opposed to just below where the forestay bridles connect. By raking the mast the distance between where the bridles connect and the actual base of the jib is about 10-12" (a 6 hole and a 5 hole stay adjusters maxed out) This seems like too much. Base of the jib is higher than the boom.

Question: From a performance perspective, should I 'unrake' the mast to bring it down or leave it?

And this winter should I start playing with the forestay length, so that I am adjusting the length above the jib opposed to below it.

I'm not sure that I have a really good picture, but see if this helps please:

First, one purpose of raking the mast is to put "bend" in the mast to help shape the sail. How much bend depends on conditions. The other reason to rake is to get the "center of force" (def: basically the sweet spot where the wind pushes on the sail) lower and further aft so that your bows are lifted more.

With this in mind, I think that you should start by adjusting the jib at an appropriate height. (I always thought that the furling drum was supposed to sit right at the junction of the bridle thimbles between the hulls- maybe someone can help on this) Once that is done, center your boom and yank the mainsheet in tight to rake your mast. This will loosen your side stays of course. Then set your side stays as low as possible.

I don't know that this is the correct answer, but this was my rigging technique when I had a 14 turbo for a season and I don't recall having a 5 and a 6 hole adjuster involved. Then again, a lot of years and rum have intervened and pared memory cells

Sail on, sail on sailor

You are right, the furler should sit right at the junction, but she was a 14 converted into a turbo. Whom ever did it, just connected the furler to where I assume the normal 14 forestay connected and the jib is fixed to the furler. Hence, when I raked the mast and had to lengthen the forestay, both the furler and jib rose.

I raked it by unduing my forestay, adjusting the side stays shorter and then tensioning and reattaching the forestay. If I did it the way you described, (first put the forestay where I want it, and then rake it by applying pressure via cranking on the sheets to shorten the side stays) should I be worried about over tensioning the entire system?

Thanks,
Steve.

Hey, I've been vacationing, sorry to drop the ball on you there. I had a chance to look over a 14 turbo and had a couple thoughts/questions for you.

mast rake should also induce mast curve to some degree. This tends to work optimally when you set your side stays with the mainsail up. Do you set your side stays with your main up?

How much rake do you have when you go back and lengthen the forestay? I mean, from the vertical, how far does your mast lean? Too much rake can be detrimental to tacking and also cause excessive weather helm and loss of drive. One of the reasons for rake is to help lift the bow of the leeward hull, but it doesn't take that much rake to help.

Try this: With the furling drum at an "appropriate" height, and side stays loose raise the mainsail and lock it. Then set the traveler to a corner as far out as possible and crank down the mainsheet enough to loosen the stay on the side that you are pulling toward. Do not set the stay down as far as you can, just lower it a hole or two. Then go to the other corner and do the same. Repeat back and forth to take up any slack evenly on both sides.

NOW how much rake is there? I don't think that you can really over-tighten the system. We used to really reef on our 16's and 14's almost to the point of guitar-strings- also not good- but we never broke anything. Well nothing on the boat-


Steve to Steve- let me know if this helps

Thanks did it this weekend as you described. By doing it with the mast sail up, lowered the furler about 4 inches, and ended up using the same holes for the sidestays, Rig just a whole lot tighter...

From sailing perspective, didn't notice any difference, but had a beautiful sunday morning of sailing, in light warm drizzel, 15knot winds... and still couldn't fly a hull...

Glad it worked. You probably won't notice a handling difference as such but this should result in a little better speed overall. It's impossible to tell unless you compare it side by side in similar wind.

Now get that hull up