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PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 5:33 am 
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Location: Punta Gorda, FL
So I went to Home Depot and got some shade cloth, and I hung it around my porch to protect my orchids! Don't you people know what that stuff is for? ;)

But I did put a jib on my Adventure Island and take it for an afternoon sail when I was done with the porch screening project. :) I did it like someone else here did, rolling out the sail on the lawn to install a halyard block at the top of the mast, then rolling the halyard up inside the sail. I put a carabiner in the bow eye and led a tack line through it. The sheets I just held in my hands.

I was able to roll up the jib and stow it in front of my Mirage Drive until we got to an area where I wanted to use it. I didn't take a picture of it stowed.

When I got ready to use it, I had to (try to) arrange everything to sprout a sail.

Image

I got most of it right, but did lead my starboard side jib sheet inside the jib halyard. Doh! I discovered it before tacking, fortunately. ;)

From the pile stowed beside me, I pulled the tack of the jib out using a tack line. I had a loop in it set to hold the tack of the jib about a foot off the deck. You can see my brother in my wife's boat in the distance. He was taking video, but I haven't seen it yet.

Image

And up it went! :D

Image

It's too big for upwind work, and I was afraid to tighten the halyard enough to give it a real chance to point very high. It was nice on a close reach, and I could feel it pulling pretty hard.

Image

On a broad reach in light winds, the main seemed to suck the jib onto itself, stopping both of them from drawing. Here's a shot of that.

Image

I did sail it a bit wing on wing, but didn't get a picture. I hope that part comes out on the video. I didn't have my barber hauler lines on, and they really would have helped. Next time...


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:41 pm 
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Video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44tZq2W6_08


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 Post subject: A couple of questions
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 1:05 pm 
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Location: CLEARWATER, MN
Tom Ray...
Great looking jib setup...a couple of questions if you don't mind...

1) what sail (brand, size, etc.) did you use?
2) How did you fasten the halyard turning block to the mast?
3) when you furl the mainsail...does the jib block at the top of the sail
get wrapped up in the sail...or does it stay exposed at the mast top?

If the jib block gets wrapped up in the main sail, do you think that there
might be some wear on the sail material?

Thanks
Tidalwave


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:02 pm 
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Hi Tidalwave,

That jib was given to me. I think it came off an old Cougar 19' catamaran. I think it was the storm sail. It's Dacron, way too heavy for this application, but it's what I have. I didn't measure it, but will provide more details later. It's too big.

Up top, I just tied a small loop around one of the little plastic hooks that catches the sail strap. I put a harken micro-block w/shackle on the loop. I just ran both ends of it straight down the front of the mast. I put a small block on the aka bar to turn the working end of the halyard to me, but that was temporary. I'm going to develop the halyard more, now that I'm sure I like it. In other words, time for the drill... Again, more later... ;)

The block will wind up getting wrapped into the sail. It's tiny and round, so I'm not worried much about chafing. I don't intend to have any of the jib stuff on the boat most of the time. It's for those frustrating days when I actually have time, but not enough wind. ;)


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 6:14 am 
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AFTER FURTHER REVIEW

I added some tweaks to the system and gave it another try yesterday. I have the tack line set up in a way that's easy to use, but I'm still not completely happy with the halyard. I have a new idea for that, and will probably try it today.

We had better wind to start out yesterday, and were not messing around with cameras. We found that the jib-equipped AI would walk away from the other one when close-reaching in a moderate breeze. It seemed to be about a knot faster, maybe a little less. It's hard to tell down in the creek, because both boats are seldom sailing in the same wind, even when close together.

I also put my barber haulers back on yesterday, and found that they really help keep the jib flying off the wind, and also help when wing on wing. It's kind of a procedure to get main and jib both attached to opposite barber haulers and properly trimmed. Just what any sailboat needs! 6 new lines to play with! ;)


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:22 am 
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Location: South Florida
Hi Tom,

Excellent video and pictures. For myself, not being a real sailor, that is the sort of complication to the AI that I am avoiding--good luck though, you may have the ticket!

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:12 am 
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Keith,

You're probably one of the few for whom this kind of setup would make a lot of sense. If you're on a long reach on your upcoming trip and you have not quite enough wind, just set the jib and get another knot of speed. :D It takes a few minutes of messing about, but if you're going a long way, could be well worth it.

I'll probably mostly use it to sail on days when the wind is too light, but would definitely bring it along on any long expeditions. Just let me know if you want to borrow it. ;) I'm trying to keep it so that it can be used on any AI without drilling any new holes.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:21 am 
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Tom Ray just to add even more strings have you considered adding running back stays to give the mast more support


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:42 am 
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No, I don't think I'll add running backstays. I don't plan to use the jib in a lot of wind, and the mast is plenty strong for what I'll be doing. It is under more strain sailing in strong winds with just the main than sailing in light winds with main and jib.


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 Post subject: How strong is this mast?
PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:08 pm 
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Location: Pensacola, Fl.
Tom Ray wrote:
I don't plan to use the jib in a lot of wind, and the mast is plenty strong for what I'll be doing. It is under more strain sailing in strong winds with just the main than sailing in light winds with main and jib.


How strong is the mast? I have a jib that is somewhat larger than the one you are using here. I would be afraid to use it in fear of breaking the mast. That brings up the question, how much strain could we put on that carbon fiber mast without fear of breaking it? Has anyone ever broken a mast? What is the record?

Ron Patterson


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:11 pm 
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I don't know how strong it is, Ron, but it's darn strong. I sailed mine downwind with the full sail in 30 knots of wind, with stronger gusts. That was in the wake of hurricane Faye last year. It was slamming the hull right through some big, steep chop, and at one point I thought I was about to pitchpole when I had to either not turn at the bottom of a wave or hit a bridge. I missed the bridge. ;) You should have seen the mast flexing!

You can see the mast on my wife's boat flexing a fair amount in this video, taken as hurricane Ike was passing by:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Wnzv8ACAk

I bent mine more than that.

I wouldn't worry about putting any jib that isn't hanging in the water on the boat, assuming the wind is light enough, say 5 knots. If you have ten knots of wind or more, the jib isn't needed any more, and would have a chance of stressing the mast if you did use it.


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:05 am 
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OK I put together some details on the Adventure Island jib setup and wrote about it here.

You can click on all those images for bigger versions.

Now I'm off to go sailing. Looks like the wind is a bit strong, so I may not get to use my jib, but I'll bring it just in case.


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:17 pm 
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Hi Tom,

That jib looks very good on your AI; a good looking boat looking even better! 8) Thanks for sharing your rig in detail. A knot extra is quite a lot, so I would consider that well worth it. I don't own an AI (yet!), but if I would, I am sure I would also add a jib. I did add a jib on my oasis and I like the hassle (=lines to play with)! (In case you are interested, see http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=10791.)

I do have few questions: did you notice a change in the helm balance? As I have understood from other posts on this forum, the AI has whether helm (as it should), but how is this with the jib? Is it close to neutral now, or does it have lee helm (would be less good of course)?
I guess with the extra sail area and in calm conditions, pedaling light will make your AI picking up speed easier than without the jib. Was this the case or noticable?

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:27 pm 
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Can't really say yet, Skua. The winds were so light when I shot that video that any helm effects went unnoticed. I could definitely feel the added power of the jib, but it wasn't much given the light conditions.

Today I sailed about 10+ miles from my place down to a park in town. You'll never see me complain about this again, but it was too windy! I didn't dare put up the jib. Had a good time anyway. Man, that harbor water is COLD! I mostly stayed dry, but a couple of boat wakes snuck over the side, just enough to splash me and wet my butt. BRRRRR!

(Florida cold. I was wearing a jacket, but only shorts and Crocs from the waist down.)


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:34 am 
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I understand Tom. I stay tuned to your jib reports!

Have you tried neoprene shorts (like http://www.hikosport.com/shorts-canoe-59/f2507/)? It helped me stop worrying about a wet butt...

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