Quote:
Originally Posted by rockfordwoods
I am thinking of converting to a staysail using a low torsion luff rope and furler to be flown without the stay. That way when I am not using a staysail, I can just bag the whole thing and store it. I am unsure of the required luff tension (using the halyard) for the staysail and how that would affect the mast compression. It seems to me that since you would be using a halyard for the sail anyway, the net of the halyard/stay combination would be the same as that of the halyard using the low torsion luff rope. I have read some opinions that it is not possible to get,enough tension like this.
Does anyone have any experience with using this setup for a staysail?
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I fly a 150 jib on its wire luff line free flying. If that is similar to what you are talking about then I have some experience with it. There are some limitations mainly in not being able to get good upwind sail shape. It is also a bit of a trick to take down except when running. Easy when running, just grab it high on the luff and pull it on deck. I can do that single handed as the halyard winch is on the mast. Up wind, and on a reach, it often gets wet, sometimes very wet when taking it down and it takes two people. If you are going to have the halyard winch back at the cockpit, you are going to need someone on the foredeck to take it down. Putting it up is not the issue, it is taking it down.
If you can put enough tension on the halyard, then maybe you can get good sail shape. I am limited by not wanting to break anything with an old boat. We fly the sail off a spinnaker block attached to an old bronze ring that is just not set up for downward loading, you may be able to get more tension on your halyard and therefore better upwind performance.
Hope this was useful.
Allen
L-36.com