Loose Footed Doyle Sail

[R Rae]

Thanks Leon

Securing the single pulley took some thought, but here's what I did.

I decided didn't want to drill anymore holes in the boom than neccesary, and figured out a way to use the 1/4" bolt that secures the alum. end cap to the front of the boom. A tricky move here meant drilling two small .075" holes close together in the end cap, such that a simple plastic twisty could pass through to pull the eye end of the pulley hard against the inside of the cap. That done, and end cap back in place, the bolt pushed home nicely capturing the pulley to boot.

I also drilled a 3/8" hole in the same end cap that the knotted fixed end of the line ( that runs back to the cockpit) pops out of.

Hope this is clear

R

[delevi]

Very clever Ron. Nice work.

[walt]

Delevi, nice job on the adjustable outhaul and thanks for posting the pictures.

Im going to a loose footed sail this year and have been working on a 4:1 outhaul (similar to what you have) with the control on the boom end but I like your idea of having the outhaul control available from the cockpit. Might even be dangerous trying to adjust it from the boom end?

Im curious what you think about 8:1 vs 4:1? Is the 4:1 going to be too difficult to adjust under load?

Ive used adjustable outhauls on windsurfing sails for many years and really like them. I ended up with an 8:1 on the windsurfing sail because sometimes it was nice to be able to tighten the sail under a full load.

[Currie]

Ron/Leon,

Awesome work with the outhauls. At some point, maybe this year, I'm thinking of doing something with mine. Ron, please keep us updated on the performance of your internal outhaul. It's very ingenious. Did you get a chance to post it in the Mods?

~Bob

[R Rae]

Thanks Bob,

but the Oscar goes to Leon, who initiated the concept... My contribution was only to stuff the lot inside the boom.

If it seems the thing won't fankle (old Scots word meaning 'to mix-up) then I should put into the Mods page.

Cheers........Ron

[delevi]

Walt,

4:1 may suffice just fine, but if you're already going through the trouble, why not go with 8:1? I found that you really need extra power for the loose-footed sail. Also, adjusting under load in say 15 kts. wind to really flatten the sail, you'll want the 8:1. Yes, having access to the outhaul in the cockpit is awesome and it can be very inconvenient if not outright dangerous to reach for the boom to make adjustments. One can make the same case for reefing.

Leon

[delevi]

Forgot to mention...
One alternative setup would be to run a single line along the boom and have the block & tackle run on deck.

[walt]

It was fairly simple to go to 8:1 (2:1 at the sail clew and 4:1 under the boom) so I did. Im going to put the outhall control accessable from the cockpit while sailing - very simiar to what Delevi did.

I ended up with about 6 inches of travel of the sail clew total. Hope this is adequate.

Cant wait to try it and thanks again..

[R Rae]

Still tweaking the system.
I still have the bolt rope attached along the foot of the sail. It appears to be sown in place. Any advice out there on whether I should remove it, and how.
Since my original posting I have now removed the 2-shackles in the boom track as they appeared to bind with the side forces under sail, slowing down the action.



Cheers.........R

[Jack Sparrow]

Rigged our boat loose footed and finaly we got to carry out some testing for a period of 3 days we had all conditions from 5knts to 25knts the most gain was in the lower conditions The boat seems to have better balance and control this is important for a Mac as they do not like standing up they grind to a halt and are slow to accelerate once they have stopped so it is imperative to keep them moving at all times. The lack of an outhauler
made the job difficult but that is nothing a few boat bucks can't fix

Jack Sparrow

[Highlander]

Jack

My is loose footed I think Mac went to the rope footed main sail because it was cheaper to make perhaps ! Anyway nice to hear the results a good never had a dout that is why my new main sail is now in the sail loft to be convert to a loose footed main the rope will be removed & the tack , foot , clew will be re enforced & give a much better sail shape, the harken book shows you some nice outhauls you can make yourself I have the 4:1 boom external one on my 19 that can also be run back to the cockpit which I will most likely do or copy maybe what leon has done

J

[beene]

Can't wait to see what you come up with J.

G