Boom-less Main Sail

[flyboy26m]

I liked the Boom-less sail on the F22 Tri I had purchased plans for so I contacted a Sail-Maker and was able to convert my Main sail into a dual purpose sail. So I can now use it with or without the boom. It makes it easier to set up and nicer in the cockpit without the boom. I have posted some pics in the Mod section.
Love my 26M
Michael

[40Toes]

Michael,
I've got to ask, where do you sail with that rig? It seems to me to be something for a much smaller boat and wouldn't stand up to much of a blow.

Rod

[bscott]

How do you reef that boom-less main?

Bob

[flyboy26m]

Michael,
I've got to ask, where do you sail with that rig? It seems to me to be something for a much smaller boat and wouldn't stand up to much of a blow.

Rod

Hi Rod,
I have only sailed in light winds that produced GPS speed of 4mph. I did experience a few gusts the healed the boat fairly well and did not notice any problems with the sail or shape.
Here is a snip from an email from a sail-maker:
“Hi Michael,

Thanks for your inquiry. we can build a Mainsail for the Macgregor 26m as
a boomless sail by adding a fullbatten sleeve at the foot and inserting 2
full battens into the sleeve. This gives the foot of the sail enough
stiffness and definition to perform as if it were a boomed Mainsail.

In most conditions you will not see any performance loss and in upwind conditions, the sail will perform better in lighter air. The area where the sail will lose performance is in downwind heavy-air conditions, as the foot of the sail cannot be flattened as much as it would be with an outhaul on the boom, thus the boomless sail will be fuller in heavier air than it would be if you attach the clew to the outhaul”

I wish I had your engineering skills as I like to build things. I tend to overbuild not knowing enough about loads, fatigue and such. I hired an engineer when I contracted my new home.
The sail-maker seemed to know his stuff so I relied on his information.

Love my 26m
Michael

[flyboy26m]

How do you reef that boom-less main?

Bob

Hi Bob,

The same way you do with the boom only you would be tying off around the the 1" diameter full-batten.

Love my 26m
Michael

[c130king]

Can you post any pics of this boom-less main sail in operation?

Thanks,
Jim

[mastreb]

Hi Michael,

Would it be possible to reef this boomless mainsail by lowering the sail and then rolling the bottom up, then tying off through reef points in the luff and leech and perhaps a cunningham or two? That would be very interesting to me. So you just completely forgo using a vang to maintain sail shape?

Matt

[brianalbarado]

Even if you don't use it all the time this seems like a very nice option to have. If you don't mind me asking who did you go through and what was the turn around time and cost?

Thanks,

[flyboy26m]

Can you post any pics of this boom-less main sail in operation?

Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim,
I posted them in the Mod section under "Boom-less Main Sail"

I will try and post a video in the future.

Love my 26m
Michael

[flyboy26m]

Hi Michael,

Would it be possible to reef this boomless mainsail by lowering the sail and then rolling the bottom up, then tying off through reef points in the luff and leech and perhaps a cunningham or two? That would be very interesting to me. So you just completely forgo using a vang to maintain sail shape?

Matt

I have not tried to reef it yet but I don't see why you could not do as you suggested.
No I don't use a vang. The whole idea was to simplify it for trailering between Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.
My plan is to use it for a cabin while in Minnesota and practice my sailing for when I Trailer it to the Florida Keys. I will use the Boom more in Florida.
I leave the sail on the cabin floor and attach the head to the Halyard- go up top and start feeding the slugs in and attach the tack. Then I move to the cockpit and insert the round 1"diameter batten into the sail sleeves. The sail maker installed two more grommets ahead of the clue grommet to secure the back fin of the batten. snap it the traveler and I am ready to sail. The nice part is you can take out the batten in a few seconds and strap the sail to the mast. I then don't have the boom to contend with when I am not sailing.

Love my 26m
Michael

[flyboy26m]

Even if you don't use it all the time this seems like a very nice option to have. If you don't mind me asking who did you go through and what was the turn around time and cost?

Thanks,

Hi Brian,
I agree, just another tool. It will just be me on the boat a lot of the time and this is just a fast and easy way to put up, take down and store the main.
I think it will be easier and quicker for a single to reef as well.
I would be delighted to give you my contact's information: She does sail repair as well.
Brigid Thompson
Sail la Vie
4495 Lake Ave So.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-251-5494
www.saillavieusa.com
My cost to convert my sail was 285.00 FOB her front door. This was a test for her so your cost maybe 10% more or less.
She is a nice lady to work with. When she found out the sail was not going to be ready until the day I was on the water she offered to drive the
sail out to me on the lake at no extra charge. I declined as it was the first week out and I had enough to get into trouble with as it was
Lead time was about 8 weeks.
Love my 26m
Michael