stretching sail

[bahama bound]

Hey I remembered some one posted that the line in the sail can shrink causing it to lose shape .i read that it could be stretched between 2 trees .so now my main is strung up between 2 trees pulled tight with a winch ....now what ???? Could not find original post !!!!

[Crikey]

Blow dryer!

[Sumner]

...i read that it could be stretched between 2 trees .so now my main is strung up between 2 trees pulled tight with a winch ....now what ???? ...

Not saying it won't work but never heard of that method. Here is what we did (go to the very bottom of the page at the link) ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ing-3.html

Sumner

============================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[bahama bound]

Thanks .i know I read the posts .one said you could cut the stitching to free up the bolt rope and then re-stitch it ???? The others said leave it stretched out for like 5 days ?

[Hardcrab]

From brand new, I cut the stiching on my new muscle head sail several years ago, and never restiched it.
I figured to let it shrink at it's hearts content as time goes by.
I don't know if it has shrunk or not -- and don't care!
I'm not aware of any negative effects associated with this method, real or imagined.

[gabid]

...so now my main is strung up between 2 trees pulled tight with a winch ....now what ???? ...

Get a new sail

[seahouse]

So when you tighten the winch the wrinkles go away? And when you loosen the winch the wrinkles return? Or are they gone? Or partly? Yeah maybe leaving it under tension for a few days will allow the rope to relax more permanently. I would think you'd have to do the same thing at various points in time (every year, two) as the bolt rope shrinks again?

Yeah, I know, a lot of question marks there, but I was thinking about doing the same thing preventatively, before it gets too far gone.

-B.

[bahama bound]

When its stretched it still has a sag in the middle .its a nice crisp clean main sail but I guess they were just poorly made .i was hoping it would be tight like a drum but no where close ....guess need to order a new main .

[seahouse]

If you could get it flat the sail would be no good; it's not possible actually. There is supposed to be a depth to the draft of the sail, it is supposed to have a 3 dimensional shape to it, being made by stitching together panels that have curved edges.

What you really want to accomplish by stretching the bolt rope, or decoupling it from the sail, is to prevent it from contracting the pocket it's in and causing wrinkles along the luff (front edge) of the sail. Kinda' like the drawstring on your track pants does.

You can flatten the sail a bit by increasing mast bend, but that's a topic for another thread.

Maybe your sail is not as bad as you thought?

[Sumner]

If you could get it flat the sail would be no good; it's not possible actually. There is supposed to be a depth to the draft of the sail, it is supposed to have a 3 dimensional shape to it, being made by stitching together panels that have curved edges..

Yep, a sail is the same as a wing on an airplane. Just like the wing provides lift the sail does the same and allows the boat to go upwind with a high pressure on one side and a low pressure on the other. The rudder and the keel do the same thing.



http://www.discoverboating.com/resource ... spx?id=252

Sumner

============================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[bahama bound]

It had a funny limp shape to it under sail no matter what I did .it actually looks a whole lot better ......now it has a much better shape .looks more like a wing and less like a balloon .....i think it did work .and I know I have seen this method posted .....

[Steve K]

I probably posted this at some point. Learned this trick in "Sail Maker's Apprentice" or one of my other books on sail building/repair. Have done this more than once. If one has room, it can really help.

I always notice other sailboats where the main isn't hoisted very tight. The luff should not be scalloped looking, when sailing. Nor should there be wrinkles, running fore to aft, out from the luff. Put some beef on it when hoisting. Then check along the way, as the halyard will stretch, when tightened and you will need to readjust it after sailing for awhile.

Another problem is, the sail cloth, under pressure stretches and the bolt rope that never sees any tension shrinks. Particularly with cheaper sail cloth, this can cause horrible sail shape, even on inexpensive sails that aren't very old. Stretching the bolt rope back out can make a big difference.

I have also unstitched the bolt rope at the bottom (tack) of the sail. I do, however, recommend stretching the rope (really stretch it good. I use the same method... between two trees or posts) by itself, or replacing it altogether with a good "pre-stretched" one. I also don't like to leave it unstitched from the sail cloth, although many report not having any problems, having done this.

SK

[bahama bound]

I am surprised how much better it looks .yeah from now on I am going to really crank it tight on the way up !