Possible Sailfeed Location Issue

[downeasteralexa]

hi everyone, i''m new to sailnet, bought a 1975 Newport 16'' daysailer this past summer, promptly broke the mast and had a new one shipped out to me. the point is, when i measured the broken mast, I accidentally gave the measurement from the bottom of the mast to the top of the sailfeed, instead of the bottom. thanks to me, the sailfeed now rests 4 inches higher than it did on the original mast. will this cause an issue? My mainsail still seems to fit - i haven''t rigged the mast yet, its still just an extrusion. when the main is fully up, the bottom corner rests just above the top edge of the sailfeed. so this means i could just run my sail at a slightly lower height, in order to keep the boom in the mast below the sailfeed...right? i''m sorry if i make no sense, i''m still learning the lingo and the ways of sailing. but i''m excited!

-Tyler H.

-16'' Newport Daysailer, "Windsong" - soon to be carefully re-christened "Alexa"

[paulk]

There''s a lot going on at the gooseneck and the tack of the mainsail, so it may be tricky. Does the boom attach to the mast by sliding in the same slot as the sail? If so, having the feeder opening where it is is a problem, since the boom needs to be at the bottom of the sail, and it will have no support on one side if it''s there. Lowering the sail a bit so that the boom will be properly engaged on both sides is probably the best route. There isn''t a lot of pressure on the sail itself at that point, so not having the support on one side is probably not that big a deal. Pulling the boom down to tighten the luff will probably take care of it.
You don''t say whether you use slides or just a boltrope in the slot. If you use slides, they will all fall out if you have the feeder opening right on top of the boom. You can fix that by screwing a plate
over the opening to keep the slides in. (If you use wingnuts, the plate can easily come off to enable you to remove the slides and the sail. ) If your boltrope goes up the slot, and you don''t have slides, the feeder opening should be ok. Just remember to duck, because the boom is going to be lower now.