Jib furling system about a foot short??

[dnf777]

I bought a Precision-15 recently, and when rigging it, discovered the jib sail/forestay came up about a foot (maybe foot and a half) short. It has the furling system built in. I don't think I can rig a foot long SS extension at the bow end, as the furling line would be angled too much off the deck block. If I put an extension at the mast end, it will "fly" off the mast by that much. Is this ok? I'm thinking of just trying it and see what happens. I have the means, but not the desire to spend alot for a new sail/furling system. I suppose I could move the cleat down the mast, but this would be 4 more holes and rivets, which I don't like the idea of weakening the mast anymore, if not absolutely necessary.
Thanks for any thoughts.

ps...the guy who sold me the boat is totally willing to make it right, but I'm afraid he'll just lower the mast cleat like I mentioned above.

[14432]

I'm assuming that the "forestay" for the rig is actually a wire in the jib luff and that this wire & furler is attached to the jib halyard - correct? If so, can you simply adjust the halyard or, if the halyard is too short, it seems that you could replace it rather than moving the cleat.

Not sure what you mean about an extension at the mast end making it "fly off the mast......." This jib is not meant to be hoisted all the way to the halyard block on/in the mast. That may be your problem.

Some pics would be helpful

[dnf777]

Thanks 14432. I'm working on pix, but have trouble downsizing the files for posting.

I really don't have a jib halyard, as the forestay wire is inside the luff,and it attaches at one end to the mast cleat, and the other to the bow eye. The apex of the sail has a Harken furler swivel that attaches to a cleat about 3/5 of the way up the mast, as you pointed out, not the halyard block at top. The whole rig is about 18" short, so I was going to crimp a SS cable to about that length with eyes at both ends and use that to make up the difference. I can't put it on the bow eye, as the furler would then be up off the deck, and the furler sheet would not work. If I put it on the mast cleat, the apex of the sail will not be held against the mast, but rather will be ~18" off of it. I don't think that would be a problem, but might diminish the efficiency of the jib? (I'll work on the photos, and using more proper terminology!)

[zz4gta]

I think photos would help sort this out in short order. If you'd like, send some to me at tharney at pbsj dot com and I'll host and post em.

[sailingdog]

Don't downsize the photos. Post them on Photobucket, Flickr, Picasaweb or one of the other photo-sharing sites and then link to them here.

Originally Posted by dnf777

Thanks 14432. I'm working on pix, but have trouble downsizing the files for posting.

I really don't have a jib halyard, as the forestay wire is inside the luff,and it attaches at one end to the mast cleat, and the other to the bow eye. The apex of the sail has a Harken furler swivel that attaches to a cleat about 3/5 of the way up the mast, as you pointed out, not the halyard block at top. The whole rig is about 18" short, so I was going to crimp a SS cable to about that length with eyes at both ends and use that to make up the difference. I can't put it on the bow eye, as the furler would then be up off the deck, and the furler sheet would not work. If I put it on the mast cleat, the apex of the sail will not be held against the mast, but rather will be ~18" off of it. I don't think that would be a problem, but might diminish the efficiency of the jib? (I'll work on the photos, and using more proper terminology!)

[KeelHaulin]

I don't think having the head of the sail 18" down from the mast will make any difference in the sailing performance. Your sail is marginally smaller; but you can't change that anyway. I would add the pennant wire to the top, not the bottom.

Head = top corner of sail (what you are calling 'apex')
Tack = lower front corner
Clew = aft corner (where you attach the sheets)

Luff = leading edge of the sail
Leech = back edge of sail
Foot = bottom edge of sail

[deniseO30]

There's a P16 at my YC.. it's a fractional rig.. is this what you mean that it's short? this is a pic I found of a p 15 on the factory website.