quick tacks on a cutter

[jbarros]

Hi all,

I''ve reciently been crewing on a Gozzard 31, which is a 35 foot cutter, out of Newport. It''s luxerouious, heavy built, slow, and doesnt have so much as a traveler, by means of go fast equipment. :\

IE: The Owners Wife couldnt be happier

However, sometimes the Owner and I will decide to play in the harbor when there''s no wind outside (funnel effect) and last weekend we were fast tacking back and forth, using the Genoa and no staysail, as we were trying to point as hard as possible (and the staysail alone is useless under 20 kts.)

I seem unable to get the sail to come up between the stays. I was waiting for it to backwind when I started, sloop style, but that just gets it more firmly stuck behind the staysail''s stay. So I fixed that. tailing it out a bit more helps a little too, any other suggestions?

Thanks.

-- James

[Jeff_H]

The usual suggestion is to roll the sail part way in on the roller furler or to use a retreival line(also called a tacking line). A retreival line is a line that was first used with large overlapping headsails on race boats of the 1960''s. It is a line that is run from the cockpit to a block at the tack of the jib and then back to a point on the foot of the sail that will allow the clew to clear the stay. To tack the sheet is eased completely, the tacking line is then quickly pulled in as the bow goes head to wind and then released as the bow swings through the wind and the new sheet made up. I once sailed on a small IP which was almost imposible to tack without a retrieval line.

Jeff

[jbarros]

Those are the fast ways????

-- James

[elhanley]

You can dead end a "tricing line" near the bunt (centroid) of the sail (pass it through a grommet with a stopper knot), run it to a block at the luff, down to another at the tack, then aft. Use the wind to help it through.

[Jeff_H]

I found your use of terms interesting and assume that you are in some other English speaking country. In the U.S. that line that you call a tricing line would be called a retrieving (retrieval) line or Tacking line. Interestingly we use the term ''Tricing line'' a little differently over here, where the term Tricing line is used to mean a line that trices up (gathers up) the whole sail on a boat that has a laced on sail. And over here bunts are tyically reef points or nettles.

While a retrieving line can help a little, it will never make tacking a cutter quick or easy. The placement of the retrieval line is very important and placing the cringle of on the sail near the centroid of the sail will not always retract the sail far enough to assist with the tack. The retrieval point needs to be on the foot and placed so that the clew of the sail can clear the jibstay when the sail is fully retrieved. The rest of the sail is pretty easy to pull through the gap.

I was currious where in your description you were attaching the block at the tack. You obviously can''t attach it to the headstay and still be able to raise the sail. So do you attach it directly onto the sail itself? Do you have a problem with chafe where the line sits against the sail?

Respectfully,
Jeff

[paulk]

Looks like elhanley IS talking about a tricing line. It would run through a grommet in the middle of the sail and the knot in the end would brail (!) or trice it up.

If "in a trice" isn''t quick enough, the fast way to tack a cutter is to remove the inner forestay.

[elhanley]

I''ve been away since posting that tricing line note, but was glad to get your reply. I am, indeed from another English speaking country - the Maine coast, though I left there almost 60 years ago to join the navy. In those low aspect ratio days, even without an inner forestay, lapping headsails needed help getting past the mast, which was set quite far forward. Fastening the line at the fullest part of the sail serves to dump the wind out of it, and gather the bulk of it against the forestay. The line makes about a 90 degree angle with the forestay and passes through a block lashed to a hank,then is threaded down through the hanks to a block lashed to the tack cringle. I have used this configuration on a number of boats with good results. I now have roller furling and no inner forestay, so get along without it.
Regards,

[mdougan]

Well, the "fast" way on my boat is to send somebody up to the forestay and tug on the leeward jib sheet to walk the sail around...

But, care must be taken to avoid flailing sheets, and/or a pitching foredeck.