Patrick, Ref: http://www.catalina27.org/SN-FTP/Sail%20Cuts.jpg
In a sail loft they would hang the sail horizontally with a taught luff and pull on the sheet cringe to examine the shape and draft. You can do the same by hoisting one and looking at its draft (depth of the foil shape) follow by the other. The flatter one would be the reefing sail. The simplest way to identify a reefing headsail would be to find a luff pad sew behind the leach. A "Foam" luff pad was in vogue for a while but it tended to degrade. Trying to reefing a full cut headsail for high winds is bad because the furler foil you are using to roll the sail gathers the cloth uniformly along its length. That means the extra cloth that forms the draft for the fully unrolled sail gets pushed back into the unrolled portion of the sail as you go. The draft of the remaining portion of sail gets deeper. Very soon into this process the shape is so bad the sail won't drive anymore and just contributes a heavy heeling force and could force a lee helm condition. Instead of being light and lively joy to sail in heavy air the boat sails heavy and the skipper gets the feeling he's just hanging on. A reefing headsail is cut flatter to start with and may not be effective below 10 knots. When it gets rolled a luff pad built into the sail effectively gives the furler a tapered foil skinny on the ends but thick in the middle. As the cloth rolls up the thicker middle gathers the extra cloth used to form the draft and the sail remains well shape and driving the boat safely forward. The sail designer knows where to position the pad and how thick it needs to be to match the cut of his sail so it can work quite well. It's much better, if you don't have a reefing headsail, to learn how to reshape the draft of a sail with luff tension controls and headsail twist with fairlead position to adapt to changing wind conditions. In fact it might be better if everyone learned this before relaxing with a reefing headsail. The main is adjusted in the same manner with luff tension controls to pull the draft forward and flatten the draft while traveler position (and vang) and allows the sail to twist off before reefing. Phil Agur s/v Wing Tip Commodore, Call Sign WCW3485 IC27/270A MMSI 366901790 www.catalina27.org Vessel Doc# 1039809 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Patrick R Ford Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 12:49 PM To: IC27A Subject: catalina27-talk: Headsail Listers, Article on furling and headsails in the August Mainsail Technical Pull out section. There is a standard headsail and reefing headsail.My sail came with the boat. How can I visually tell if it is reefing or standard ? Why is a reefed, non reefing sail " very bad in high winds " ? Pat Ford Seabiscuit 3692 Port Washington, WI
