I was recently out on a friends 85 Catalina 27 to try to help get a little more speed out of her. Although, very similar to my 86 version, I was surprised by the differences in the way she sailed. Mostly it was the wide range, or " large groove" that the main sail was able to be set. The tell tails were able to flow with the boom far above the center line or way down below the center line all while keeping the main sheet constant. On my boat, even a mere 1/2" move of the boom or the main sheet and my tell tails are falling or are back winded.
It sort of felt like the sails were conforming to the wind, regardless of the point of sail, and that trimming was having a minimal effect in getting to optimal sail shape. I was thinking that this problem may be caused by the sails being fatigued or being "blown out". The main is also a full batten main, and although we were able to flatten it at the bottom a bit, the middle of the sail was extremely deep. I am curious if anybody else ever experienced this or what would be the symptoms for having blown out sails? Also would like to know if having too much stretch in the halyards and sheets would produce the same symptoms. Cary Wind Spind 6188 -- WOW! Homepage (http://www.wowway.com)
