Tack Cutback?

waterdog · June 23, 2009, 02:09:03 PM

For anyone who happens to be at their boat and has a standard mainsail on slides...

Is the tack cut back from the mast? That is to say is there a wedge missing out of the sail to accomodate the goosneck fitting? If so, how far back from the mast is the big grommet for the tack (distance from forward edge of the hole to the mast)?

Thanks. I want to start attaching my boltrope and need to trim some sailcloth first...

Craig Illman · June 23, 2009, 02:17:55 PM

Steve - You're passing up an excuse to go to the boat? Shame on you! Maybe you're just trying to avoid late afternoon traffic in West Van?

waterdog · June 23, 2009, 02:33:05 PM

Craig, I just wanted to give others an excuse to go down to their boats - "Gotta leave work early to help a fellow sailor in distress..." Maybe this is Neptune's way of telling me to leave the sewing machine and go and put a barrier coat on the rudder to get ready for the haulout this weekend.

Marshall Tonner · June 23, 2009, 03:26:12 PM

Yes there is a cut back of 2'' and a "cut up" from the boom also of 2''.
Marsh

waterdog · June 23, 2009, 04:17:11 PM

Is the hole 2" from the mast or is there 2" of fabric cut away with the hole ~3" away?

Ron Hill · June 23, 2009, 04:56:36 PM

Steve : I believe what Marsh is saying, is that the luff of the sail at the tack is cut back 2" and that cut extends diagonally up 2" ?
The mainsail tack will either have a sewn in ring or a cringle. I'm not on the boat now, but I agree the cut back is about 2/3". However, I believe that my diagonal cut (that slopes up to the mast/cars) is about 6 to 8 inches. Hope this helps

waterdog · June 24, 2009, 07:57:46 PM

A typical cutback is a couple of inches tapered to nothing about 12 inches up. (I don't know about roller furling). Interestingly, my old main has none. The tack pin is right in line with the grommets for the slides so I'm going with no cutback.

Learned an interesting thing about boltropes today. You actually cut them 1" short for every ten feet of length. That is what allows the luff and foot to gather evenly when the sail is eased. And here I thought it was wind and gravity doing that work, but it's stretch boltropes.

Stu Jackson · June 24, 2009, 08:39:21 PM

Quote from: waterdog on June 24, 2009, 07:57:46 PM
Learned an interesting thing about boltropes today. You actually cut them 1" short for every ten feet of length. That is what allows the luff and foot to gather evenly when the sail is eased. And here I thought it was wind and gravity doing that work, but it's stretch boltropes.

Dare I say...Jim Moe wrote an article about this some time ago.

I will search for it and post a link.

Using Jon Schneider's great Knowledgebase spreadsheet, it's in the August 2006 Mainsheet Tech Notes. Which, as noted elsewhere in a post today, I haven't gotten on line --- yet. If you have the hard copy, that's where it is.