August 29, 2011

ATTACHING THE SAILS

THE MAINSAIL
The mainsail may be furled (folded or rolled) on the boom, secured with sail ties, and protected with a sail cover, or it may be stored off the boom, folded and kept in a sail bag below. Newer Mylar and Kevlar sails are best rolled when lowered. This keeps the material from cracking. In either case, there are several steps necessary to prepare the mainsail for hoisting.
If the sail is off the boom, it will be taken out of the bag and laid along the deck. The crew will feed the clew into the groove in the boom. The sail will then be slid onto the boom until the tack is at the gooseneck (the fitting that attaches the boom to the mast). The tack pin (the pin that holds the tack of the sail to the boom) will be attached, as well as the outhaul (the line that attaches to the clew and is used to tension the foot of the sail).
If the mainsail is stored on the boom, the crew simply has to remove the sail cover, feed the luff into the groove of the mast, and attach the main halyard shackle to the head of the sail. Ensure that the battens are in the batten pockets, flexible end first. The crew should take up any slack from the halyard.

THE JIB
The jib is always stored in a sail bag when not in use. To set the jib, remove it from the sail bag and spread it on the foredeck. Locate the head, tack, and clew of the sail, the head being the narrowest angle of the three corners. Many sailmakers will mark the corners of the sail with head, tack, and clew. If this has not been done, it is easy to do with an indelible marker and provides an easy reference.
The luff of the jib will usually be hanked (with small brass or plastic snap fittings on the jib) onto the headstay and the jib sheets will be attached to the clew of the jib with bowline knots. If the headstay has a groove, then the jib will have a bolt rope (rope sewn into the luff of the sail) instead of hanks. In that case, insert the bolt rope into the prefeeder (a device which makes raising sails easier) and then into the groove. The next step is to lash the jib to the side of the boat farthest from the dock. This will keep the sail out of the way while you leave the dock. To keep the jib from creeping up the forestay before it is time to hoist the sail, either tie a line around the sail and halyard or undo the top hank of the sail and attach it to the lifeline.

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