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Converting to a Loose-Footed Main

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lezaks
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/06/2011 : 22:35:09

Hi all,

Last night some friends and I were out on the Columbia River doing some beautiful downwind sailing. Mere seconds after I suggested we reef the mainsail we were hit by an impressive gust (35 knots, maybe) that blew out five of our ten sail slugs. The sail's in the shop now getting fixed, but I had a thought about when I reattach it to the boom. Although the sail is currently designed to be fixed at the foot, could I simply attach the clew to the outhaul, the main to the mast, and call it good?

In other words, in order to fly a loose-footed main do I need to buy a mainsail specially designed to be flown with a free foot?

Many Thanks,
Stephen

Sea Minor
C250 Water-Ballast Sail #4
Portland, OR

Edited by - on

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2011 : 04:37:02

Wow that must have been some gust!

Having just switched to a loose footed mainsail on my C25, I don't think you will get the desired outcome with your regular main. I think that the "belly" that is designed in a regular sail will hamper the performance. I am not sure, but, you might be able to get a sailmaker to modify your existing sail to be loose footed.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2011 : 05:45:16

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by lezaks
 Although the sail is currently designed to be fixed at the foot, could I simply attach the clew to the outhaul, the main to the mast, and call it good?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Maybe, but I'd find a way to secure the clew to the boom. My loose footed main has a heavy duty slug at the clew that looks like a small torpedo about 3" long with a stainless steel plate and a thicker nylon webbing strap attaching it to the sail.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2011 : 08:24:41

To the best of my recollection, some C25 sailors on this forum have flown their attached-foot mainsail loose-footed. I think it depends on whether the attachment at the clew is strong enough to hold it. Your sailmaker can probably answer that question for you.

We have talked about attach-footed vs. loose-footed mainsails before, and I don't recall any very persuasive argument as to whether the loose-footed sail is more efficient than an attached-footed mainsail. I raced with a racing mainsail that had an attached foot against loose-footed mainsails, and never saw any indication that the loose-footed sails were even a wee bit faster, or better sailing to windward, or in light air. In short, if I were you, I wouldn't bother trying to change the sail to loose-footed, because I don't think you'll gain any significant benefit. In my opinion, the main reason why loose-footed mainsails have become so popular is because they are cheaper for sailmakers to make. That's a good thing, of course, but it's not a very good reason for you to spend much money or effort modifying a perfectly good mainsail, to make it loose-footed.

What I would do, however, is develop a habit of re-adjusting the outhaul tension frequently, as the wind strength increases and decreases, because that does make a big difference, and many sailors don't do it nearly as often as they should.

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2011 : 08:50:18

I have no info on the advisability of using a bolt-footed mainsail as a loose-footed sail.

After I modified my outhaul to be adjustable with an old mainsheet rig lying on the boom, the loose-footed main could be released a bit, for example on a beam reach in 5 knots of wind, to add 0.5 knots of speed. The curve at the foot of the main gave the whole sail a more ideal shape.

It's one more item to trim that could be important when racing. Of course, the other factors that contribute to boat speed might be more important, like the hull surface smoothness, boat weight, sail condition, sail trim, and racing tactics.

Edited by - JohnP on 07/07/2011 08:51:47

lezaks
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2011 : 12:57:17

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Looks like I'll be having a chat with the folks currently working on the sail.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.