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The answer to my question is probably on the fourm somewhere but it has eluded me.
My question concerns furling a sprit sail. From what I have read most sprit sails are not raised and lowered with a halyard. They are tied to the mast at the throat and laced all the way down. Because the sprit is held in place by the snotter raising/lowering the sail with a halyard is problematic.
My only experience sailing has been with a lateen rig & a sailing canoe and lowering the whole sail with the halyard is a simple thing. With a sprit sail a brail is used to furl the sail against the mast when it is being sailed loose footed. The brail being run through a grommet about mid way on the leech then to the mast and then down.
My rig has lower boom along the sail foot. It seems to me, and this is coming from a New York farm boy with very little time on the water, that in my case the brail should be tied to the mast at a point the same distance up the mast as the boom is long. In other words if the boom is 8 ft long, tie the brail 8 ft up the mast on say the starboard side of the mast then through a pully block at the end of the boom then back to a block on the port side of the mast and then down. By pulling on the line the brail would raise the boom to the mast and because there would be a line on each side of the sail the sail would be gathered together as it all came up helping to keep the sail from billowing out. The sprit would stay in place until you tied up to the dock/beach at which point you could lower the sprit. Then the whole mast and sail could be unstepped and lifted out of the boat and you're done.
Is my thinking basicly correct or am I way off base somewhere?
Many thanks,
Jcurtis
8 replies:
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
I wouldn't say you're way off, but all the brailing lines I've seen (in person or in books) have been attached at the throat (top of the mast). With the boom attachment, what you're describing sounds more like a topping lift. Maybe a topping brail? Should work fine as long as you have enough line so that it doesn't affect the shape of the sail when not brailed up.
Naming conventions aside, I'd still attach it to the mast at the throat. That would help control the sprit better. You should also be prepared to loosen the snotter in this process to allow the sprit to move a bit for a more compact package. Brailing will never be as clean as furling, but letting the sprit move during the process will help a lot.
I use a block and trapeze cleat to control the snotter tension (bottom configuration). It also allows me to easily mobilize the sprit when brailing.
Have fun,
Laszlo
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
Thank you very much for your good advice.
My boat is not a CLC boat (Gasp!) It is a 1943 Old Town Double End rowing boat. I am in the process of restoring it and expect it to be on the water in the spring. The boat came with a sprit sail rig including a boom at the foot. The guy I bought it from was not the one who sailed it years earlier. The locations of where the sprit was attached, method of sheeting etc are not readily apparent.
My concern, and it may be unfounded, born of my lack of experience with a sprit sail, is de-powering the sail as I approach the dock. With a lateen sail, and others I suppose, the sail can be lowered easily into the boat as you near the dock. You then move into the dock the rest of the way with a paddle. With a sprit sail that has no halyard lowering the sail into the boat is not an option so another method is needed.
I will experiment with the rig with the boat sitting on the lawn before I set sail but it will be awhile. At the moment there is a foot of snow on the ground.
Any other advise would be greatly appreciated.
Merry Christmas to all.
Jcurtis
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
Here's another idea: If your sail can be rigged loose footed perhaps you could rig your boom so that its aft end could be quickly detached from the sail before approaching the dock, quickly converting to a boomless rig that can be nicely brailed up in the time-honored way.
Old Yeller
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
It is also true that, with a little bit of practice, it is almost always possible to head into the wind or sheet out enough at the right moment to land at a dock under control, with the sail luffing. Then you can quickly get the sprit down. And with an unstayed mast, if the mainsheet is long enough, the sail can be completely depowered even on a directly downwind course by letting it go all the way forward. That's a very handy feature for sailing downwind onto a beach, or maneuvering downwind to a dock slowly under oars.
Some sprits'ls are rigged with halyards, if only to make it possible to reef them. The snotter often does get in the way of the mast lacing and shifting the sprit while afloat can be precarious, so tying in or shaking out a sprits'l reef is normally done ashore.
Old Yeller
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
Old Yeller,
Thank you very much for your good advice. I will post a couple pictures when the boat is nearly done but it will be awhile.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Jcurtis
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
Jcurtis, I'm very glad if I helped to further stimulate your thinking. It's one of the things that makes boating so fun. Merry Christmas to you too. Another great year for all of us here on the forum!
Old Yeller
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
I sail a kayak with outriggers and a sprit sail. Due to the confines of the kayak I am unable to easily move forward to furl the sail, especially in choppy conditions, but by simply letting it luff, I can stay controlled while landing or even to fish. The sprit sail doesn't luff too violently even in a stiff wind, and as long as your sheet is long enough the sail can be left to go all the way forward while anchored at the stern.
In my opinion the sprit (I use a Leg-o-mutton sprit), is a great sail for ease of use and for good overall performance.
RE: Furl a Sprit Sail
» Submitted by Old Yeller - Fri, 12/20/13 » 1:05 AM
Traditional brailing works quite well on a boomless sprits'l. Adapting it for a boomed sail as you describe might not do a good job of controlling the sprit when the sail is brailed up, unless your boom is unusually long. But it would be a simple thing to test by attaching your brailing gear with temporary lashings.
Old Yeller