Jump to content

Core Sound 17 for sale


Chick Ludwig

Recommended Posts

You are at a major intersection.  You should commit to a "permanent"  (yeah right, anything we do is permanent?) route.  If reefing will be common and you have the finances I would switch to tracks and get a new set of sails to your exact specs.  If you go to track you might as well get full roach with some full length battens while you at it. 

 

See how easy it was for me to spend your money?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Maybe you can do without those reefs.  If you do add them, you'll need to add sail tracks, too.  That's gonna run you a whole lot more money. Instead, try sailing this year without the reef points.  When you need to reduce sail area, furl the main.  Alan claims that you don't even need to relocate the mizzen, as long as you bring the c/b back halfway.  Worth a try, especially when other voices are demanding your bank account's attention.  (I hear those voices, too!). If that is not satisfactory, relocating the mizzen amidships works great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Thrillsbe said:

Maybe you can do without those reefs.  If you do add them, you'll need to add sail tracks, too.  That's gonna run you a whole lot more money. Instead, try sailing this year without the reef points.  When you need to reduce sail area, furl the main.  Alan claims that you don't even need to relocate the mizzen, as long as you bring the c/b back halfway.  

Where I sail (East coast of Australia) the breeze is often a light westerly in the morning (the land breeze) and in summer particularly builds to an easterly sea breeze of 15-20 knots routinely in the afternoon (often 25 knots). The thought of not being able to reef on the water is unimaginable. That said, if you live in an area of light/predictable conditions then effective reefing may not have the same significance.

Even with laced sails and reef points you can reduce sail (although a sprit boom/snotter attachment makes it a challenge as you have to drop the lacings below this obstruction). Even if you drop the sail and roll in a reef and reset you can still sail in heavy conditions though it may take some time and effort. If the breeze is strong you can reef before launching and still go sailing.

 

I have been impressed with the Core Sound's ability to sail under mizzen alone with the centreboard raked aft and I often use it to depower before coming into the ramp. The manoeuvrability is quite impressive. I doubt that would be the same in wild conditions with significant wave action.

 

The concept of shifting the mizzen mast into a new position on the water in rough conditions to me seems flawed. It's OK if you do it before launching.

 

As you can see I would strongly recommend the ability to reef easily but that is based on my experience in my conditions where a change from light to strong breeze is the routine.

If your conditions are easier then your decision needs to be on that basis.

My 2c worth (though as others have said earlier your decision may cost you more than that:D)

 

Cheers

Peter HK

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you could try to save money to reef with laced luffs is to use a jackstay. Put a padeye on the aft side of the mast above the level on the luff of the sail where the snotter crosses the double reefed sail (i.e. distance from tack to snotter above double reef luff cringle). Run a line from the padeye down to the foot of the mast, and lash nylon rings around jackstay to luff lacing gromets, with lashings around the mast above. This should let you lower the sail to double reefed level without lashing/snotter interference.

This could be a cheap experiment. I would do the mizzen first, so that everything is to hand. What remains to be seen is:

  • How well the luff sets on the jackstay
  • How much of a pain it is to lower the laced sail past the snotter

Have fun playing with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great ideas, y'all. I just had an idea. Since my current setup uses robands, what if I just left them the way they are and added a vertical reef? That way, I would just add a reefing halyard and downhaul and some way to brail up the sail to the mast. The snotter wouldn't be an issue this way, and I wouldn't have to drop another grand into the (hole in the bottom of the) boat. Ever seen a setup like that? I'm reading that was the way to do it back in the day.

 

I had been planning on replacing the robands with a laceline. But this could be interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just saw the picture of Carlita in the last EC with double reefed main. The jackstay would have to be so high up on the mast my idea probably would not be workable.

How do you lower the sail past the snotter with your robands? Will lacing be any better?

I like the Bolger vertical reef on Michalak's page. Maybe replace the top 2 or 3 zigzags with old school individual brails to avoid friction problems when shaking out a reef

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My CS17 has laced sails and two horizontal rows of reef points.  You can certainly reef laced sails but the lacing makes reefing much slower.  My snotter goes around the mast which means I have to redo the lacing around the snotter when reefing.  I probably reefed the boat 20 times in the driveway until I felt I could manage the process in heavy weather.  The whole thing is slow and fussy but it works.  The only positive is that the lacing looks very traditional against a solid wooden mast.  

Whatever the method, the ability to reef is absolutely essential if you hope to make progress to windward in strong winds.  I would want at least two rows. Also, moving a mast in any kind of heavy weather is practical only for superhuman young bucks, and even then you may need to reef that single sail. 

My wildest ride to date was 10 knots boat speed with one sail single reefed in perhaps 35 knots of wind.  It was a foolish trip and I don't think we could have made it upwind back to the ramp without that reef.

Sail track is easiest, but whatever you do give yourself a way to reef while on the water.             

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ Peter HK-- For sure, itis not a goodidea to try to relocate a mizzen in choppy seas.  Up here in the Appalachian foothills, those are hard to come by.  But I believe fatschoonerrat sails in the Carolina Low-country, which is a term used for tidal estuaries and marshes down at the coast.  There, it's easy to duck into a bay or behind a bar to make the change.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

Supporting Members

Supporting Members can create Clubs, photo Galleries, don't see ads and make messing-about.com possible! Become a Supporting Member - only $12 for the next year. Pay by PayPal or credit card.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.