Hi Guys,
I'm working day and night trying to get the new blade jib up and flying for the weekend. The big "York River Cup" regatta is this Saturday and all the racers from the lower Chesapeake will be there. I'm hoping that the new full batten mainsail in combination with the new full hoist blade jib will prove to be a winner and get the Triton back to her proper place in these big regattas on the Chesapeake. I also look forward to racing in the "Triton Summer Classic" a week from this coming Sunday in Annapolis.
I just finished the new 155% Genoa last week and the improvement in windward performance is huge. My hope is that the blade will provide me with even better windward performance and also give me something to carry when the wind goes over 18 knots.
On the somewhat technical side, the Genoa is a 155% that takes advantage of the taller mast I have and has a relatively shallow draft that maximizes performance when sheeted to the new toerail track. It also has a relatively long luff for a Triton - 28'3".
The blade sheets inside the spreaders and has a very shallow attack angle to the wind. In most respects it's similar to Brock's but with a slightly longer luff and only about 1 inch of roach.
Tim, if you would, take a look at Brock's blade jib in the MIR. It seems to me that almost all the roach he says he has is from the luff being crunched up under tension. Also, the battens he has seem to be no more than 1 foot in length. Usually, battens tend to be three to four times longer than the roach they project. Brock says that the sail has 1 foot of roach but the battens themselves don't appear to be more than a foot long which would tend to indicate around 3 inches of roach. Let me know what you think, I wanted a second opinion before I sent him a note. It's possible that I'm just sleep deprived at this point!
Thanks,
George
Triton #236
Blade Jib
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Tim
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George,
It's hard to tell exactly from the photos, but most blades tend to have small roaches and short battens, like the ones shown. To me, it looks entirely typical, and the battens do appear to be 1' or less in length. I don't know enough about sailmaking to know about roach and batten rules for blades, or whether the batten length always follows a set formula. A foot of roach on such a small sail, with such a small hoist, sounds like a lot. Measuring such things is imprecise because the sail isn't flat, and it's hard to know exactly what the designed shape is when it's lying on the ground.
There's definitely not excessive roach in Brock's sail--again, it looks quite typical for a blade, and I would guess there is probably less than 1' of roach. Brock, I know you're out there...I'm sure you're better qualified to answer these questions about your own sail! :<)
It's hard to tell exactly from the photos, but most blades tend to have small roaches and short battens, like the ones shown. To me, it looks entirely typical, and the battens do appear to be 1' or less in length. I don't know enough about sailmaking to know about roach and batten rules for blades, or whether the batten length always follows a set formula. A foot of roach on such a small sail, with such a small hoist, sounds like a lot. Measuring such things is imprecise because the sail isn't flat, and it's hard to know exactly what the designed shape is when it's lying on the ground.
There's definitely not excessive roach in Brock's sail--again, it looks quite typical for a blade, and I would guess there is probably less than 1' of roach. Brock, I know you're out there...I'm sure you're better qualified to answer these questions about your own sail! :<)
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George ( Triton #236 )
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George ( Triton #236 )
Hi Guys,
When making up the head reinforcements for the new blade I appear to have made a small mistake and the sail came out exactly one foot longer than it should have. Since the error was all in the head it doesn't have any effect on the broadseaming so the sail looks and flies perfect, just a foot longer. ( This is what you get for working two consecutive 16 hour days to make the darn thing in the first place ) I didn't notice the error until I measured for the luff grommets and came up with a total luff length of 29 feet instead of the more correct 28 feet. 10 PM the night before a big race is not the time to notice these things! At 29 feet the sail fits the headstay with several inches to spare, however, the leech rubs against the downwind jumper stay in heavy airs.
On the plus side, performance is outstanding! The extra long luff combined with a sheeting point inside the shrouds makes the Triton point like a true racer. We were able to match the course angle ( although not the speed ) of the S2 that eventually won the race. The regatta took place during a small opening between two large storm systems. Winds ranged between 18 knots and 30 knots with the majority around 22 knots on a shortened 8 mile course. We flew the new blade jib and main with the first reef in it for the whole race. I would have liked to have flown my heavy air spinnaker on the two downwind legs but the wind shifts were so violent that the two boats who tried spinnakers ended up retiring from the race. Watching a J30 get smashed side to side and then wrap it's headstay with the spinnaker will definately give you pause. All in all "Ca Ira" did well and we took third in the race. The last two legs consisted of a broad reach followed by a beam reach with GPS speeds reaching 7.9 knots and 6.9 knots respectively. This is by far the fastest I have ever raced in the Triton. 10 minutes after we finished a tornado warning was issued and we went screaming back to the marina at 8 knots with the reefed main up and the diesel humming as the weather worsened. We all just got the dock lines on and the sails covered when the second storm system hit so we were "OK". All in all a very satisfying day, although I was sad to see so many boats drop out of the race before it even started. I guesss heavy air racing isn't for everyone.
The committee boat took pictures of us and I'll post them if they are e-mailed to me before Denise and I leave on our cruise Thursday. Also, I'll wait and see how much rubbing I'm getting on the jumper stays before I re-fair the luff for a shorter head reinforcement. It's possible that in somewhat lighter airs the leech won't hit the stays at all. I hate to give up the extra luff length if I don't have to. Not to mention all the work involved in re-making the luff. Correct length is probably somewhere around 28' 2" though.
George
Triton # 236
When making up the head reinforcements for the new blade I appear to have made a small mistake and the sail came out exactly one foot longer than it should have. Since the error was all in the head it doesn't have any effect on the broadseaming so the sail looks and flies perfect, just a foot longer. ( This is what you get for working two consecutive 16 hour days to make the darn thing in the first place ) I didn't notice the error until I measured for the luff grommets and came up with a total luff length of 29 feet instead of the more correct 28 feet. 10 PM the night before a big race is not the time to notice these things! At 29 feet the sail fits the headstay with several inches to spare, however, the leech rubs against the downwind jumper stay in heavy airs.
On the plus side, performance is outstanding! The extra long luff combined with a sheeting point inside the shrouds makes the Triton point like a true racer. We were able to match the course angle ( although not the speed ) of the S2 that eventually won the race. The regatta took place during a small opening between two large storm systems. Winds ranged between 18 knots and 30 knots with the majority around 22 knots on a shortened 8 mile course. We flew the new blade jib and main with the first reef in it for the whole race. I would have liked to have flown my heavy air spinnaker on the two downwind legs but the wind shifts were so violent that the two boats who tried spinnakers ended up retiring from the race. Watching a J30 get smashed side to side and then wrap it's headstay with the spinnaker will definately give you pause. All in all "Ca Ira" did well and we took third in the race. The last two legs consisted of a broad reach followed by a beam reach with GPS speeds reaching 7.9 knots and 6.9 knots respectively. This is by far the fastest I have ever raced in the Triton. 10 minutes after we finished a tornado warning was issued and we went screaming back to the marina at 8 knots with the reefed main up and the diesel humming as the weather worsened. We all just got the dock lines on and the sails covered when the second storm system hit so we were "OK". All in all a very satisfying day, although I was sad to see so many boats drop out of the race before it even started. I guesss heavy air racing isn't for everyone.
The committee boat took pictures of us and I'll post them if they are e-mailed to me before Denise and I leave on our cruise Thursday. Also, I'll wait and see how much rubbing I'm getting on the jumper stays before I re-fair the luff for a shorter head reinforcement. It's possible that in somewhat lighter airs the leech won't hit the stays at all. I hate to give up the extra luff length if I don't have to. Not to mention all the work involved in re-making the luff. Correct length is probably somewhere around 28' 2" though.
George
Triton # 236