SUMMER SAILING

[Bill]

Here is a photo of Maika'i as she crosses the SF Bay.

[commanderpete]

Great shot. Boat looks beautiful, Bill.

A real head-turner.

I couldn't imagine sailing SF Bay with your typical production boat. Went out recently on my friend's Oday 26 in 20-25 mph winds, virtually uncontrollable.

[Al Lorman]

Lovely photo, Bill. What kind of headsail are you flying? My Commander came with what I think is the class jib and a huge and ill-fitting genoa off another kind of boat.

Al

[Bill]

Al, the jib is a 110% deck sweeping headsail. It's the class jib for our summer racing. In the winter(PHRF)racing, the head sail is a 155% Genoa -- winds are usually very light. A local loft, Hogan Sails, cuts very competitive Ariel/Commander and other heavy displacement boat sails. We've promoted them in the newsletter and he has a Web page: www.hogansails.com I believe one of our Maryland skippers has purchased from Hogan.

Bill

[Bill]

Oops. Wrong URL for Hogan. Try http://www.sfsailing.com/hoginsails/

[Al Lorman]

Thanks, Bill. Anyone out there with a used genoa they'd like to sell?

[Bill]

Try posting your request to the calssified forum.

[Mike Goodwin]

Bill,
Is your main loose footed or shelf footed ?
Looks good !

Mike

[Bill]

Mike, Thanks. The sails are about 16 years old! The main is shelf footed. If the crew decides they want to keep racing, we will get a set of Hogin sails with a loose footed main. Seems to be the way to go on these boats. Bill

[Dan Maliszewski]

To All Hands-

Could someone please explain shelf footed vs loose footed. I don't race Adele M (Ariel # 199) but my main rides in a track the full length of the boom.

[Bill]

"Loose footed" means the sail is held only at the tack and clew -- the rest is hanging "loose." Because Ariel/Commander main sails tend to overpower, the pressure release provided by the loose foot should mean less weather helm and more speed. The #1 and #2 season leaders here on the San Francisco Bay both have loose footed mains.