Now that I have a lapper that I am happy with, I have begun to think about a barber hauler to help me adjust the shape of it. I think I have a good and simple way to rig one (actually two), but I am wondering if it is worth the bother. My Compac 16 has a five foot genoa track which helps control the shape of the fore sail and I am learning the value of that on that particular boat. I am just beginning to play around with it, but I do understand the rationale behind it. In the case of the Weekender, I wonder if the fine tuning of the fore sail will result in a noticeable improvement. I know that Keith S has a defacto barber hauler on his boat by virtue of the jib sheet block sliding up and down his turnbuckle, so what about it Keith? Has anyone rigged a barber hauler system on their Weekender?
Al
I've been curious about a bigger head sail for light winds. I'd like to see pictures of yours. Ryerson has concocted something as well.
I can't claim any cleverness with my set-up. When I got rid of the club boom and rigged my jib properly I didn't have any fittings that were appropriate so I just made some rope loops to secure the blocks to the bottom of the shrouds. I just kind of noticed off and on that the sail had a better shape on some points of sail when it was allowed to pull the loop up over the turnbuckle. Close-hauled, the sheet tension holds it down and on reaches the sail fills more and pulls the loop up higher. I don't know if it's doing any good or not, I just haven't bothered to fix it because it seems like the sail flies better like that anyway.
Maybe if you put a plastic tube over your turnbuckles so the jib sheet block could rise and fall easily, you could put a piece of light line on the bottom of it so you could pull it down or let it rise up from the cockpit and experiment with different heights and sail shape.
Barber haulers are effective if you can get close enough to the wind, which a low aspect gaff sloop, flying a big headsail will be challenged to do. A much better addition would be a length of track, so you can "power up" or depower the headsail. Learning how to control headsail twist with foot and leach tension, will dramatically change your position on the race course. Naturally, these boats generally don't see much around the buoys work, but the same advantages can be had, especially if another sail appears within reach and the obligatory race is on. Additionally, a boom vang would be a good addition too, again to control twist in the main. If you really want to get anal about it, a gaff vang is an option as well.
Barber haulers where once a common way to harden the jib sheet on a close reach, by pulling it outboard, above the sheet block. A simple line (or tackle) dogged to the rail was usually all it took, but this assumes the jib sheet is inboard of the rail. If you have a track car, this isn't needed so much. If you don't have a jib track, the Barber hauler can be used on all points of sail to some degree. Since most gaffers are carrying the gennie pretty far over the side, the sheet usually comes down on the rail or very close to, so the advantage isn't good for a Barber tackle.
Again, a jib track is a much better way to make adjustments to a headsail, particularly on a gaffer. It doesn't have to be a very long track, say 24" is all you'd need, plus a car mounted block. On a big headsail you might be able to rig a Barber, somewhere just forward of midship, but it's dubious value is hard to justify on a cruiser.
I've got a new camera and an new program associated with it. I will try to attach a pic of the Compac sail on the weekender. You should notice that I had to lift the tack about a foot to get a decent sheeting angle that tensions both the foot and leech about the same.Â
Al
Last week I went out with the lapper to try a few things out. The day was fairly light, but the gusts were vicious. It was just the kind of day I was looking for. I wanted to try different sail combinations. Because I now can raise and lower the jib from the cockpit, I started out running on main alone on anything from a beam reach to close hauled. The boat seemed to point about as well as normal, but with less speed. On a beam reach a strong gust laid me over pretty good even spilling wind. However, the boat was easy to handle and more comfortable if somewhat slower.Â
I sailed down to the end of the lake under main alone, then dropped the main and raised the lapper. I sailed the reverse course in a building wind and worse gusts. The lapper pulled me along better than I expected. When I got hit by a gust, there was very little heeling force. Instead, the boat just picked up speed. One thing that surprised me was that the boat wanted to round up. I was so surprised that I had to try letting go of the tiller several times just to make sure. However, she wouldn't point much above a broad reach. I could make way to windward, but not much. Still, I think jib alone is a valid way to sail in certain conditions.Â
The wind kept building so for the first time ever I tied a reef into the main while on the water. It only took a minute and I didn't have to heave to or make any preparations other than tying off the tiller amidships. Once I got underway again, I quickly realized that I was needed at home. I came to this realization in a vicious gust while sitting firmly on the coamings and spilling all the wind I could out of a reefed down sail and shipping water over the rail. ignominious defeat. Thanks to my lazy jacks, in less than a minute everything was down and I had the oars in my hands. I hated to leave like that, but you know.
After that experience I got to thinking that in a situation like that, having another string to pull wouldn't be such a good idea. I played around with different ideas to rig a barber hauler, but what I came up with was too much trouble for now. I think that a barber hauler would be a good idea on a weekender with a lapper in steady winds and on a long tack. In the fluky gusty infuriating winds I usually sail in maybe not.Â
Al