Main sail foot?

lecker68 · Post by **lecker68** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 4:12 pm

I have been trying to see in some of the pictures. Do people run the main on the C-26 loose footed? My main foot boltrope fits very tight in the boom.
This might be another area to stretch in the spring.

Windward · Post by **Windward** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:54 pm

Loose is lovely. Replaced my original main in very early 2003 with a loose-footed main, two full upper battens, two reef points, from AirForce Sails back when Bill James was still there. I've since added a third set of reef points, and it's still going strong with more than 400 trips on it.

When Sailnet melted down, Bill formed FXSails, and my business followed him. He made me a lovely Pentex genoa and a matching main, again loose footed.

The loose foot makes it easy to adjust draft and chord depth in the lower portion of the sail. Also makes it easier to secure the reefing lines. I can't think of a downside. If you experiment with running your current sail loose footed, you'll probably need to add a slug at the clew. Secure it with a double wrap of 1/2" nylon webbing, well stitched.