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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

"Loose footed main"?

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AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/25/2006 : 01:01:59

A past post by Arlyn Stewart mentioned that a loose footed main performs better than a secured foot, and the boom becomes a hand-hold support for working on the cabin top. How is this done and what happens to the outhaul?

Frank Farmer
Long Beach, CA
aa.diver@verizon.net
http://mysite.verizon.net/aa.diver

PRETTY PENNY
'01 C-250 WK, Hull #558

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 06:34:10

The sail is still attached at the outhaul. In most instances it should be cut for being loose footed. I would check with your sailmaker to see if you can recut your old, or need to get new. You could probably adapt your old without extreme performance degradation or cutting it too, it just won't look as perfect.

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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2980 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 06:58:27

The main employs a metal reinforced slug on the foot at the clew, this slug is retained in the boom when loose footing the bold rope from the boom. As Duane points out, no changes to the outhaul.

The 250 main shapes pretty good when loose fitted so no sail rework is needed.

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AADIVER
Admiral

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966 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 14:54:57

If the main functions more effectively "loose", then why does Catalina thread it through the boom with a bolt rope? Does recutting or replacing the main to be loose warrant the expense for increased performance? Or what...?

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SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 18:14:59

mine is also loose .
I left the rope bead out .
looks better two

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jking
Navigator

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110 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 18:22:40

So you just leave the boom boltrope out, and attach the clew and outhaul as usual? Is loosefooting the main really that simple?

John

250WB #888
soon to be delivered
Tentatively named MAD Mom

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 19:34:46

John, yes... it is that simple. The sail shapes better and is much easier to outhaul and a bonus is the much needed handrail.

Why does Catalina foot it? Perhaps tradition... have to ask them.

Edited by - Arlyn Stewart on 03/25/2006 19:39:53

AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2006 : 23:38:44

Por favor...would you gentlemen kindly post a pic of your 250 with a loose footed sail underway? What, exactly, is the procedure for removing the foot from the boom track and re-attaching the tack and the clew? Gracias.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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1883 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 13:25:50

Frank the proceedure is simpler than normal sail attachment. Place the outhaul rope through the clew grommet and set the clew slug into the boom's sail groove feeding the sail aft till the luff end of the sail is at the attachment point at the mast, attach it and you are done. Loose footing allows the sail to belly out when the outhaul is released increasing the sails draft like you only dream of with a footed sail. I bought a new full battened main five years ago and it wasn't long before I realized that the outhaul wasn't doing what I wanted. I spoke to Gary of Ventura and he said that he could sew a foot into the sail to increase the draft, but it would use up a good bit of my sailing season and cost $ 75. Then the "LIGHT BULB" went off and I just bent on the sail without placing the bolt rope in the boom groove, and voila it's been that way ever since. The ullman sail is so well made that it wasn't necessary to do any reinforcing to the existing sail.

Try it you'll like it.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936 Patchogue, N.Y.

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AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 13:47:45

Please excuse my aging, disintegrating brain cells, but I don't understand how you do this:
"Place the outhaul rope through the clew grommet and set the clew slug into the boom's sail groove feeding the sail aft till the luff end of the sail is at the attachment point at the mast, attach it and you are done."
How do I remove the bolt rope at the foot? Won't I have to remove the entire sail from both boom and mast tracks? Close-up pics of the clew and the tack when re-attached should help, i.e., a picture's worth a thousand woids.

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frog0911
Master Marine Consultant

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1349 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 17:16:45

Frank try this one. Put the clew slug only in the boom grove and move the sail aft without putting the rope in the grove. When the luff end reaches the grove put the luff slugg in the grove and attach the tack to the boom with the shackle. Now you have a loose footed main. I haven't figured out how I can do this yet with my main which has a dutchman system. For a loose footed sail the lazy jacks system like yours should work with no problems.

Edited by - frog0911 on 03/26/2006 17:17:51

AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 19:13:15

Okay, but in order to do that, don't I have to completely remove the sail from the mast track? Then when tack and clew are secured, reinsert the sail slugs into the mast groove and hoist the sail aloft?
Or can the entire foot be removed, aft to forward, without removing the luff from the mast track?

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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2980 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 20:22:43

With the battens in the sail, you might be right about the difficulty in removing the bolt rope from the boom track unless you pull the goose neck free.

Simple put, as both Val and Jerry point out, wanted is the bolt rope out of the boom and the clew slug left in.

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AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2006 : 21:50:06

From an archived post:

"North (Sails) doesn't claim that the loose-footed main is a faster sail, or that the wind moves over it more efficiently. If they had any test data that said otherwise, they would probably have said so."

So why should I bother loosening mine just to gain a cabin top hand-hold?

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.