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Dear Ed. | |
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One topic I have not seen discussed in The Gossip is mast bend. This is widely used in sailing to depower the mainsail and I wonder if it has any relevance to canoe sailing. I see from recent issues that members are going out in increasingly strong winds and they will be looking for ways of reducing power. Bending the mast backwards flattens the mainsail, though the sail must be cut to match the amount of bend used. Together with the other controls (kicker, outhaul and downhaul) the sail shape can be changed to match the conditions and the point of sailing. Racing dinghies with unstayed masts like the Laser and Topper use high kicker tension to bend the mast, though this gives a tight leach to the sail. Larger dinghies will use backward facing spreaders and tight shrouds plus adjustable mast rams. Do any sailing canoes use shrouds? The advantage would be control over mast bend and also mast support - which means a lighter mast can be used. High performance dinghies have the lower part of the mast held firmly with the required amount of bend leaving the topmast flexible and therefore able to dump power in the gusts. The disadvantages are extra weight and windage plus more things to go wrong. Any comments from members would be interesting. I am planning to use an old, cut down, Topper sail on a Carrick hull. This sail will need a mast which can be bent so I need to decide how to do this. Jon Prince |
