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edoremus337
Joined: 27 Aug 2011
Posts: 96
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 Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:25 pm Post subject: Leaving Sails in Tension |
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| Is it bad to leave sails rigged up for extended periods of time, such as over night? I assume the sail will be fine but I'm more worried about the mast..Thanks |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 11489
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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I would never even consider unrigging a sail until I pack up and leave a site, but then I've never stayed at one site for more than three weeks, and I expect only a couple of decades out of a mast, so I don't expect any problems.
Mike \m/ |
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beaglebuddy
Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 301
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| I have been told that the masts can become permanently bent, this happens at windsurfing schools. But I suppose it would have been left rigged for a very long time, as in months. |
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mat-ty
Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 988
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am Post subject: |
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Why not just loosen the outhaul, and then the downhaul. that would take the stress of the mast and sail, and it would only take a minute to retension.
Just my unscientific two cents. |
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techno900
Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 903
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 9:01 am Post subject: |
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I think the bigger the rig, usually with higher tension, the better it is to slack the downhaul and outhaul if left overnight or longer. Masts do get a permanent bend in them if left rigged too long.
A few years ago when I attended some large regattas (formula) with many pro sailors, almost all of them would have three sails rigged at all times for 3-4 days, but they would always let off the downhaul/outhaul over night.
Why stress all the material, thread and masts only to save a couple of minutes? |
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kmf
Joined: 02 Apr 2001
Posts: 253
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:30 am Post subject: |
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Here is a quote from the Sailworks web site, listed under Rigging instructions, sail maintenance.
" If left rigged for extended periods, release the outhaul and downhaul."
KMF |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 11489
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:10 am Post subject: |
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| techno900 wrote: | | Why stress all the material, thread and masts only to save a couple of minutes? |
You answered your own question.
Lessee ... a few minutes (tying and untying both lines) X 2 (loosen and re-tighten, including being VERY careful never to let the bottom of the boom cutout touch the boom when partially slacking the downhaul) X a few sails X a few nights = a couple of hours of bother, scuffing, un-nesting, anchoring and un-anchoring, sweating, and, most important ... not sailing. No, thanks. I prefer to KISS, including plug and play. If nothing else, any set induced one trip will probably be neutralized over many such trips as the masts get re-oriented each time.
As for the sail tension, which is worse ... constant nominal tension overnight or hours of dynamic and much higher tensions on the water? I don't know; does anyone?
Those pros who loosen their sails overnight are probably so damned good they can actually feel a 0.01% change in rig behavior. Can any of us recreational hacks feel that? My Autobatten batten tensioning system relies on a single low-stretch "cable" (kevlar?) running through all 5 of my battens; if that cable or the sail begins to stretch out with age or stress, batten tension suffers and the batten sleeves start to visibly wrinkle so we increase batten tension by adjusting the cable’s tensioning strap. It takes a 5 seconds, so there’s no reason to put it off. I think it says a lot about sail fabric and stitching stability when left rigged many days and nights that I’ve never had to tighten the Autobatten cable/strap on any of my sails. (I change my most-used sails annually, my 3.2 and 3.7 less often; it’s cheaper than buying new and running them into the ground). |
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bred2shred
Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 574
Location: Jersey Shore
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:21 am Post subject: |
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You will not damage the sail or mast by leaving it rigged overnight. You may want to ease the downhaul and outhaul to take some of the stress off the mast, but keep in mind that in doing this, you can over-stress the battens and/or put creases in the sail material. Probably better to just leave everything tight.
If you leave the sail fully rigged for an extended period, your mast will take a set. If that happens, you can fix it by rotating the mast so the bend is toward the leading edge of the luff sleeve and then re-rigging. This will pull the mast back to straight.
sm |
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doremmg
Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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| thanks everyone, I first tried loosening the downhaul but did notice the sail start to wrinkle and since its a new(ish) sail, Id rather keep that to a minimum... |
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dennis_c
Joined: 05 May 1998
Posts: 503
Location: Rio
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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| kmf wrote: | Here is a quote from the Sailworks web site, listed under Rigging instructions, sail maintenance.
" If left rigged for extended periods, release the outhaul and downhaul."
KMF |
And this from Hot Sails Maui:
"If left rigged for extended periods of time, keep full tension on sail settings."
Whatever! |
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