From: tarkkone@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lauri Tarkkonen)
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Subject: Re: Tuff Luff and other headstay foils
Date: 10 Nov 92 01:42:00 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

In <1992Nov9.125516.8324@das.harvard.edu> bloxham@geophysics.harvard.edu (Jeremy Bloxham) writes:

>In article 871@klaava.Helsinki.FI, tarkkone@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lauri Tarkkonen) writes:
>>
>>>[David Zielke asks about the relative merits of hanks and headfoils]
>>
>>If you want my opinion it is in short: Try to awoid the foil by any means.
>>
>>As said it will give you unnecessary expenses.

>I seriously doubt that more races are lost than won by headfoils.

How much improvement do you think that the headfoil will give you?

>Problems with modern headfoils are very rare: indeed, Tuff Luffs are
>almost impossible to deform or dent by hitting them with the spinnaker
>pole. 

But when it happens, you loose very much indeed. 

>The one problem which does occasionally arise is if the sail is
>not fed smoothly into the groove a fold of sailcloth can get fed into
>the groove along with the tape, but this is easily avoided. 

Everything is easy untill you mess it upp. As I told I have seen this
happening very often.

>Twin grooved headstays are essential for efficient genoa peels and are 
>probably one of the most significant developments in sail handling gear 
>for racing boats in the last few decades.
     ^^^^^^
For the racing man, who is in the desperate need for the last half of
percent of boatspeed. 

>A great compromise for the cruiser/racer is the Harken roller furling
>system with the split drum. When crusing one can use the roller
>furling but the drum is easily removed (without detaching the headstay)
>for racing leaving a twin groved headstay.  

I must confess, I do not regard foresail furling to be a very usefull
thing. If you use it for reefing, you get a bad shape of the sail anyway,
and if you believe that the same sail suits all weathers you do not pay
much attention to the set of your sail.

In my boat I have a 95% self tacking jib (22.5 sq.m), with full lenght 
battens, that I use in an ordinary summer about 80 percent of the time. 
If the wind will gets to the heavy side and I am on the wind I use a
smaller selftacker (about 14 sq.m) that is made of really heavy cloth,
and has full lenght battens.  This I carry upp to  35 knots apparent.
Beyond that I hope to be in some nice shelter, but if not I have a
storm jib (around 7 sq.m), not selftacking, with ordinary battens, and
the material still heavier. To the light side, I have a 120 per cent
genoa, made of mylar with full lenght battens, this is good sail for
the open wind, close reach if the apparent wind is less than say 15 knots.
When the apparent wind drops to less than 6 to 8 nots it is time to
take the light reacher, made of heavy spinnakker cloth, triradial, 
and a wire luff, so that it can be set flying, it has some hanks,
they make the life more easy while taking it down, this sail is without
battens. It is about 175% and the clew is cut so high that it is sheeted
whit the spinnaker sheets. This can be used for short runns whit the
very long whisker pole, but if there is more time, the spinnaker will
come upp. 

If one makes a roller reefing headsail, it must be very heavy to withstand
the stress of heavy winds, then it cannot be good in light winds. So far
I have seen very few sails that have acceptable shape when rolled. My sails
are most of the time acceptable (at least to me).

The business of sail change is very different in a racing and cruising
boat. When cruising, sometimes singlehanded, I feel taht it is a very
good thing to have the sail on the forestay with the hanks. 

The things like the foil, that are said to be so great, are affecting
the racing in two ways. Such things make the racing more expensive,
and because I feel I have already learned to sail, so I do not see
any point in investing in gadgets that I really do not need while
cruising, just to be competitive on a racing course. So I skip racing. :-).
I do not know how it is in the US, but here in Finland the racing fleets
are getting smaller and smaller, and many sailors give as the reason
of withdraval: It is too expensive. I cannot justify the cost. The racing
boat is no good for cruising. I rather cruise with my family than spend
more money in new sails and gadgets.

>I used this system on my boat for two seasons before switching to a 
>Tuff Luff (to save a few pounds aloft).

You cannot serve two masters.

>Jeremy

I am afraid that it is impossible to me to bring my point so that you
would want to understand that the foil is gadget of marginal use but
anyway more than marginal cost. And the people who have lost their
races because of malfunction of the luff foils, have done it, believe
you or not.

- Lauri Tarkkonen
Newsgroups: rec.boats