Arm the sail
Refining the technique of assembling the sail is not a fussy or time-consuming thing … it’s just the opposite: arming early and well will allow you to get in the water first and have fun right away.
Sequence
- In the first image we see what the final result will be;
- Mount the two halves together;
unroll the sail with the wind at its shoulders gradually without waving the sail; - put the tree in the sail until the top reaches the bottom of the tree pocket (if the sail has camber, leave it outside the hinges);
- insert the shaft extension and / or the downhaul, pass the sheet in the pulleys and set the minimum tension sufficient to stop the sheet in the cleat;
- take the boom and adjust its length up to the value indicated on the sail, approximating it by excess;
- at this point insert the boom and mount it as low as possible, being careful not to pinch the sail (note: in the end it will still be high but will not hinder the sliding of the sail during tensioning);
- pass the clew top in the sail and tension it without exaggerating: it will help you to slide the sail better during the downhaul tensioning, not to strain the splint pockets;
- pull the downhaul to the desired tension;
- In case of camber, tighten the clew, insert them and release the clew again;
- loosens the clew tension to the desired point; Bring the boom to a height between the shoulders and the chin.
- Splints: the current sails have fixed ribs (first image). If you have a sail that still has slat adjustment, tension starting from the highest one (see second image).
- To facilitate the tensioning of the downhaul on large sails, we strongly recommend the use of a winch (see third image). The compression that is generated on the back in this operation is considerable
