Any recommendations for cord, and overall design?

How to make the boat go faster or compete within the Class.

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Dan Corcoran
Posts: 280
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 4:32 pm

Any recommendations for cord, and overall design?

Post by Dan Corcoran »

Spinnaker sheets, including best overall design factors. The new sheets I purchased my crew is complaining that I didn't consider having it two different colors and that it kinks far to easy.

Halyards

Jib sheets. My 4 year old jib sheets are fraying, throwing off paint flakes all over the cockpit.
jkalucki
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:24 pm

Re: Any recommendations for cord, and overall design?

Post by jkalucki »

Hi Dan,

I've had 10mm Marlow D2 Classic spinnaker sheets for 5 years and they've worn well. Hardly any cover fraying. The classic neutral color sometimes looks a little dirty, and certainly doesn't have that grand-prix coloring. D2 race might look a little more modern. I didn't go higher tech as I wanted a thicker diameter line for hand and at some point you are just way over-spec. D2 doesn't stretch all that much even when seriously boning on the jib. It's a little stiff compared to the original spec line, and will come out of the self tailer if you don't pay a little attention, but I'd expect any Dyneema core line to be the same or likely worse. Very rarely, if ever, kinks in the turning block. I'd just put an eye on the working end and make up some soft shackles to attach to the jib.

For the main halyard, I'd get the best line you can. Even 7/16" 11mm Yale Crystalyne (Vectran core) creeps a lot for me when racing with a North 3di Endurance main in heavy air. I have two cabintop clutches for the halyard and a Sharpie mark shows that it's not slipping down there. Some of it may be rig movement & compression, but I haven't sorted this out. I'll often see a little drooping at the head after an hour of racing, and have to adjust the halyard tension quite a bit. Afterward it's generally fine. I like the Tylaska H12 shackle here, but I don't have much experience with it yet. The lower spec shackle (maybe a Wichard, I dunno) I have on another halyard has deformed a bit over time and the captive pin is a little annoying to operate.

I think I have a 11mm Vectran jib halyard as well. No issues.

I've no informed opinions on spinnaker sheets and halyards. The ones that came with the boat a decade ago are still kinda barely hanging in there, but I'm really asking for trouble.
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