Stay Sail Rigging

[cct]

Well,
We are finally able to spend some time on our new (to us) 36' Albin. Out on a cruise the other day, I tried to rig the sail and it sure looks like I'm missing some vital parts. Anyone here chime in on how it is supposed to be rigged?

My configuration looks like this: Mast is up and supported with 4 shrouds. Boom is connected to the mast and can be raised / lowered via the topping lift. There is a wooden block atop the mast to give a 3:1 advantage for the topping lift. That part all seems in tact. The sail has a line attached at the head to act as a halyard along with a series of grommets along the entire foot of the sail. It also has several slides to fit into the track mounted on the mast.

My confusion: There doesn't seem to be anyway to secure the sail to the mast and boom. There has to be a block at the mast head for the halyard to run in: mine has none. There has to be a block at the end of the boom for the clew to attach to: mine has none. Do I assume the tack is attached by merely wrapping a line around the mast or am I missing hardware here also? Once I get the 3 points mounted, what kind of trimming (if any) is available? Do I put any tension on the clew at all or "it is what it is"?

Pics would help as I build my shopping list. TIA.

[meridian]

I think the PO rigged this up. I haven't seen any other 36's set up for a sail. If you get it up, you would want to trim it as flat as possible. You want to keep head to wind while at anchor.

[Captn_Dwt]

I've had mine rigged...and I'll do it again in a week or so. I'll take some photos so you can see the setup. It's way-basic compared to a "sail"...as in sail boat. Main Halyard runs to a block near the peak of the mast. Clew and out-haul are just lines that tie off to the bail at the boom end and a cleat on the mast. Mine even came with a sail cover!!
I just don't bother to use it for short trips; but on the 10th of Sept. we're off for two weeks; so I'll rig it before then.

[psneeld]

Don't think of it as a sail...a piece of plywood would work just as well as intended. As long as all 3 corners are tight and everything is sheeted flat...that's all they are intended for...provide resistance to rolling.

[Captn_Dwt]

Don't think of it as a sail...a piece of plywood would work just as well as intended. As long as all 3 corners are tight and everything is sheeted flat...that's all they are intended for...provide resistance to rolling.

Absolutely correct.
We have many harbors full of working boats that all have riding sails on their stern. When I saw this years ago I asked the purpose, and was told: 1) to steady the boat and 2) to help keep the entire mooring field aligned into the wind [some of these harbors are small and very crowed].

Sail goes on this week...I'll post the photos asap.

[rebuckley]

I will be interested in hearing this as well - it seems everyplace I read about the sail - at least as to it working to steady the boat - is that it does nothing? Capt_Dwt - since you have first hand experience - does the sail really make a difference as we chug along? Thx!

[jleonard]

There was a long thread in Trawlers/trawlering about staysails. Most said it was not worth the effort, yet some swear by it.
That made me decide to not bother...I had no rigging and the mast is weak so not worth my effort.

[psneeld]

I will be interested in hearing this as well - it seems everyplace I read about the sail - at least as to it working to steady the boat - is that it does nothing? Capt_Dwt - since you have first hand experience - does the sail really make a difference as we chug along? Thx!

I think it is very vessel, rig and operator specific. Based on the shape, size and height of the rig that came with my 40 Albin...my guess has very little effect in less than 15 knots of beam wind.

I'm sure if someone wanted to get energetic....calculating the forces involved to dampen the rolling/righting moment wouldn't be all the hard (to a point)...from that the size and center of effort for a proper sized sail could be determined.

[Captn_Dwt]

Hi again,

Actual use tests revealed the following:
1) Achored or moored, our boat swings through 160 degrees at worst without the sail, but with the sail, it only swings about 90 degrees. This made the nights more comfortable.
2) When running, the sail made no perceptable difference in the roll of the boat in a seaway. Personally, I don't think it has enough area to be effective in this way. therefore, it's not worth using for stabilization.
We liked it enough for our "downtime" hours that I put it up every day as part of settling in for the night. I also left it rigged during a strong wind storm, and though not built as a strong sail, it held fine and again reduced the "swing and sway" noticably. I would do that again.

rigging is nothing more than a peak halyard which runs through a block that hangs from the mast peak eyelet, a tie line at the clew, and a small block rigged for the outhaul that I attached to the boom end. Note that my sail is actually wrapped 3/4 around the boom...don't know why it was cut this large, but the effect is equivalent to having the sail foot in a boom track...nice, flat sail shape.
Best wishes for some Fall cruising!

Attached are some photos of the rigging.

[mike66]

Does the sail make much noise when the wind picks up? I don't know anything about sails. Is that line that runs down the leading edge of the sail attached to the sail?

[MerrySea]

Thanks Captn_Dwt for the Pictures. I bought my 40' 3 years ago and I could never figure out how the sail was attached. I am missing the block at the Peak which made it more difficult to determine the anchor points.

[jchicola]

on my boat, the forward shrouds are attached to plates which are attached to the flyb ridge deck. right now they are pulling loose and allowing some severe leaking into the cabin. any body here have some experience with this? we have a plan to move the anchor points to the bottom of a stanchion on each side, then glass-over the former plate locations. thanks--john

[loubennett]

If you plan to secure the shrouds to a stanchion base, check to se how securely the stanchion bases are attached. The shrouds on a sailboat are attached to chain plates that are normally anchored into the hull sides or a structural bulkhead below the deck. You will not need the same strength as a sailboat rig, but you could need more than a stanchion base can provide. I would recommend that any anchor for a shroud at leat have a good backing plate to spread the load. This could be the problem with the existing setup. If it is just screwed into the deck and the deck core has deteriorated with age, it could explain why they are pulling out. The stanchion base could have the same issue.

[jchicola]

backing plates under the base are in the plan-thanks amigo--john