Control Your Sail
No, we’re not talking about outhauls, cunninghams, or travelers. Rather, we are considering controlling the sail aſter you have it flaked on the boom. Now, if you were sailing a square-rigger, you wouldn’t be discussing sail ties, you’d be talking about “gaskets.” Tese days, that archaic term is limited to old salts and square-riggers. Us young’uns use sail ties or similar devices. Tis all came about over a recent discussion on “sail centipedes” in Small Craſt Advisor and the fact that I had never written about them. Consider that problem rectified. During or aſter we lower the main-
sail, we carefully fold and stack it on top of the boom. Unfortunately, it won’t stay there without some help. A lot of us use a sail cover, but the main use of that device is to protect the sailcloth, not contain the sail. So, we all use some sort of method to lash the sail in place prior to putting on the sail cover. This can be as simple as a series of
tubular nylon tapes, wrapped around the sail and boom and tied. They are cheap, simple and easy on the sailcloth. Make sure they are soſt, woven nylon, not hard-edged straps. If you make your own, heat seal the cut ends so they don’t unravel. Unfortunately, keeping track of them is like herding cats—one or more is always going astray. Some people use regular bungees,
the ones with metal tips. Most of those come with little rubber caps protecting the sharp end of the bungee hook. Aſter a few uses, these tend to fall off, leaving the sharp end of the hook to possibly damage the sail itself. For this reason, I discourage their use. Many marine stores carry more
forgiving bungee sail ties. These have plastic balls on their ends, leaving no sharp edges to damage the sail. Tey are available in many different lengths to adapt to the changing girth of the main-
54
ABOVE—"Hog Ring” sounds kind of gross but it is a useful piece of marine hardware.
ABOVE—Amazon carries a wide variety of wooden toggles. Less trouble than making yourself.
sail/boom combo. Like the individual nylon ties, they tend to find their own hiding places aboard. Them we come to the previously
mentioned “sail centipede.” These consist of a central bungee cord with several bungee legs. One end of the central bungee fastens around the mast and the other end at the aſt end of the boom. Te centipede legs wrap around the sail/boom and hold the sail in place. Tis is a “one-size-fits-all” solution and may not be ideal for your boat.
One reader solved that problem by
building his own. He used wooden pegs, bungee cord and wire ties. You, too, can easily build your own. Here is how. Before we get started, let’s deal with
forming loops and terminating bungees. Our reader used wire ties but I favor something a little more permanent and less likely to slip or creep. Tat device is called a “hog ring.” In its original use, it is a U-shaped metal wire that is placed in the nostrils of a hog. A special
SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR
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