Discussion Forum
Original Subject Posting
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 23 Sep 09 16:32 |
| could someone suggest a smaller sail for learning initially on my sons fireball, just to tame it a bit, as older person (me) wants to learn to helm one...(haven`t sailed a dinghy for many years) | |
| Author: Michael Parker | Message ID: 65 |
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Replies to this subject
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 23 Sep 09 21:12
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| I have seen Enterprise and even Miracle mainsails used. They make the boat look a bit stupid, and I'd guess that the smaller main coupled with the proper Fireball jib will cause a bit of lee-helm too. And you'd have to do some messing about with bits of rope to get it all to fit together on the standard boom and mast. But it can be done. Good luck with it. |
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| Author: Mike Deane | Reply ID: 131 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 23 Sep 09 21:28
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| Mike many thanks for reply re the smaller sails perhaps a boom jiffy reefing system like a cruiser would do it..masthead rig and all ....a couple of extra eyelets into sail ..pull down each end..at least we would have the same sail.. |
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| Author: Michael Parker | Reply ID: 132 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 23 Sep 09 22:38
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| Yes, I guess that could work. But don't do anything that will stop the kicker from working (eg, rolling the sail around the boom like the RYA taught us to do 30 years ago). You need to be able to bang on a load of kicker to support the leech if you want to use the trapeze. If you can't apply a shed load of kicker then you can forget trapezing, and then you might as well not be in a Fireball at all. Enjoy ! |
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| Author: Mike Deane | Reply ID: 133 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 24 Sep 09 18:27
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| Shedloads of kicker eh Mike?? He wants to relearn sailing using a reefed down main - I doubt very much he will be going out in 16knot+ winds mate!! Anything below that and its just going to keep the boom under control - 0 effort?....... or is that one of the reasons I'm at the back of the fleet? :-) | |
| Author: Ian Elkington | Reply ID: 134 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 25 Sep 09 16:37
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| son sails fireball with younger crew..no problem senior citizen dad wants to sail with son..easy does it no new space at the dinghy park for suitable boat for dad..Ent..Miracle etc etc..long waiting list...so we turn fireball into non trapezing dinghy at first for me to relearn, or dont sail. So I`m just asking if anybody has had a similar experience. |
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| Author: Michael Parker | Reply ID: 136 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 29 Sep 09 21:31
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| Hi Michael, Mike is right about the Enterprise main, I have seen a couple of boats rigged that way (although you may need to rake the mast back a bit to compensate for the smaller rig. I'm not exactly a spring chicken any more and I can still handle the beast in anything up to a F3 but no more. If we were to say that you were in the range of 55 - 65, fairly supple then you should be ok taking it to a F2 max. How old is the boat? can you right her ok are the obvious questions, relying on a safety boat wouldnt be the right way to go I'm afraid :-) Last question, are you near any of the fleets? |
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| Author: Ian Elkington | Reply ID: 137 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 30 Sep 09 21:39
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| Ian, thanks for reply..interesting comments. 63 next birthday..back a bit of a problem sometimes The boat is in Suffolk, and there are fleets around our way...... just uncertain about me in a fireball now..it seemed a good idea to look at taming it a bit for the older helm. |
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| Author: Michael Parker | Reply ID: 141 |
| smaller sail for fireball | Date
Posted: 28 Feb 10 14:26
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| Hi Michael, A bit late to the discussion. Years ago our club got a few Youth sailors going in Fireballs. What we did was get some knackered old sails and put 2 reef lines along them, keeping the jib full size. The reef lines go in at an angle so the boom gets lifted higher as you reef (this is also safer for the kids when tacking / gybing) so you need to extend the main halyard and the kicker and possibly the main sheet. All we did was make some extension lines that we put on the end. You can't do it on the water - its too fiddly. It might even be OK with the rules to sail like this - I don't recall a rule which says you can't reef. |
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| Author: Barbara Newson | Reply ID: 232 |
