[C320-list] Dutchman System on a Loose Footed Main

[Irving Grunes]

Curious, Did you have a three line dutchman installed.
Where did you get the UK sail?
irv Grunes
2001 #851

On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 9:07 PM, resloat <resloat at comcast.net> wrote:

> FYI.  I just installed a new UK loose footed Dacron Powerhead main.  It
> has a Dutchman system installed which works great.  The main is a dream
> also and sail shape is really nice with the loose footed feature.  The only
> down side is I need to have the outhaul come back to the cockpit since it
> is used more now.  I might put the topping lift on a cleat on the mast and
> use the freed up clutch for the outhaul.
>
> I was wrongfully under the impression that a Dutchman system does work on
> loose footed mains.  The Dutchman tabs slide in the boom slot while the
> main is attached to the boom at the tack and through a slug at the clew.
>  After a few minor adjustments the Dutchman system works fine.
>
> Before doing this I checked with the folks at Dutchman and they told me
> that loose footed mains work well with the Dutchman flaking system.  On my
> 10 year old Catalina OEM sails I had the Dutchman System C with the block
> at the top of the topping lift and the clam cleat at the end of the boom so
> you could lower the monofilament lines when putting on the sail cover to
> avoid having to put slots and zippers on the sail cover.  I chose not to
> use the C System and did not want to have slots and zippers installed on
> the sail cover.  The Dutchman system I have has the topping lift connected
> to a single Dutchman line with no block at the top and no clam cleat at the
> end of the boom.  The solution to putting the sail cover on is to loosed
> the topping lift to allow the monofilament lines to loosen and go under the
> sail cover.  Then to keep the topping lift taught when at the dock, I tie a
> small diameter piece of line to the Dutchman line near the end of the boom
> with a rolling hitch and attach the small line to the end of the boom.  The
> topping lift is taught and the monofilaments are loose enough to allow the
> sail cover to be installed.  When you get ready to raise the main, just
> untie the small line and tighten the topping lift to a predeterminded
> position and you are ready to go.
>
> I need a few more days on the water to report on the main.  A UK tape
> drive 150 Genoa was part of the upgrade and it is very impressive.  New
> sails are like high end audio equipment.  The investment clouds
> objectivity, but in this case it is clear the new sails give more control
> than the originals especially when sail tuning is important.  An added
> benefit to the tape drive Genoa is that is it somewhat translucent so you
> can see a foggy vision of the vessel you are about to hit!
>
> Bob Sloat
> S/V Savannah 894 (2002)
>