The following are some of the special
Neil Pryde fittings which every boat owner should be
familiar with.Genoa Sausage Bags
Neil Pryde Race and Premier Series sails are supplied
with genoa sausage bags as standard. These bags make
re-packing  easier and quicker. The bags have 2
full-length zips on top of the bag which run forward and
aft from the clew to the tack. Before you attempt to put
the sail in the bag make sure both sliders are at one end
of the bag. Then pack the sail inside and slide one zip
Dousing Sock
from one end to the other. Do not take it off the end of
the bag. You can then throw the bag around quite freely
and it will not come undone. When you wish to hoist,
place the bag on the foredeck and run the zipper off at
the front. The whole zip will then break open freely and
the sail will be in position on the foredeck ready for
use. (shown at right) To close bag, start with zipper
car on one track at either end of bag. Connect tracks
into zipper and run it to the other end of the bag,
leaving it about 70mm from the end of the bag. To
open the bag, run the car the final 70mm to the end of
the bag, letting the tracks come undone, opening the bag.
The dousing sock can be used with either a asymmetric
spinnaker or a regular spinnaker. To hoist the sail,
attach the halyard to the head ring on the sail and
attach the tack downhaul line to the tack ring. It should
then be passed through a turning block on the deck near
the bow, and then to a cleat or winch somewhere near the
cockpit. The tack will initially fly approximately five
feet above the deck, so allow this amount of slack in the
line.
Before hoisting, bear away onto a square run, then pull
up the spinnaker in its dousing sock behind the mainsail.
In this position it is not being subjected to much wind,
and is easy to keep under control during hoisting.
Don’t forget to attach the sheet before you do so.
You will now be sailing on a dead run with the spinnaker
nicely under control inside the dousing sock. You then
hoist the sock to the mast head using the continuous line
system provided. This exposes the sail to the wind so it
fills gently with wind.
To drop the spinnaker, bear away onto a run again so the
sail is blanketed from the wind, behind the mainsail.
Then pull the sock’s continuous line system in the
opposite direction to pull the sock down form the mast
head and over the sail, completely enclosing it. The
whole sausage is then lowered by dropping the halyard.
Leave the spinnaker in the sock when not in use so it is
ready for the next time you want to hoist it.
Parrel Beads
Neil Pryde provides this system for the cruising
sailor who wishes to use a cruising asymmetric spinnaker
with their genoa in it’s furled state.
The Nylon balls are threaded onto a wire strop and the
entire system is then wrapped around the furled genoa to
form a controlling collar.
The snap shackle at the tack of the spanker is fastened
through the eyes at the end of the strop. The whole
procedure allows the spinnaker to be attached around the
forestay for maximum control while still allowing the
tack height to be adjusted. (shown at right)
Parrel beads connect the tack of a free-flying sail
to a forestay with a furled genoa on it. Plastic balls
roll harmlessly over furled genoa, avoiding chafe and
friction.
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Over a few
years, certain amendments to the basic procedures prove
their worth time and again. Below, for you convenience,
we’ve listed a few of our favorites.
Get the jib fairlead right
The tell tales are a good guide for ensuring you have
the jib fairlead in the correct position. Sailing upwind
in a moderate breeze, sheet the jib on until the leech is
2” from the spreader ends. Gently luff into the eye
of the wind and check where on the luff the telltales are
breaking first. If the telltales up high stall out firs,
then move the lead forward a little; if the telltales at
the bottom of the genoa stall first, move the lead back a
little. Once you have established this medium position,
move the fairlead back a couple of holes in heavy winds
and forward a couple in light winds, as previously
discussed. (show at right) If top telltale stalls
first, fairlead is too far back. If bottom telltale
stalls first, fairlead is too far forward.
Avoiding broaching
Make sure the spinnaker sheet is always eased as much
as possible. When a gust strikes, dumping the spinnaker
sheet two feet in a repeated jerking motion will tend to
free up the rudder and give the helmsman a few critical
seconds of control. At this stage, completely ease the
vang allowing the boom to rise and the leech to twist
off. This will completely de-power the mainsail and make
the boat much easier to sail.
Reefing the mainsail
Jiffy reefing remains the most popular system of
shortening sails in strong winds. It is a very reliable
system if used properly. Just follow this procedure:
Begin by tightening the topping lift (if you have one; if
not, be very careful because the next procedure, if
executed incorrectly, can result in the boom falling into
the cockpit). Next, drop the main halyard while a
crewmember stands by the mast to attach the tack of the
sail to the reef point. It is vital that the luff is
secured and the halyard pre-tensioned before you make any
attempt to tighten the clew line. Once you have tightened
the main halyard and secured it, you can move on to the
clew line, pulling it in tight. When this is done,
re-tighten the mainsheet so the sail fills. When you have
settled down, have a crewmember tie in the reef across
the points, especially if you are passage-making or
expecting stronger winds.
On a racing boat you can leave the loose fold of cloth
free if you think you will be taking the reef out
shortly. If you do use individual points, don’t
tighten them up too much. Remember they are only there to
tidy things up, not to take any load. AND IMPORTANTLY,
remember to untie them when you take the reef out.
Using the telltales
The mainsail has telltales down the leech. They are a
good indicator of the amount of twist you have. If you
have the correct amount of twist in most conditions, then
the top two telltales will fly cleanly backwards
approximately half the time. If they are flowing more
than half the time then you probably have too much twist.
If they are always stalled out, and hidden behind the
leeward side of the sail then you haven’t got enough
twist.
The telltales on the front of the genoa are indicators of
your heading relative to sail trim. If you are sailing
upwind in moderate winds and the genoa is approximately
three inches off the spreader, you can sail by the
telltales. If the windward telltale starts to flutter
then you are sailing too close to the wind; if the
leeward side starts to flutter you are sailing too far
off the wind. With correct sheet trim—i.e.,
approximately three inches off the spreader
ends—both sets of telltales will stream aft when
your heading is correct.
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A sail’s
worst enemies are chafe and sunlight. You should take
every precaution to allay these factors. Sunlight is
particularly damaging to Kevlar and mylar sails. Sails
should always be covered or stowed below, preferably dry,
when not in use.
Chafe should be avoided by taping all pins, be they on
the mast or the shrouds. Stanchions and pulpits should
also be carefully checked to ensure there are no points
of wear. Mylar genoas should be fitted with spreader
patches where the leeches hit the spreader ends. In many
cases they require similar patches at each stanchion the
sail will come in contact with as well. This is
absolutely vital, and even on woven cruising sails a sail
patch or extensive padding on the spreader end will lead
to significantly increase life in you sails.
The sail’s other enemies are salt and flogging.
Flogging is particularly detrimental to racing sails and
can lead to delamination of laminated materials or the
destruction of the finish on very hard racing cloth. Do
whatever is possible to reduce flogging, although
obviously in the minutes leading up to the start of a
race some flogging is unavoidable.
Salt accumulation must be dealt with as often as
possible. On a dinghy or small daysailor, it should be
possible to wash the sails in clean, fresh water at least
monthly, while a large cruising sail should be overhauled
and washed at the end of each season. Although it can be
expensive, it really will add dramatically to your
sail’s lifespan.
For additional thoughts and comments on this subject,
check out Issue
16 of the Tradewinds.
Washing sails
It is important to wash sails very carefully. Warm
water and detergent will get off the majority of dirt
marks (apart from rust and blood) and a good final rinse
down with cold, fresh water is vital. Never use any
strong chemicals or bleach.
Storing sails
Very firm finished racing fabric should be rolled
wherever possible, as folding will lead to creases which
will not come out. Laminated sails of Kevlar or Mylar can
be left stowed in their sausage bags. Cruising sails
should always be folded, or at least stowed on the boom
(in which case they must always be covered).
While sails can be left wet, it is preferable to dry them
whenever possible. This applies particularly to
spinnakers. Do not, however, try to dry sails by either
letting them hang from the mast, which will cause
irreparable damage from flogging, or leave them exposed
to bright sunlight, which will ten to make the cloth very
brittle. Spinnakers are particularly sensitive to
sunshine.
All sails can be subject to mildew if the right
conditions exist. These include, moisture, lack of light
and a food source. A dry sail is your best bet against
the possibility of mold and mildew.
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