Loose Footed Mainsail

[oldragbaggers]

I read with interest Dan Dickison's article in this month's Masthead about loose-footed mainsails. All of our mainsails have had attached foots so I had no idea this was the wave of the future. But, we need to purchase a new mainsail this year and so I would like to know how many of you out there are sailing with loose-footed mains, and what do you think of them.
Thanks,
Becky

[Warren Kaplan]

Loose footers have been around a very long time. I replaced my old mainsail 3 years ago (or maybe its 4...time, time) with a loose footer from Doyle and I'm happy I did.

Most people I've talked to who have them feel the same way.

[Dean Abramson]

We got a new main last year which is loose-footed. It is hard to single out individual sail performance, because we replaced the yankee and staysail too. But the overall improvement is striking. In terms of airfoil shape, it seems to me that you cannot escape the logic of the loose foot. That's why racers use them. And all of my other sails (we also own a 150 and a cruising chute) are loose-footed.

I have to say that before buying, I struggled a little with the idea of having the less-traditional look. (We have full battens too.) But this boat flat goes now. And face it, you can't make a CD look too bad! And interesting, once I started really looking for them on other boats, I found loose-footed mains to be way more common than I had ever noticed before. So it's not exactly a flashing neon sign.

My sense is that the physics jury is in on this issue, but aesthetics jury is deadlocked and will remain there.

Good luck!

Dean

[rtbates]

I had our main converted to a loose foot at the same time I had the leech length reduced so that the boom would be raised and help clear our bimini. I'm no racer, but it seems to set better along the foot. Another nice benefit comes when lines are needing to be attached to the boom. Having a loose foot also makes it safer when needing to tie the lines that contain the sails bulk after putting it a reef. Since they don't need to go around the boom, if a reef lines releases the sail won't get hung by them and rip.

All in all a much better arrangement. I can't think of any reason why you'd ever want a main's foot attached along the boom. We sure haven't encountered any downside.

[chuck carmichael]

I have a loose footed full batten main on GALATEA, our CD 36 and a loose footed long batten main on our Typhoon. With both mains it is fast and easy to adjust draft, although on the TY I added a 4:1 external out haul. The idea was taken from the Harken catalog,and it really works. Going to a full batten main adds a fair amount of additional weight so on a 22 inquire about both a long batten vs. a full batten. With a long batten only the top batten is full and the lower battens are longer than standard but not full. Both provide a bigger roach than a standard main and are much easier to trim than a footed main.

Chuck

[Jim Davis]

Lance

When you bend the existing sail on, leave the foot loose and expiriment.

[Andy Denmark]

Back in 1992 I put a loose-footed mainsail on my racing boat, a Moore 24. Performance over the slug-footed main proved to be significantly better, with upwind speed easily 1/4 kt faster and pointing nearly 5 degrees higher in "normal" conditions. On a Moore 24 that's a lot of improvement. At the time I was a partner in one of the local sail lofts (now Doyle) and we were starting to build an increasing number of loose-footed mains for both racing and cruising boats. I recall that almost all of these customers were more than pleased with the performance of their new sails once they learned the (few) tricks to trimming them. Most of these had the top 2 battens full and the lower 2 longer than usual until the boats got over 32 feet where 4 full battens were the norm.

We also converted a number of slug-footed mains to loose-footed. While this gives the handling advantages of a loose footed sail, the aerodynamics (read "shape") is a compromise and not quite up to the performance level of a designed-from-scratch loose-footed sail.

One of the things we learned early on with loose-footed mains is the necessity of a proper sail slide at the clew. A standard slide, regardless of its material, does not slide freely enough in the track under load. We furnished our loose-footed sails with a 4-inch long stainless slide that was Teflon coated. The higher aspect ratio and lower unit pressures of this slide made for much easier adjustment as it did not "cock over" and jam in the sail track. This simple improvement along with sufficient outhaul purchase (at least 3:1) enabled easy adjustment under load.

One of the fallacious arguments you'll hear against loose-footed mains is that the force is concentrated upward at the very end of the boom. The fear is that the boom will tend to be bent by having the ends "fixed" with the mainsheet and/or vang pulling downward in the middle. In reality, this where the forces occur anyway even on a slug-footed sail as the interim slides are under almost no load at all. The dynamics of a loose-footed sail are nearly identical to a slug-footed one and the boom is designed to withstand that. This "old wives tale" sort of eyeball engineering simply doesn't hold up to the physics involved.

FWIW, I have a brand new Doyle loose-footed main on Rhiannon that is getting ready for its first sail even as we speak!
________
BUY VAPIR ONE

[mgphl52]

Hi Becky,

I went to loose-foot, full-batten mains on both the CD25 I had previously and our CD28. I also worked directly with the designer to get a bit more roach and reduce the 'P' a bit. On the CD25, I rarely had any problem with the battens hanging up on the backstay, but in very light air that can be a nuisance on KAYLA. Since we use to race a good bit, we saw a considerable increase in speed. Of course, that did require frequent trimming adjustments... Being able to dramatically adjust the draft for downwind legs in light air helped us to win quite a few races! Another advantage is that reef ties can be easily set without including the boom. This reduces the stress put on the reef patches, etc. and still keeps everything tidy.

Basically, we plan to never go back, even though we don't race much now...

[Sea Owl]

Becky;

One thing to think about, you will have to get an outhaul for the loose footed sail, i.e. a car that fits in the sail track on the boom that you probably don't have now with a slug footed main. Not difficult, but something you need I didn't see discussed by others. Also, there is typically a block or two added for extra purchase, (see 4:1 outhaul mentioned by Andy in earlier response)

That said, I know if I bought new sails, I would go loose footed!

[John Vigor]

I feel like a Luddite when I see all you folks gasping over the excellence of loose-footed mainsails, a fad borrowed from the racing crowd.

There's nothing "modern" about loose-footed mainsails. I raced with them extensively on small dinghies in the 1960s and of course there have been loose-footed rigs for centuries before that. But I have also raced across oceans with mainsails attached to the boom, and raced one-designs like 30-Square Meters with mainsails attached to the boom.

And the one big advantage of a mainsail that is attached on two sides instead of just one is that it's easier and safer to handle when you're shorthanded. That's why the overwhelming majority of ocean cruisers have attached mainsails. And it's silly to say they have stress problems with tying the reef points under the boom. A proper attached mainsail has slugs so that the foot of the mainsail is raised above the boom, and you pass your reef points around the sail ABOVE the boom, so there's no unfair stress on the sail.

The wonderful thing about an attached mainsail is that when you, working alone, strike it in a capful of wind, it doesn't flap out of control all over the place.

Every single-hander appreciates an attached mainsail. Because it's fixed to the boom, you can quickly haul out a pocket sideways from the boom, shove the rest of the sail inside the pocket, and roll it up and over the boom in a neat sausage. Then you get a couple of gaskets around it and everything is neat and under control.

You can't do that with a fancy racing loose-footer. The slippery sail comes down all over the place and if you don't have extra string lines or fabric pockets to try and hold the sail in place, and if you don't step on the sail and slide overboard, it will take you twice as long to get it snugged down on the boom, if you can manage at all.

The Cape Dory was designed with a mainsail attached to the boom. It was designed so you don't have to fiddle-faddle with the stupid outhaul every time the wind strength changes, or you change course from a beat to a run. It doesn't chafe on the boom and the foot doesn't flutter in your face on the beat and drive you crazy. There is nothing inferior about an attached mainsail and plenty superior.

The urge t for cruisers to follow the latest fads of the racers has led to some pretty awful and even dangerous hull designs in the past. Alberg managed to avoid that. Don't let him down now by letting your silver-tongued sailmaker talk you into buying a loose-footed sail by promising you more control and extra speed. If you want speed, buy a Santa Cruz ULDB.

Cruise safe. Stay attached.

Cheers,

John Vigor

[Bob Emmons]

Dear John,
Although I appreciate your comments and expertise on the Loose Footed vs. Attached Mainsail, I am a bit confused on your logic. My Loose Footed main IS attached to the boom at Two Points, the Tack and the Clew. There is absolutely no Sail flogging around in high winds. The only difference is the the foot is not lugged to the boom between the two points, which in my observation has produced a better airfoil shape at the foot of the sail. I single hand 95% of the time on my CD30 (just coastal NJ to Maine) and I don't recall ever having a more difficult time because lugs were not in the foot of the mainsail. The foot of my mainsail is just as tight as it was with lugs in...... and know I can even loosen it a bit when conditions warrant for a more effective shape. In fact the only research that I came across for an attached foot was the advantage of collecting rainwater for long distance cruisers.
Thank You,
Bob Emmons

[mgphl52]

Sorry, John, but I, too, sail over 90% solo and also have a main that is well attached to the boom (tack & clew) AND to the mast. From your comments about the main sail falling everywhere and (maybe the skipper as well), I can only assume your were thinking of the "true" racing main sails that use a luff bolt rope instead of a slugs. Yes! Those can be very difficult, even in the best of conditions, when sailing solo. But so far as I can tell, none of us other cruisers that do love our loose "footed" mains have mentioned anything about switching from luff slugs to a luff bolt rope.

As with the the "locked prop" vs "free-wheel" issue, I reckon we all just need to pick what works for us, boast of our favorite features and not throw stones at the other side.

Respectfully,

-michael

[John Vigor]

As with the the "locked prop" vs "free-wheel" issue, I reckon we all just need to pick what works for us, boast of our favorite features and not throw stones at the other side.

Respectfully,

-michael

But Michael, where's the fun if you can't throw stones at the other side? How otherwise can I shake you loose-footers out of your complacency?

I honestly do understand where you're coming from. You've fallen prey to the latest fad, you're feeling a little guilty, and you're overcompensating in your cover-up. But that's OK. I feel for you. We all make mistakes. But the bigger mistake is to persist in them.

Get that foot attached. You'll feel a lot better. Your conscience will thank you.

Cheers,

John Vigor

[Leo MacDonald]

.

[Warren Kaplan]

John,

Just curious. If lazy jacks are rigged, won't that go a long way in controlling some of the problems you mentioned?

I also single hand 90+% of the time and I have no trouble handling my loose footer alone even in stronger winds.