Practical Boat Owner - February 2016

He releases the outhaul
(the blue line)...

...and pulls the endless

furling line

Now Owain tensions the outhaul... ...before re-tensioning the main sheet, and that’s it.

Here’s the gas kicker, and the drum for the

endless furling line

➜

Here’s a nicely set sail for fresh conditions, with the

right amount of twist (top telltales flying)...

...and a tight foot, which you need in any

breeze. Ease it on a reach or in less wind

Here the kicker is too tight and there’s not
enough twist (top telltales stalled)

Too much twist (not enough kicker tension) and

too little outhaul results in an inefficient shape

The clew should be close to the boom, not

way above it like this

Tweaking and trimming

The sail flaps gently

as it’s wound in

An in-mast mainsail inevitably offers
a good deal less scope for trimming
than a conventional alternative. You
can adjust the kicker to control the
twist as long as you reset it to the
right position when rolling the sail in
or out. A sprung kicker is ideal as it
saves the need for a topping lift,
though some owners say the topping
lift shouldn’t be adjusted once it’s set.
Halyard tension is important. Too
much tension creates a vertical
crease down the luff, which
increases the bulk of the sail as it’s
rolled in and can cause problems.
With untensioned luff spars, excess
luff tension can strain the bearings
in the halyard swivel. Most of the
same trimming principles apply as
with a conventional sail, as these
photos show.

In-mast reefing