Practical Boat Owner – May 2018

Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk 87

ASK THE EXPERTS

SAILS

PAINT AND

ANTIFOULING

Richard Jerram is

former UK technical

manager of

International Paint

GAS FITTING
Peter Spreadborough,
of Southampton
Calor Gas Centre,
has 20 years in the
industry

TRAILER-

SAILING

Colin Haines is a

design engineer

who has trailer-

sailed for 25 years

ELECTRONICS

Andy Haines of

Greenham-Regis

Electronics is an

expert in marine

instrumentation

TOILETS AND

PLUMBING

Karl Sutcliffe of Lee

Sanitation knows

about holding tanks,

toilets and plumbing

YACHT DESIGN

Andrew Blyth is a

naval architect with

interest in stability

and buoyancy

WOOD

Richard Hare is a

wood technologist

and long-time

wooden-boat owner

50 of the most frequently asked boating questions are answered by our experts on the PBO website. Visit http://www.pbo.co.uk

BOATBUILDING

Tony Davies has

been building and

repairing wooden,

GRP and steel boats

for 40 years

Headsail hoist is getting harder

Q

I own an ancient

yacht around 5m

long. Reading the collision

regulations it seems to me

that I could fi t an all

round white light and

meet the requirements –

is this correct? Would it

be worth fi tting a tricolour

and anchor light so I

could use tricolour when

sailing and the anchor

light when motoring with

the outboard?

Ricky Martin

STUART CARRUTHERS

REPLIES: Sailing craft

under 7m in length of hull

and under sail alone may

exhibit either sidelights

and a stern light OR a

tricolour light

OR shall have

ready a torch

or lantern

showing a

white light

which shall be

exhibited in

time to prevent

collision.

Power driven

craft of less

than 7m in length of hull

that are under way and

whose max speed does

not exceed 7 knots

(including sailing craft

under power and sail) may

exhibit an all-round white

light in lieu of the side,

stern and masthead lights.

If sidelights are also

carried then the all-round

white light must be 1m

higher than the sidelights.

A tricolour and an anchor

light could be fi tted: the

tricolour for sailing and the

anchor light while motoring

• or anchoring at night!

Q

The genoa from our

2009 Jeanneau Sun

Odyssey 36i seems to get

harder and harder to pull up

at the beginning of the

season. The genoa is on a

roller reefi ng system, so the

luff of the genoa slides into

one of two aluminium

grooves. Pulling the genoa

up goes more-or-less OK

until the top of the sail

reaches the second

aluminium profi le (there are

fi ve). From that point on I

have to winch the halyard to

get the genoa up. At the end

the halyard is very tight, and

I’m scared that I’ll damage

the sheaves in the mast.

The halyard moves easily

unloaded, so the problem is

not the halyard. I went up

the mast and sprayed some

WD40 into the groove, but

this didn’t help. Getting the

sail down is also diffi cult – I

have to fold the luff upwards

and stand in the fold using

my weight to get it down.

I have no idea how to solve

this problem and would

appreciate your advice.

R Berghuijs, Greek Ionian

IAN BROWN REPLIES:

The most likely cause of the

problem is that the luff tape is

just too big for the foil. Either

the wrong tape was fi tted in

the fi rst place or you are just a

little unlucky.

Unfortunately, both the

extruded headfoils and the

luff tapes have small

manufacturing tolerances and

the wrong combination (ie.

small foil, large tape) can

sometimes lead to problems

such as you are experiencing.

If that’s the case then having

your sailmaker check it out

and subsequently fi tting a

smaller diameter tape will

solve the problem.

There are, however, other

potential causes; the sections

of luff foil could have become

slightly misaligned, though

that is more likely to lead to a

sudden stop rather than it

gradually getting stiffer. There

could also be a build-up of dirt

and grime in the foil,

particularly around the joints.

Oily or greasy marks on the

luff of the sail at the respective

heights might indicate if that is

likely. Hoisting a small section

of luff tape and ‘working’ it

through, or climbing up there

whilst suspended from a

bosun’s chair and trying to

clean it out with a rag might

help. You could also try

spraying the luff tape of the

sail and/or the headfoil itself

with some ‘dry-lube’ (eg.

McLube or Pro-Lube from

Holt) to help reduce friction.

WD40 is unlikely to do the job.

Finally, although the halyard

may appear to run smoothly

when not under load, it’s

possible the sheave is already

damaged and that this is only

evident as the load increases.

The fact that you are

experiencing problems getting

the sail down when the

halyard is released suggests

to me, though, that the sheave

is unlikely to be the problem.

Lights while

under way

Sun Odyssey 36i

David Harding