February 11, 20224 yr I have found that the most stable and effective configuration when vane sailing a Marblehead downwind with a spinnaker set, is to furl the foresail loosely around its luff and secure it with a couple of velcro straps. That way it seems to have minimal risk of interference with the airflow into the spinnaker, However the Marblehead class rules (C 7.4.g) say a sail may not be reefed and in some definitions furling and reefing seem to be considered interchangeable terms. Can anyone advise me whether my practice of furling the foresail is legal? If its illegal, whats the next best option?
February 12, 20224 yr Hi Gareth Sadly, the free sailing rules require updating to reflect accepted practice. The FSCR supplement as published on the MYA Knowledge Base does not specify the necessary changes which you and others have mentioned. There is on-going discussion between the MYA and the Free Sailing Class Owners Group on this .... The M Class Rules require a mainsail to be set, C.7.4(f), and no sail to be reefed, C.7.4(g), as you say. Both rules need to be deleted for free sailing. It would be an interesting discussion at the pond side if anyone were to protest you for furling your jib (smile). A similar issue for the A Class, where the Class Rules specify that a mainsail shall be set and that the mainsail shall not be reefed, but also specify that the jib clew shall be attached to the jib boom. So, it seems that it is explicit that an A Class jib may not be furled, which would be quite a surprise for the Vane A sailors.
February 13, 20224 yr Author Lester. Thanks very much for a prompt and helpful reply. Nobody has ever protested so far, not even in the vane Marblehead Nationals last year so I will continue to furl my jib and await the clarification of the rules. Vane sailors are invariably polite and helpful, even to a relatively inexperienced participant like myself. I am sure if someone decided to point out the error of my ways they would do it in a friendly manner! p.s. No Arduinos were fitted to China Boy when the photo below was taken Edited February 13, 20224 yr by Gareth
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