Headsail adrift

[storm petrel]

Hi All,

Gave Storm Petrel a day off and went out on a friend's beautiful 1952 vintage timber 28 footer this afternoon. We were about a mile off Barranjoey beating into a nice 12-14 knot breeze when the no.2 started to slide down the furler. At first I thought the halyard had failed but after gathering up the sail (out of the water)realised that the headboard had torn away from the sail and was still up the mast, shackled to the halyard. I have never seen this happen before. We sailed back with the main alone and decided to leave the boson's chair for the owner's son to enjoy at a later date.

The no.2 looked to be in pretty good condition. Has anyone else had this happen or do you think it was a one-off due to a faulty sail? It makes me think that I will have a good look at the the headboard on my no.2 next time I take it off the furler

Cheers,
Mark

[karl010203]

Not too much halyard tension?

[storm petrel]

Possibly too much halyard tension. The boat had reel winches on the mast for the wire/rope halyards so the headsail could have been cranked on too hard. The skipper had tensioned the headsail before I came aboard. He is a very experienced sailer and has had the old boat for many years so I doubt he would have overtightened the halyard. I think it was more likely deterioration of the stitches in the small headboard. He keeps the sail on the boat so perhaps exposure to the sun caused the problem? The sailmaker might be able to tell him when he has it repaired. I will let you know.

Cheers,
Mark