Mainsail shape

[Potcake boy]

Since I got my CP19 and first put the sails up I have been a little concerned about the deep cut of the main. The boat is an 2001 and hasn't really seen a lot of action. The sail condition is excellent, but has considerable draft and can't be flattened as much as I'd like. Even with a very tight luff, foot and leach there is still a lot of cord depth well forward in the middle portion of the luff. I assume the deep cut is to help offset  a relatively small rig on a boat not intended to be a windward witch, But I'd feel better with a little flatter cut. To make things worse, I found that my mast has just a little bit of reverse bend which without additional rigging cannot be easily corrected. I am not crazy about the idea of trying to induce some permanent bend for fear of damaging the mast, and I'd really rather not complicate the rigging like a racing boat.

Does anyone one else share this sentiment or is it just me. My last boat was a Dragonfly trimaran and had a loose footed full batten main with a generous roach on a rotating mast. The sail could go from flat as a board to as much cord depth as you wish. Now I wouldn't expect to need that on my CP19, but never the less am I expecting too much?

Has anyone had any experience with loose footed and/or full batten mainsail on their CP19 that you would care to share? Or has anyone had a new main cut that is perhaps a little flatter than the original AirForce main?

Thanx,
Ron

[Craig Weis]

Yes, too much expectation. This masthead rig on the C-P 19 has only a few things to play with.

The head sail. No matter what % past the mast the sail is always distorted by the bow pulpit.

The 'tracked' cars for the head sheets only can travel so far. I usually have these placed about 7 inches astern of the winches.

All sheet are routed outside of all standing rigging.  And none of the standing rigging are really, really very taught.

As she flops from tack to tack the lee-side is loose if you 'pluck' the wire.

Bow and aft standing rigging only keeps the mast vertical as the head sail or spinnaker work. Any tighter and they will try to push the mast down through the cabin top and out the bottom. Well not really but you get the idea.

The main is pulled all the way up the scarf of the mast. I can actually use my sheet winch to make the last couple of inches by winching on the main's halyard and locking in the rope clutch.

Pull the boom down and tie off at the base of the mast. Use sail stops under the boom and under the slugs of the main sail.

The out haul I pull tight and forget about it. It's not loose as you said or as was on my Penguin. And certainly not like my Star boat.

I just consider my Com-Pac 19 as a barge and having a calculated hull speed of 4.2 knots. I love the boat. skip.

[Rick Klages]

Ditto for the 16 Skip!  Potcake boy, You could always have the main recut with less draft.  These old style unamarans tend to have simple controls.

ick