C-27 Sails and Rigging

[deisher6]

The mainsail that came with our 1986 C-27 was an original.  It had been rolled around the boom, loosely wrapped in the sail cover and stored on the side deck of the boat while it was on the hard for at least 4 years.  I had it inspected by a local "sail maker"  along with a 150 roller furling jib.  The loft removed the UV strip on the jib and added (to small) hanks.  The cost was over .3 BU's.  Recently I was given a better main about the same year but it had been taken care of.  Again I had it checked out by a much better loft.  It was inspected, batten pockets repaired, patched where needed, and cleaned for .4 BU's.

I used the better main three days.  When I furled it the last time I noticed that the luff rope was separated about 2 ft below the head board at the peak.  The sail had started to tear at the break.  I had never seen a problem like that before.  It is going back to the loft for another .38 BU's work.

The original sail had been neatly folded and laying on a bed in our spare bedroom.  The Admiral had been asking what I am going to do with it.  Well I put it back on the boat.  (=;

While rigging it I noticed that there were two frayed places on the luff rope about the same place the break occurred on the newer sail.  It is probably worth checking out on older sails for C-27's.

While rigging the boom I discovered that the internal outhaul is actually a 3 part tackle.  (I had never noticed this before) I know that there are various rigs on the C-27.  Mine has the topping lift outside on the starboard side of the boom.  I my original C-27 did not have a topping lift.  The end of the boom was suspended by a pigtail off of the back stay.  (It was a steep learning curve for me to remember to unhook it after the main was raised).  There are three internal pulleys at the end of the boom on Windrunner:  The center one is the outhaul.  The outhaul is a piece of wire rigging about 1.5 feet long that attaches to the pulley system inside the boom.  The two outboard pulleys are for 2 slab reefing points.  The reefing lines run though sheaves and a jam cleat at the gooseneck. 

Thoughts on Furling.  For the first raggedy main, I just rolled it upon itself, tied it to the boom, and covered it with the fast deteriorating sail cover.  For the better main, I have been leaving the slugs in the mast, flaking the sail on top of the boom, tying it loosely and covering it with a much better used sail cover (thanks to this blog).  When or if I get a new main, I would take it off the mast, loosen the outhaul, flake it on top of the boom, and cover it with a sail cover.

Any thoughts, suggestions or comment.

regards charlie

[mattman]

Why are you not buying new sails? Seriously sails do not last forever, realistically 10 years of recreational use, much less with ongoing cruising. Btw how old is that standing rigging?

[deisher6]

Hey Mattman:
Good question.  My 90 and 110 jibs are as good as new.  The 150 is a bit raggedy but only used in very light winds.  The two mains have definitely seen better days, and will be replaced given enough time.  However now there are more important things to spend 2.193 BU's (if purchased from Hutchins) on than a new main.  The original cutlass bearing comes to mind.

The standing rigging has possibly been changed once because the pigtail that once held up the boom is not on the backstay.  The surveyer and I think that it is OK for the present.  The only way to test it is with a penetrant dye or destruction.

regards charlie

[Awfeith]

Ullman stack pack, 20 year old mainsail recut and fully battened with new halyard. New Bimini cover, boom kicker and vang, main sheet with cam cleat rather than cabin mounted stopper. New harken head furler with uv cover. Original Facnor had no head stay.
Mainsail recut, full battens and stack pack 2k. Hood headsail furler and uv cover and rest itching 1.9k. Boom kicker, vang,mainsheet .5k. Bimini cover, cushions, 1.2k. Garmin wireless wind speed( displays on my chart plotter through NEAMA .7k. That takes care of my spring tune up. The stack pack works great. Next year I plan on installing strong track main track sliders. Masthead Enterprises did all the supply and install.great outfit, and they are Com-Pac dealers. Noticed marked improvement in sailing performance, especially upwind.

[frank]

That is one fine looking 27!!!! Nice upgrades!!!  Well done!

[deisher6]

Hey Awfeith:
Super looking C-27, well appointed too.  I am debating on whether to ask the sail loft that is putting in the new luff rope to include replacing the top two battens with full battens while they are at it.

Thanks for the photo.

regards charlie

[hoddinr]

Great looking 27.

Where's the "LIKE" button?

Ron

[Awfeith]

Next time I'm at the boat Charlie, I'll get a photo of the main up. I'm really happy with the job they did.

[MomentSurf]

I just bought a 'used' sail for my 27...it has three reefing points at 32", 65", and 97" (measuring up the luff from the foot).   Great sail and in much better shape than mine was. 

Curious to how many reef points the original sail had.  I'm assuming two considering the boom setup (my old sail only had one).  Does anyone have the measurements on the reef points from the original sail (I'm curious as to how they compare to my new sail)