Having been roundly thrashed in last year's SSA race I thought I should have a jib more suitable for 30ish knots of breeze. So I measured up and got a blade jib.

Snag is that the genoa car is miles too far back to get the right sheeting angle. Then I looked at a 235 and thought that the top of the roof would be a nice place to fit a new track and car - right place fore-and-aft and a closer sheeting angle to boot.

So before I dropped the mast for the winter I hung it up and with a suitable system of ropes and pulleys I "simulated" the ideal angle and took pics from all angles. This should be a pic of how it all should be (If my download works) http://i144.photobucket....atstanpit/bladesheet.jpg 

Since then I've added a couple of feet of Barton 20mm track forward of the organisers so it should work. If it does, pics will follow!

Geoff

Geoff

To get the picture to appear paste

http://i144.photobucket....atstanpit/bladesheet.jpg 

between the img (here) /img that appear when you click on Insert Image.

Regards

Don

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Aha! I've been inserting a hyperlink ('cos I thought that was what it was) Why can't we have menus like in olden days where you could see what things were trying to do!

So this should be the picture that goes with the top post:[img][/img]

Triumph!!!!

I did say I'd let you all know how I got on with my new blade jib. I was hoping someone would have come up with a piccie of it in action but it seems that in the sort of weather when blade jibs get an airing, cameras stay below!

It did work very well and would indeed have been a godsend in RIOW'05. I usually put it on if the wind is looking like getting much over 20 knots and at that point the main gets 2 reefs as well. With that setup she goes very well indeed and seems to be tramping along like a good'un. Till I look at the Centaurs and things of that ilk who zip by saying "wind? - what wind"! I need to beat them by a country mile on handicap and that isn't going to happen with only 100 ft^2 up.

Needs a heck of a lot of sheet tension too!

Geoff Harwood P21/30 Cygnus