Large roach headsails / Tweeners / Masthead genoas

[Benytoe]

An old friend was remembering when we set the chute on a race and a number of roaches fell out of the spinnaker and I don't mean the insect variety.  Those were the days!

I have raised my main to have eggs fell onto deck too

 

[krikkitman]

I have raised my main to have eggs fell onto deck too

The most spectacular incident of that nature that I remember was on the return leg of the old Saliva Bay Hangover race. The boat just ahead of us in the pursuit start had partied pretty hard the night before, and at some point they'd managed to drop their pot of leftover spaghetti and sauce into the saltchuck, to be lost forever to the briny depths.

The next morning it was a downwind start, and they only had about a minute or so on us, so we were right there at the start line when they hoisted the kite on final approach to the start. It turned out they hadn't dropped the spaghetti and sauce overboard at all. It made it about 2/3rds of the way up the mast before it tumbled out, flinging spaghetti and tomato sauce all over the deck. The pot bounced off the deck with a tremendous clang and a final explosion of leftover dinner before dropping into the water and fulfilling its previously determined fate.

 

[sailorman44]

How is PHRF handling this in different regions ?   Is the "hit" experienced under the distance racing DHCP (only) or also for the all-purpose rating ?

Be assured  that any PHRF committee worth it's salt will penalize you twice any possible gain you may get from any change you want to make.

 

[sailorman44]

I was under the impression that a sail that didn't measure in as a headsail or a kite (IE your LRH or tweener or whatever you want to call them) wasn't legal at all in PHRF.  Didn't think you could use the LRH while sailing under that rule system.

After discussion at the March 2018 meeting ECSA specifically outlawed large roach head sails. At the April 2021 meeting the committee agreed to revisit large roach head sails and discuss penalty options.

 

[hrothgar]

OK thanks for the replies everyone.   Dacron and Jackolantern gave numerical replies, much appreciated.   Maybe not quite enough yet to be considered 'consensus' but it's helpful

surprising to me that sailmakers all over the place, who sell these sails, don't know the answer.    Are there a lot of variables in the answer ? I doubt it.   % of mid girth, total area, overlap.  what else is there ?

I have a tweener (Code 65) which we use for the double-handed race and some other events conditions permitting.  The hit is LMPHRF is -3 for the DHCP only.  No hit for the base rating.  There is also an ORC hit but since we race one-design in both Mac races this year, I am having my cert amended to exclude the tweener.

Got my tweener from Bluffton Bay Sails.  Its a North with Helix luff system.  Jimmy deals Quantum now.  I am sure that is a great product.

Hroth