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The Contessa Corner → Sails & Rigging → Pendants for headsails - at the tack or the head?
The former owner of my boat used 1/4" super low-stretch rope at the tack of the headsails to add length so that the furling unit could be raised to the top of the forestay to prevent halyard wrap. I've read lots of good reasons for attaching it to both the tack and the head. What do the infinitely knowledgeable Contessa owners have to say?
Thanks. Carolyn
you'll also get a bit more hoist out of the sail, should help the foot clear your pow pulpit/lifelines
I concur. At the tack to clear lifelines and stanchions.
Mine's at the bottom. It makes sense to have it there for clearance of pulpit and lifelines. It also makes it a bit easier to see what is behind the sail.
Your question is a good one though. I was intending to order a new genoa sized for the maximum hoist, eliminating the need for the pennant. However, this season I will try switching the pennant to the head to see how I like having the foot of the sail closer to the deck.
Christopher: Is your pennant wire or rope, or does it really matter?
Wire on mine. Rope should be fine if you are still experimenting. However, be sure to use a rope with no stretch and no creep. Otherwise you will be constantly adjusting your halyard tension for the sail. Once you are happy with the length of the pennant, replace the rope with wire and you can then forget about it.
On my boat I have a furler so the halyard is a necessary part of tensioning the leading edge of the sail.
If I had a hanked-on sail I would probably invert the hoist arrangement to match that on my main. For my main, I now hoist the sail all the way to the top of the mast, and then tension the luff by pulling down the boom. This reduces the hoisting work on the halyard and puts the onus on the downhaul. I can use a multi-part block and tackle for the downhaul which makes it easy to adjust the sail from the deck and/or the cockpit. Plus I can just use my weight to push down the boom. A similar arrangement on a headsail would involve leaving the foot loose, hoisting the jib to the masthead, and then using a block-and-tackle arrangement to pull down on the tack of the sail thereby tensioning the luff.
Our new heavy weather jib has built in pennants at the head and foot to match the luff length of the regular genoa. They are continuous with the luff tape
I also specced it to match the sheeting angle with the pennants in place but that probably wont be possible if going from a deck-scraping light weather sail to a high cut heavy weather sail.
If you fit a pennant at the tack, it needs a slug (slide) in the furler track or a tie round the foil (or if traditional a shackle or hank round the stay) at the tack to take the foot tension otherwise you will get a lousy shape and may even damage the sail.
I agree with the benefits of bowsing down the tack for a main sail and have a three part tackle rigged to the boom at the gooseneck to do so, but would be wary of any such tackle on a foresail. Having to go right forward to adjust it in heavy weather is not my idea of fun and if led aft you have the disadvantage of an on-deck trip hazard and its also more vunerable to damage. Just use the winch for the last few inches and all is good. If you dont have a winch clap a tackle on the halyard fall and sweat it up.
Thanks to all who wrote in with your suggestions. Much appreciated.
Carolyn
The Contessa Corner → Sails & Rigging → Pendants for headsails - at the tack or the head?
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