Genoa/Jib tack
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Ok- gotta pick you’re guys’ brains a bit more.. Since ownging the boat for coming up on a year-and-a-half, I’ve had one problem with the tack popping loose on the headsail. There are two simple horns at the bow (no shackle), so to keep weight down I’ve used just a bungey cord and wrap it around the horns a few times (depending on the age of the bungy), but occasionally in a puff, the tack will pop loose. Since I do more short-handed stuff, I’d really like to eliminate that problem completely, if possible. What methods are you guys using to attach the tack up there?
Ray
I bungee from the opening in the turnbuckle down to the ring, single loop that goes over both horns. Gives you double tension in two directions.
I am just adding 2 Shackles, secured to the horn by some line. I like the end result although I do not like the line, I´ll probably make some SS wire loop in the future…
I like Bruce´s solution, KISS is always the best… Maybe I´ll scratch everything and go for it.
I used a bungee for a number of years, but they would always deteriorate in the UV. Now I use a small line attached to the bow pulpit and put a cleat hitch on the horns and around the tack.
I have a short (2ft) line attached to the sail above the tack, I use it to tighten the luff but it also keeps the sail in place.
Glad to see this isn’t just an issue for us. Depending on headsail luff tension the tack always wants to come off the horn. One thing we noticed is the horns themselves seem to be tweaked inward, so over time they’ve bent towards one another which also has the effect of opening the horn. We’re going to try a soft shackle through the tack and around both horns which should work as long as the softie is the appropriate length.
Some bungee cord is better than others. Good cover is the clue; less rubber, more cloth type.
Almost forgot about this little issue.. I think I finally fixed it for good with a soft shackle. I made a bunch of them, some larger than others, but use the smallest one (2″ loop) and it’s not popped off yet. I just started doing this since moving to Tampa (summer sailing has yet to produce wind > 10 kts), but so far so good.
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