Why are modern sails harder to downhaul?
Increased downhaul effort can be attributed to the features and achievements of modern sail designs: – Loose leaches allow heads that twist off and de-power in gusts. – More tunable for increased wind range. – A well formed pocket low in the sail contour for more power and control. Higher tack force is what makes these improvements possible. Tack forces in excess of 400 pound are not uncommon in today’s sails. In an attempt to reduce the rigging effort, manufacturers are using three and four pulley system configurations. While these configurations theoretically have a six to one and eight to one mechanical advantage respectively, a study in WindSurfing Magazine published in May 1996 showed significantly less mechanical advantage. In testing, the study showed that regardless of the number of pulleys, the best of these configurations (a 6:1 with ball bearing pulleys on the mast extention and tack fitting ) only achieved a mechanical advantage of 3.3 : 1. The worst configurations only ach
