That is, the distance between pulleys, when you're sailing along.

Should you:
a) Always shorten your extension if you can, and so usually show 3-5 cm?

b) Not worry about it unless there's more than 10 cm showing?

c) Always have more than 10cm showing?


Why?

Always less than 3cm, always!

nebbian said...

That is, the distance between pulleys, when you're sailing along.

Should you:
a) Always shorten your extension if you can, and so usually show 3-5 cm?

b) Not worry about it unless there's more than 10 cm showing?

c) Always have more than 10cm showing?


Why?

Get a better sail that rigg's right

...about 40cm


...i loved the 80s

i think 10cm is a tad too much really depends on the settings but then again the luff base is somewhat of a mystery with different sail brands..even with correct downwhaul there is too much luff pocket left

With the Maui Sails, they want 2-3 cm of floating pully on the tr4. They have a recessed pully so it sits low to the deck anyway.
If you pull this block to block, there is too much pressure on the cam against the mast and it wont rotate..

silvec01 said...

With the Maui Sails, they want 2-3 cm of floating pully on the tr4. They have a recessed pully so it sits low to the deck anyway.
If you pull this block to block, there is too much pressure on the cam against the mast and it wont rotate..

They did something like that on the old Gaastras. I have one of the last of the Manics that was designed by Barry and it has a big piece of flat plastic that cantilevers down from the tack pully projecting the sail foot down a good 60 mm or so. It doesn't seem to sit flat though and the sail foot feels a little soft unlike most where the foot is as hard as. In principle its seems like a good idea. They probably have it right by now.

elmo said...

decrepit said...

elmo said...

[>>>
Get a better sail that rigg's right

Sorry Elmo don't follow you on this, I don't see how the sail has any effect on whether the extension is set to the optimum length or not.

Mine is usually about 2cm, depending on the pulley system, if one of the ropes is a bit offset it limits how close the pulleys can get.

I don't think a centimeter or so is going to have a noticeable effect, but much more than that probably will.

Tis nothing just our little Scezzy vs Gay pryde digs going on

You mean Scoft vs Gay pryde

Always good to leave a couple of centimeters I reckon.
Those last centimeters puts that extra strain on the rope and pulleys oh and my back.

No one is making an extension with really low pulleys like the old Chinook any more. For some of us it is important to keep the rig as low and as close to the deck as we can so block to block is the preferred setting. If you do use that setup its important that the pulleys align AND that the hole where the rope starts, and the cleat, are in the best possible positions to suit the line wreathing. If they put the pulleys lower this wouldn't be so critical.

The plain old tack cringle defines the fundamental line wreathing that all extensions that pretend to be universal should accommodate. The basic wreathing for that is line starts on the same side as the cleat, goes through the cringle loops over (preferably) a "loop and go" pulley then back through the cringle and into the cleat. If you introduce another pulley you then have to move the start point for the line to the opposite side from the cleat. So at a bare minimum a universal extension should have a start point for the rope on each side of the pulley block.

I could go on....

MavericK040 said...

i always set my extension so that the pulleys come all the way down to the bottom so the bottom of the luff is covering the bottom of the extension.

what i cant understand is WHY T.F. do they not have the pulley block on my old gaastra GTX oriented the same way as the extension pulleys? when you downhaul it the block twists around putting more stress on it and you cant get it all the way down cos the ropes jump off the pulley and makes it really hard to pull the last bit on.

another question is , what does everyone else do with the excess downhaul rope left over?
i used to just wrap it around and tie it off but now i stuff it up into one of the lower adjustment holes of the extension.

I wrap it around the extension, do a clove hitch and then excess into an extension hole like you cos it locks off the knot, but on my Loft O2 there is a nice little pocket to put it

With the distance between the pullys I never have more than a cm or two at the most.

MavericK040 said...

<<<<
what i cant understand is WHY T.F. do they not have the pulley block on my old gaastra GTX oriented the same way as the extension pulleys?>>>>>>

When you have 2 pulley blocks at right angles too each other, you don't thread the rope in a spiral.
It's a bit hard to explain in words, but imagine you have an invisible cube, the rope starts out at the lower forward left corner, then goes to the upper forward left corner, round the pulley and so out the forward upper right corner, then down to the lower forward right corner, round the pulley and out the lower right rear corner, up to the upper rear right corner, then back to the pulley at the lower rear left corner, out the lower left forward corner, up to the forward upper center pulley, out of that to the cleat..
No twist or tangles should be able to get the pulleys almost touching.

Hope it doesn't tangle your mind thou!!!!
get a pair of pulleys and see if you can follow it.

MavericK040 said...


what i cant understand is WHY T.F. do they not have the pulley block on my old gaastra GTX oriented the same way as the extension pulleys? when you downhaul it the block twists around putting more stress on it and you cant get it all the way down cos the ropes jump off the pulley and makes it really hard to pull the last bit on.

Check 'dis:

elmo said...

decrepit said...

OH yeah, last to days I've downhauled till the pulleys touch, but that jams the rope into the cleat so it doesn't want to release. Have to twist the sail pulley, to unjam the rope in the cleat, then the downhaul detensions with a bang, not good for sail, so I'm going to leave a few mm in future.

Admitedly I didn't think you could actually get the pulleys quite that intimate

Wish I had been there to see that[}:)]