Plastic Classic Forum

After several quotes on sails from a couple of lofts one thing keeps coming up, the loose footed sail. I have never been on a boat with a loose footed sail so I have zero experence in this area.

What are the pros and cons to this? I would think a loose footed sail would be harder to repair if there are any issues? Is it easier to make a loose footed sail hence all of the recomendations?

I have a wood boom that previously took a bolt rope but will not have an external track of some kind.

Thoughts?

I love mine and wouldn't have a new one built any other way, assuming I wanted ease of adjustability. I had my first new mainsail (2001) changed from a shelf foot to a loose foot after a couple seasons, and my newest main (2009) was built with a loose foot from the getgo.

The ease of draft/fullness/outhaul adjustment is perhaps the biggest advantage to the loose foot: less friction. Similarly, they're easy to put on and off (only one slide, not a dozen or whatever).

Why do you think it might be harder to repair? I'm not sure I understand the logic.

I agree wholeheartedly with Tim. Yankee has a full batten, loose-footed mainsail that is easy to adjust, always has a most pleasing shape, and reefs quite easily. I added (detachable) lazy jacks to round up the sail when it is dropped. I cannot imagine a better setup. Not having a track is all the better. The only additional repair that I can think of that might arise would be to the batten pockets, but a well-built sail should have essentially no issues.

Faith has a loose footed, full batten main.

Like the others, I would not go back. One consideration (for some) is the type of sheeting and the heft of your boom. If you have a smallish extrusion, and mid boom sheeting, you might be careful since the loose foot may impose a greater load on the boom.

Count me in too! I replaced our sails last year and got a loose footed main. I really like the ease of adjustment and the simplicity. Mine is essentially held at the clew with a velcro strap so getting it on and off is much faster now. Go for it!

The question of “is it sturdy enough” came to mind a lot. Having the main attached along the entire length would, in my mind, be studier.

Greater load on the boom was also a though. I do have rear boom sheeting and didn’t even think about mid boom considerations, thanks ‘Faith’. What about my mid boom vang?

I guess I'm going to have to go find a local boat to go look at. Thank you all for your thoughts, oviously my are misplaced.

The clew of a loose footed main should be as strong as the clew of a jib. My next main will be loose footed and full battened.

It seems to me (disclaimer) that the loads from the vang are likely much lower then mid-boom sheeting. The vang is just pulling down, not taking the full impact of shock loads from a 'crash' jibe.

Even rigged as a preventer, it seems unlikely that it would be a problem... has not been a problem for me, but Pearson used an extrusion that would be a mast on most boats to make my boom. Your boat is a tank also, and I would be quite surprised to find the boom was any less robust then mine.

My new loose-footed main was delivered last week and when I bent it on yesterday, I discovered that I didn't even have a single slug in the foot. It bolts onto the boom at the tack and to the outhaul and a wrap of Velcro around the boom at the aft end. Now my boom looks just like the photos of the racing boats, which is pretty funny for an 11,000 lb. boat. Beyond whatever advantages a loose foot has for sail shape, it sure does make it easier to bend on and remove.

Al Lorman

There is relatively little load on the foot of a main sail. Load values are distributed up and into the sail from the clew and the tack and away from the foot. Next time you have your main flying, regardless of it's being loose footed or not feel the tension loads at the clew and tack and then feel the tention load at the center of the foot. You find by literally touching and feeling the sail that loads on foot are very small. You will be able to push and move the sail cloth with great ease, much greater ease than you can on the clew and the tack.

I need a mainsail,

my luff is 31ft and the foot is 12.5 on the old main which is in tatters.
does this sound about right to all you Triton owners ?

there is a good used loose footed main around here but the luff is 33ft.

I have had lots of experience with loose footed mains and I like them alot.

Andiamo is loose footed...I don't have any issues with it...

As long as you have end of boom sheeting, a lose footed jib gives you a whole lot of adjustment. If you have mid boom sheeting, you need to worry about jibes where all the forces in one direction from both ends and the force in the opposite direction from the middle (snap).

I want a loose footed main too. So how old would the current mainsail have to be before you could rationalize the "need" for a new one.

Dang Shields new sail every year rule.

TritonSean wrote:I need a mainsail,

my luff is 31ft and the foot is 12.5 on the old main which is in tatters.
does this sound about right to all you Triton owners ?

there is a good used loose footed main around here but the luff is 33ft.

I have had lots of experience with loose footed mains and I like them alot.

Do you have a fixed or sliding gooseneck?
Send a long tape measure up the halyard (or measure the mast if it's unstepped) that extra 2' might not be a dealbreaker.

Dennis,
Though I agree that watching for accidental jibes is of concern for all sailors in general, having a loose footed main regardless of the sheeting position does not provide any more opportunity for a problem to occur with the main sail or otherwise than with a main where the foot is not loose, say for example a shelf footed main. Sorry, but I have to correct you on that.

Brian,

Maybe it is a smaller point than I am making it out to be. I consider a lens foot the same as a loose footed because there is no pressure on the lens foot. A standard main, particularly a sail with a bolt rope foot will distribute the pressure more evenly across the foot where a lens footed and loose footed main will concentrate all the effort that moves the boat forward between the tack and the clew. The tack is supported and for end of boom sheeting, so is the clew. Two or three years ago I watched a Mumm 30 lose their boom on a jibe. Loose footed main that snapped right at the bail for the mid boom sheeting.

Respectfully, I guess we need to agree to disagree.

ahoy, I, too, am hoping to get a new mainsail for next season. I would like a loose footed, full battened main for Artemis, Triton #703. My concern is the mast track, which is original, seemingly in good condition. Is it required to change the mast track to go with full battens? This would nearly double the cost of this upgrade. What has the rest of the "fleet" done?
Can' wait for spring!
thanks and fairwinds,
steve

This would work...about $30 a foot though!!!

http://www.tidesmarine.com/sail-track.shtml

Slips over bronze track.

The original mast track should work fine on a main the size of a Triton's. On a boat 35 feet long or larger the track could probably be an issue.

Ric in Richmond wrote:This would work...about $30 a foot though!!!

http://www.tidesmarine.com/sail-track.shtml

Slips over bronze track.

Worth every single penny.
I also hesitated before pulling the trigger on that one due to cost, but thanked myself the very first time the sail went up, and again every single time after that.