IMPORTANT MESSAGE

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June 2002

Large Roach Mainsails

As a result of the referral to the Central Council, see below, the following message has been received:-

From PHRF-LO Executive Council

There is a feeling that Sail makers & owners are beginning to take advantage of our current grandfather clause regarding Mainsails.
Discussion on modified cranes & deflector battens. Agreement that these items make a boat MODIFIED.

· New direction to all Handicappers – all new mains are to be measured (this includes all new Certificates on boats not currently in PHRF-LO data base). No new Certificate is to be issued without the mainsail measurement.

May 2002

At a recent meeting of PHRF-LO Toronto East District handicappers, the question of large roach sails was discussed. It was agreed that as rule 5.2.1 stands, the “Handicappers Council” must individually rate any sail that does not match the manufacturer’s spec or that does not have a manufacturer’s spec. This was felt to be unacceptable and seen to be inconsistent with some sailmakers' practice. The meeting agreed that this rule be submitted to the central council for review and that no other action should be taken at this time.

As far as a new spec for Viking mainsails is concerned:-

Do we want a sail that catches on the backstay? NO
Do we want to maximize the boat’s performance? YES
Can we specify the chord distance rather than the “flat” distance? NO See diagram. The sail girth when flying is obviously much less than its girth when measured flat. This is adjustable particularly with full-length battens.
It could be said that full battens are outside class rules since they were not included in the original design. Do we want to keep full battens? YES
Is there any difference in principle between having an “oversized” mainsail under PHRF than under Class? NO
In 1992, the Association decided to harmonize the Headsail dimension with PHRF. Do we want to continue that philosophy? YES

We have until the AGM early in 2003 to decide just how to put our wishes on paper. Until then the voting is currently (May 16) running 80% in favour of a sail that can be used under PHRF without penalty. I will leave the voting open for any latecomers.

click here for Members comments

Please vote for your preferred option by sending a blank email to one of the following addresses:

Go to PHRF mainsail

Stay Class

Other option please state

March 2002

For anyone considering the purchase of a new main, please be aware of the following.

The Viking 28 Association rules state “Sail measurements listed per the standard certified sail plan are maximum measurements”.

The standard sail plan is C & C’s drawing no. 67-5-6 dated Dec 21/67, which is to scale but does not specify MGM or MGU.

Some sailmakers have "optimized the mainsail to the PHRF rule" ignoring item 5.2.1 in the Handicapper's Manual and the CLASS rules.

The specific measurements concerned are the Mid Girth (MGM) and Upper Girth (MGU) . PHRF states that only in the absence of a manufacturers standard and the absence of a permanent backstay will it be necessary to measure MGM and MGU.

It seems to me that for both PHRF and class racing a standard sail or at least one that does not exceed the aft triangle should be used.

Over the last few years several owners have no doubt purchased new mainsails. However, I know of only two sailmakers to have made Viking mains recently. These are Triton and North and I have measured two new sails and made a comparison to the standard drawing. I also measured two older, possibly original, sails. These old sails were both smaller than the standard plan.

The Triton sail was larger than the plan but would not touch the backstay at any point. The North sail seems to be about 7.75" passed the backstay at the MGU point. This results in over 4 ft² of area outside the aft triangle and about 6 ft² larger than the standard plan. The Triton sail exceed the plan by about 4" at the MGM point. This results in about 2.4 ft² of area in excess of the plan.

Please email me your views and opinions on this issue. mailto:andrew@viking28.com

ft	67-5-6	North	Triton	Old A	Old B
MGU	3.8	4.625	4.0	3.8	3.71
MGM	6.75	7.29	6.96	6.58	6.5

PHRF-LO Rating Rule

5.2 MAINSAIL

5.2.1 SP is based upon manufacturers standard mainsail. If no such standard exists, the Handicappers Council will make a determination.

5.2.2 No adjustment for mainsails smaller than standard.

5.2.3 MGML(MID GIRTH LIMIT) =( 0.5 x E ) + (0.022 x P) + 1.2 ft.

MGUL(UPPER GIRTH LIMIT) = (0.28 x E) + (0.016 x P) + 0.85 FT.

HBL (HEADBOARD LIMIT) = max[( 0.04 x E) or ( .5 ft )] WHICHEVER IS GREATER

PC (CORRECTED P) = P + (MGM-MGML) + (MGU-MGUL) + (HB-HBL)

RSAM (RATED SAIL AREA MAIN) = ( 0.35 x E x PC)+ ( 0.2 x E ( PC-2 x E))

MA (CORRECTED MAINSAIL AREA) = (RSAM(actual) ¸ RSAM(std) ) x l00

5.2.4 Rating adjustments are tabulated as follows:

SIZE RANGE (MA %) ADJUSTMENT (sec/mile) CODE (3rd digit)

109.1 and up -9 8 -9 8

106.1 - 109 -6 7 -6 7

103.1 - 106 -3 6 -3 6

up to 103 0 5 0 5

5.2.5 Full length batten policy:

Full length battens are allowed with no penalty provided that there is at

least 3 ft. between battens and it otherwise complies with section 5.2.3

and 5.2.4.

5.2.6 Mainsail measurements will be optional where permanent backstays are present.

Information regarding the presence and number of full-length battens will be sought.