We get a lot of light winds in the Northern Rivers so I bought a 10.7 metre Severne sail to try and make use of them with my foil. I then had to buy a mast extension and another boom as my 2.5 wasn't big enough. I've tried to rig it twice and both times I've dragged as much downhaul on as I could using a rope gripper but and ditto outhaul but the cams are nowhere near going onto the mast. It doesn't help if I back off downhaul.
The only thing I can think of is to borrow a downhaul winder to see if that will help.

Am I missing something?

cheers,

Greg

Downhaul winches are pretty vital for getting cambered sails to the correct tension, but if youre getting the out haul on thn youre getting it to the stage where the cams can be popped on.


theres a method to get them on. once the outhaul is hooked on (With some tension) you let the downhaul back off a bit and then reach into the zipper where the cam is and push bend into the batten whilst simultaneously pushing the cam up onto the mast on the other side of the sail. When theyre all on you can reapply downhaul to the correct tension. Reverse the process to get them off.

If they want to pop off halfway through the process, apply a little more downhaul tension.

Is it on the recommended mast size? Severne mast? Or on a mast that closely matches the bend curve required?

Have you tried bending the mast with outhaul?

By using outhaul in a bow-and-arrow effect it's so much easier to get the mast bent then when using downhaul - which bend the mast via compression.

So rig the sail with downhaul, as far as you can. Add the boom and outhaul the sail flat. Add more downhaul - as that should now be easier. And then fit the cams.
Then re-set the outhaul as required.

A downhaul winch is also a good idea for these big sails.

Downhaul till about 10cm of recommended, out outhauls to recommended or a bit more, let off downhaul about 10-15cm pop cams on by pushing down on the batten and with the other hand up on the cam.

if you've got a Turbo GT it can take a fair bit of effort as I've just discovered. I can rig my Overdrive completely with its 3 cams faster than I can just get 1 Turbo got cam on. I've been told in smaller sizes it easier for some reason.

Severene sails have a sweet spot for getting the cams on, and it is 10-15 cm less than full downhaul. Getting the bottom cam on sometimes needs even further easing, depending on the sail. This is with the outhaul moderately tensioned, with some sails having the outhaul tight will make it harder to get the cams on. My recommendation is once you find that sweet spot, mark your downhaul so you can find it again easily, because if you are outside of it, getting the cams on can be a real bitch.

WHS^ Plus I've found I have to slide my hand inside the sleeve quite close to the cam, push the batten down while squeezing the cam into place with the other hand.

Yes, the rigging sequence for cammed wide luff sleeve sails is very well known. It takes some practice to get things to about the correct points to get the cams on, etc. Give yourself some time to practice this. Don't be in a hurry on the beach.

Note, however, that there is a huge variation in rig tension as designed into the cammed sails. For example, the Sailworks NX cammed race sails have VERY high tension and absolutely require a winch to get the correct downhaul. No prayer of getting it right without a winch. On the other hand, the Maui Sails TR cammed race sails (TR-3 to TR-9 anyway) have low rig tension and can easily be downhauled with just a hand downhaul tool, even the 12.0.

If the above methods don't work, take a look at Andrea Cucchi's Point7 videos on the ACOne race sails. Briefly - downhaul to about 15cm short of full, NO outhaul. Now use a combination of pushing down with your hand inside the luff sleeve and pushing IN with your knee to pop on the middle cams. Now downhaul a bit more and pop on the others. Only then outhaul fully, downhaul fully and tune the battens. It's a serious pain and there's definitely a sweetspot for how far short of fully downhauled you need to be to get the first cams on.

I found the answer for the turbos tonight is to max outhaul, let of down haul about 15cm and out the top cam on first before attempting the bottom one. the next problem to solve is how to get the bloody mast out after sailing. Stick a big screw driver through the loop at the top works well in grass but doesn't work in sand as it just pulls out. I have to say anyone who says it's easier to Rig/de-rig than a full on cammed race sail is talking rubbish.

Hi Greg I think I can help given I sold it to you and have rigged it many times.
I always used a winch and all four pulleys on the tack
Always used a 550mast with the ext at 8 from memory as per specs
Initally down haul to about 3 or 4 (edit) inchs from spec
Connect boom
Apply outhaul firmly
First cam in is the one above boom then the one below boom then top two. Note you must put your hand up inside the luff to press on the battens when putting in the first two cams
Bottom cam last sometimes have to back off downhaul a bit but not the outhaul. Once cams are all in apply the rest of the down haul and down haul it to spec.

Give me call if you want to discuss

Yeah you have to do the down haul and out haul like the other guys have said the to pop the cam on you push the sail down with your hand where the mast sleeve is stitched to the body of the sail, with your other hand pop the cam on. the more you push the sail down the easier it pops on, even to the point of leaning tour body weight on the sail.

Also the bigger the sails get the harder they are to get proper down haul.

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Ben1973 said..
I found the answer for the turbos tonight is to max outhaul, let of down haul about 15cm and out the top cam on first before attempting the bottom one. the next problem to solve is how to get the bloody mast out after sailing. Stick a big screw driver through the loop at the top works well in grass but doesn't work in sand as it just pulls out. I have to say anyone who says it's easier to Rig/de-rig than a full on cammed race sail is talking rubbish.

i have 2 turbo GT's my biggest is a 7.5 and also have a 7.8 reflex, the Turbo is way way easier to rig, i don't even use the reflex it's that much of a pain to rig.

i just pull the down haul to about 5-10cm from full down haul, crank the out haul to about 5cm over what it will end up on, pop the cams on, full down haul, adjust out haul, done.. super easy.

To get the mast out of any sail, twist the mast as you pull it out, some of my wave sails are harder to get the mast out of.

I borrowed a downhaul winch and got LOT'S of downhaul tension. I was about to outhaul when crack! The mast broke.

I think the cause of the saga was that I didn't have the 5.2 mast needed. I was using my 4.9 mast with a fixed mast extension and long mast base. These get the length right but don't allow for any bend at the bottom of the sail. The mast broke about 300 from the bottom.

The lesson is - check exactly what size mast is needed before buying sails. An extension may not help.....

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gregwho said..
I borrowed a downhaul winch and got LOT'S of downhaul tension. I was about to outhaul when crack! The mast broke.

I think the cause of the saga was that I didn't have the 5.2 mast needed. I was using my 4.9 mast with a fixed mast extension and long mast base. These get the length right but don't allow for any bend at the bottom of the sail. The mast broke about 300 from the bottom.

The lesson is - check exactly what size mast is needed before buying sails. An extension may not help.....

So you have a 460 mast now..........Mast length of those massive sails is critical, also a lot of downhaul, then outhaul, pop on the cams, then down haul again.