Hi guys I have been using the same sails for 15 years and now I have a newer one the luff length is 454 where do you mesure from, the foot of the sail or somewhere else.any advice can be good advice let us know your thoughts .cheers Ian
Luff length is normally set up as the distance from the tip of the mast to the bottom of the tack pulley.
So if your luff length is 454, then you'd use a 430 mast, and set your extension to 24 cm and downhaul till your pulleys are as close to touching as you can get.
Note that the luff length is a starting point only, normally you look at the sail, give it a shake, then figure out if you need more or less downhaul for the conditions.
agreed --- but on most sails you can't get the pulleys closer than about 3-5cm and often the printed lengths are not quite right, and the numbers on the differnet brand extensions vary a bit. On my Chinook extension and another brand I use 4cm difference on the same sail/mast combo.
AND as a heavyweight I prefer a stiffer mast so I'd use a 460 / 25 with zero extension and have the pulleys about 4-5cm apart.
Forget the numbers and just rig it right. But you'll probably use a 430 with 26-28cm extension
Does the sail have an adjustable head or is it fixed? Also what size mast(s) do you have? From what you have posted you need a 430cm mast but if the sail has an adjustable head and you have a 460cm mast
