I'm sure some of you will recall, in a recent but lost forum discussion, I asked the question of the legality of using hanks and slides on sails under the class rules. I currently have a roller furling system for the jib but would like to go to hanks. I also have two mains, one with boltrope only, the other with slides.
As for headsails, the headfoil/tuffluff system makes the most sense for pure racing but can be a little tricky for shorthanded sailing. Roller furling systems, while really safe and convenient, require sails that are cut differently than the optimum dimensions (deck vs drum mounting) and are a pain to change between racing and cruising configurations.
There were many responses to my original question about the legality of hanks and slides and as I recall that they were determined to be illegal under rule 1.3, "No alternatives or modifications are permitted unless explicitly stated in these rules ". This caused some concern as a number of skippers now race one-design and have mains equipped with slides.
As hanks and slides represent the type of ease of handling and safety mentioned in rule 1.1,
"The J/30 is a one design class, created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing, handicap and offshore racing. These rules are intended to preserve important design characteristics: ease of handling, low cost of ownership, safety and comfort."
I'd like to continue this dialogue and investigate modifying the rules to allow hanks and slides as alternatives.
Obviously the chief concern over such an amendment would be any significant performance advantage that might be realized by the changes. I think the argument for slides is a no-brainer. Since they only add to weight aloft and create a less-clean leading edge on the main they are more likely to detract from performance than add to it.
Hanks are another story. It could be reasonably argued that they represent a performance improvement through less weight aloft than a foil or that luff shape (tension) can be more precisely controlled. It could also be argued the other way - that hanks degrade performance by presenting a less clean leading edge (hanks, forestay, scallops, etc.) or that it takes longer to do headsail changes during a race.
My gut feeling is that all these effects are small and probably even out in the wash. I'd really like to hear what the rest of the association thinks. Please sound your horns
Jeff Sammis
#295
