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Questions about using a sock with my drifter. . .

I just obtained a reasonably priced sock to use with a second-hand drifter for gentle air. I hung it the other day from my light air halyard to see how the setup should be configured. When I raised the sock, it occurred to me I should have put a strop between the head of the drifter and the sock. This would let the head of the drifter come free of the mast, which would let it rotate better. Without a strop, the head is captured right at the mast. . .

 

Am I on the right track here? I'll do some experimenting, but do we have any voices of affirmation here?

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Kim,

The Hei Matau came with a drifter and sock that looked barely used.  I've never used one, so it took me some time to figure it out, and I am still doing so to some degree.  My sock has about a 7 inch length of ss cable with an eye on each end, and it is attached to the swivel at the head of the sail on one end, and to a small line spanning the diameter of the top opening of the sock on the other end.  At first, I kept attaching my halyard to the swivel, thinking that would be strongest, but the sock would never retract far enough to allow the sail to open fully at the top and unwind via the swivel.  It finally dawned on me to instead attach the halyard to the sock end of the cable, which allowed the sock to retract past the head of the sail, freeing up the swivel to do its job.  This worked great.  So, in short, yes I think you're on the right track.  Let me know if you need photos, and I'll try to snap some next time I'm up at the boat.

Yeah, Randall: the pennant (better choice of word than "strop") definitely lets the sail set free. Post your photos, please!

Hi Kim,

Here is a shot of the rigging at the head of my drifter.  My finger is pointing at the proper end of the pennant to attach to the halyard. Hope that helps!

R

Yes, that is what I have done. Are you using an adjustable tack, Randall? This allows you to raise the tack when off the wind, and lower the tack upwind.
No, I haven't tried that, but it makes good sense.  I have a small 4x tackle that I use for a jib downhaul (and to tighten my frapps when assembling), so perhaps I should make up another.  What's yours like?

Here's a shot of the original setup:

There are blocks shackled to doubled loops at the bows, with the line running back to the cockpit through fairleads. These lines were great for tripping over, so my plan is to re-route lines under the trampoline, up through the cockpit floor.  These lines move the block between the bows to port or starboard, and the block itself is used for the adjustable tack line.

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