Submitted on September 17, 2004 by Russ Brown

Question: I have a fully battened mainsail that when hoisted all the way to the top
of the mast fouls with the topping lift near the peak. The boat is twenty years old
and I’ve had it a few years. I can’t believe that this fouling has always been there.
It appears to me that the main sail extends too far up the mast. Am I setting something up wrong or what?

Regards,
Russ Brown

Answer: Hi Russ, If your sail is also many seasons old, it has grown longer along the luff edge (as well as the leech and foot) and that might be why you can hoist it enough to interfere with the topping lift. The sail could be shortened on the luff and leech. The simplest recut would involve cutting the sail just below the headboard
and installing some longer reinforcing layers of fabric along with a new headboard. Then the leech would be trimmed from the aft upper corner of the new headboard to the leech end of the top batten. This will allow you to keep the luff of the sail tight
but the head will be 6-9" lower on the mast.

Regards,
Dan Neri

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