Confused: 2 clew grommets

David Sanderson · 02 Aug 2022, 04:56

Evening all.
I just got a 12 (3490) and it has come with 4(!) jibs. From the dates of measurement I can tell which is oldest and which newest. I think I should use the newest ( it was measured in 2010)
These are the 4 jibs:

The newest isn't triangular, and for some reason it has 2 grommets at the clew.

I guess that one is sheets and one is for the dangly pole? Can anyone confirm that?

Cheers
Dave

NTOACertification · 03 Aug 2022, 02:40

Dave the second grommet is not legal. ( all attachments, must be in close proximity to the Head tack or Clew)
The jib pole line should be attached to the clew cringle.
Because jibs tend to deteriorate quicker than mainsails, when you have a choice of jibs, it better to use an older one when it is very windy.
The jib with the extra cringle has a very wide head which was legal at the time it was measured but the width of the the head has now been limited to 100mm under the current rules.
The very wide head tends loose its efficiency after a while.

Kevan

David Sanderson · 04 Aug 2022, 07:26

Thanks for the info. I guess that the definition of "close to the tack" might have changed as well?
Is that jib ok to use whilst "just sailing", or is it likely to be quite different to a legal one in feel?

Dave

Kevin Iles · 04 Aug 2022, 02:43

Without knowing the history of the sails with the boat it is difficult to be certain why anything is as it is. My guess is that the sail may have originally been made for a different boat with jib sheeting arrangements which differ to those on your boat and sold after a season or two to the then owner of 3490 who, finding he could not get the sail to set, had a second "grommet" put in to remedy the issue. Have you tried asking the previous owner?

So far as I am aware, the rules have never limited the number of "grommets" in any sail, but Kevan is right in stating there can only be one clew cringle. From a practical point of view, when sailing I think it would become obvious fairly quickly whether or not you are using the correct (for your boat) sheeting point.

Kevan