Sailing time #3

Ok, back to some sailing today with my Goat Island Skiff!  I had to take a hiatus the past few days to take care of some issues, but this afternoon I picked up my sail from Withum Sailmakers, who added some grommets along the original reef points, and a third reef, which will be the new first reef, half-way from the foot to the original first reef.  See picture.

This set up came highly recommended by the sailmaker, and my buddies over at the Storer Forum thread where we are discussing the Goat's handling characteristics.  This will give me more options for reefing whether I am solo, or with a crewmember.

In addition, I've adjusted my downhaul.  Previously, I had a downhaul that also went to the forward section of the boom and this was affecting my ability to dump power when a gust hit, and this contributed to me dumping the boat in Force 3 when I was solo.  It was a frustrating day, and in so small way my downhaul had a part to play.  This is what the downhaul looks like now.  It's still not what I want, because I lack the hardware, but it's better than what it was, and it the difference was noticeable. 

Now there are some problems in this picture.  I need some more tension at the tack, and you can see the first grommet of the foot is pulled tight against the plastic zip-tie.  Either I need to tie down the entire foot, or re-enforce this area.  This force was created by the extra down force on the downhaul.  This extra force on the downhaul keeps the rig from swinging forward.  Though, as you can see in this pic of my going downwind, the downhaul is not parallel with the mast, because there is still not enough force, and by the end of the sail, the boom had inched forward.  More purchasing power on the downhaul will fix this.

OH! And here she is at anchor.  Pretty!