Halyards and
cunninghams
Halyards are lines used to pull the sails up and
to adjust the position of the draft (sail camber,
curvature or “fullness”) fore or aft in the
sail. They don’t significantly alter whether the
sail is more full or less full. More tension on the
halyards brings the draft of the sail forward; less
tension drops it back. (at right)
Cunninghams are down haul lines for fine tuning luff
tension after the halyard is tightened and cleated off.
It has the same effect on the draft as the halyard.
Mainsail outhaul
Line used to flatten or make fuller the bottom
third of the sail. Tightening the outhaul flattens this
part of the sail and makes the aft section (exit or
leech) straighter. Loosening the outhaul makes the sail
fuller in the bottom so the leech becomes a rounder,
fuller exit, providing more power. (at right)
Main sheet
Line giving control over the movement of the
boom. Upwind, it is used to control sail twist (tighter
mainsheet reduces twist, looser mainsheet increases it).
Downwind it is used to control the lateral position of
the boom in and out. As the mainsheet is tightened,
the boom is lowered, and the the twist is pulled out.(at
right)
Boom vang
A line at 45 degrees from bottom of mast to
underside of boom. This adjustment is predominantly used
when sailing off the wind to control sail twist.
Tightening boom vang reduces twist, loosening increases
twist.
Genoa sheet
Increase sheet tension always reduces twist,
but—and this depends on the position of the fairlead
—genoa sheet tension also has an effect on the
fullness of the sail. If the fairlead is a long way
forward the sail will tend to get fuller as the sheet is
tightened. If the fairlead is a long way back, the sail
will get flatter, especially in the bottom third.
Genoa fairlead
Block through which genoa sheet passes. This has
two functions which are interactive: moving the fairlead
aft will tend to increase twist and, at the same time,
flatten the bottom third of the sail. Moving the fairlead
forward reduces twist and makes the bottom of the sail
fuller. (figure 4) Fairlead back tightens the foot,
flattening the bottom third of the sail, and letting the
leech raise up (more twist). Fairlead forward creates a
fuller sail, but pulls the leech down,reducing twist.
Backstay 
The backstay is the single most effective
adjustment on any boat (except those with extremely stiff
masts). Increasingly backstay tension flattens both the
mainsail and jib simultaneously, as follows: It pulls the
mast top backward, which flexes the middle of the mast
forward, thus flattening the mainsail. This also makes
the forestay tighter, which pulls the jib body forward,
flattening it as well, especially in the entry. (at
right)
Woven materials
Any material that is made up of individual yarns
woven together to form a fabric. It can be finished to
different levels of stiffness through the addition of a
coating of hardener. (Tetoron, Dacron, polyester, Nylon,
and other company trade names)
Kevlar ™
Describes a fabric which has Kevlar yarns for
extra strength in critical directions. Kevlar is a
man-made fiber of incredible strength and lightness. This
material is made only in laminated form, which means the
Kevlar yarn is glued to a film of plastic-like material.
(Kevlar/mylar, Technora ™ )
Spectra ™
Describes a fabric which has Spectra yarns for
extra strength in critical directions. Spectra is a
man-made fiber with the highest modulus of any of the
fibers mentioned. Spectra has incredible tear strength
and very good U.V. resistance. The material is generally
found in laminated products.
Mylar / Polyester Film
Any fabric which gets its strength from a
backing of plastic film. This material can be either
single sided (film on one side only), or can be a
“scrim” style material (plastic film on both
sides with a strength-giving weave of threads sandwiched
in between).(Laminate)
Parrel beads
A wire strop covered in plastic balls used to
attach free flying sails to the forestay over a
roller-furled sail. (Figure 6)
Oz(USA)
At Neil Pryde we use the industry’s standard
measurement of weight, the American sailmakers’ yard
(36” x 28”). Some sail lofts use English ounces
per square yard although this is becoming increasingly
uncommon. Standard European units are grams per square
meter.
Multi Track Foam Luff
Neil Pryde’s innovative foam luff tape
system that promotes shape flattening of headsails when
using roller furling gear, yet does not permanently
distort with time as do solid foam luff systems.
Broad-seaming
Rounding the edges of sail panels to create
3-Dimensional shape.
(Takeups, shape) (Figure 7)
CDT
“Continuous Development Technique” is
the name of the Neil Pryde computer design system that
creates a sail shape defined in numerical format.
(“mould, “tin plate”)
Warp-oriented
A fabric that has its strongest threads—and
therefore its greatest strength—running along the
length of the cloth. Used in the production of radial
sails.
Fill-oriented
A fabric that has its strongest threads—and
therefore its greatest strength—running along the
width of the cloth. Used in the production of cross-cut
sails.
Overlap—(L.P.) Luff perpendicular
Expressed as a percentage of “J” (the distance
from the bow to the mast) this figure indicates the size
of a specific genoa. Standard sizes are: #1 - 150% #2 -
135% #3 - 105% #4 - 80%
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