Sails for Tiki 26}options]

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Anonymous (not verified)
Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Have just completed building a Tiki 26 its now time to order the sails.I have a 26ft aluminal masts with a sail track in it.Ive built the gaff but my sailing friends are trying to talk me into having regular sails and not a gaff rig setup.Part of the reasoning is that if anything happens to my sail it would be alot easier to pick up a regular sail as I sail thro the Pacific and also they feel they are better designed,Id like to here from anyone that has rigged there tiki without the Gaff or anybody that can shed alittle light on these options Thanks
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
We delivered two Tiki 8ms ( Tiki 26 in glass) with aluminum masts and full batten marconi sails. I like them, the captains like them very much. They take them out for three sails a day seven days a week. BBBBut. We used masts that are 36' tall and with booms that are 13' long. These boats are sailed by professional captains and they understand that they need to reef when the true wind gets to about 15. But they sell sailboat rides and the wind is very frequently below 10. They have enough sail area to sail well in light wind. If you switch from a gaff sail to a marconi and keep the same size rig you will definitely be light on sail area. Keep in mind that I like like to sail fast and this is not what everyone cares for so this is just my nickles worth. David [img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/boatsmith/4679731748/[/img]
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Thanks Dave that makes sense Ill stick with the Gaff rig
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Stick with the Gaff rig, I sailed my Tiki 21 around the world with one set of sails - main and working jib with a reef half way up it. I still have the sails and they work fine. I just replaced them as I felt possible UV degradation will have weakened them for my latest upwind sail across the Atlantic. If you plan long distance sailing, I can't praise the Tiki wingsail rig enough - so versatile, safe, powerful and you can set downwind rig for thousands of miles with absolutely NO chafe at all. Do put 3 reefs in the main. Slowing the Tikis down at sea to a safe cruising speed is more of an issue than trying to go fast!!! Send me an email through this forum and I will be happy to email you loads of pics of the many ways in which you can rig up the Tiki sails. Cheers Rory
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Rory, Can you put a link on the site so we can all see you rig options, please? Tiki21
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Rory, Can you put a link on the site so we can all see you rig options, please? Tiki21
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Thanks Rory,my email address is jamesrcarney@yahoo.com
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Having been out on my dinghy cat today, fully battened with mast track, I suggest you stick with the sleeved wing sail. On my small cat, unless you are completely head to wind, the batten pressure against the mast makes it really hard to hoist or drop. By comparison, the sail on my tiki 21 are so easy to handle which is god send, particularly when short handed. Surely the centre is lower on a wing sail eliminating the possibility of capsize.
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Hey Rory, if possible, I'd like to receive your pics, I've just rebuild a Tiki 21 and begin my first sailings, so I surely need inspirations and experience! My address is tcolom@tiscali.it Thanks by now. Tommaso Colombini - Firenze
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Sorry it's taken a while to get back to this thread. Here is a pic showing the gaff pressed against the shrouds when the main is hoisted in normal mode. The big jib is goosewinged to stbd of the mast. Yes - I set the jib flying from the top of the mast and tack it to a cleat at the bottom of the mast. It works as a great mass of downwind sail either side of the mast and catches fantastic air! [attachment=2]P1010018.JPG[/attachment] This second shot now shows the gaff when hoisted forward of the shrouds - bingo, no chafe at all and can sail up to an apparent beam reach before starting to luff. With the mainsail out so far - it makes it much easier to balance the helm and get Cookie to self steer at up to 7kts average. We peaked at 17.1kts on one surf on the way home with the windvane steering!! You can see a towel up the rig drying out too. [attachment=1]PICT0153.JPG[/attachment] This shot shows the foot of the main sheeted outboard of the shrouds. [attachment=0]P1010193.JPG[/attachment] I will add more photos in another post Cheers Rory
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
More sail pics. this shot shows the full main sheeted outboard of the shrouds. [attachment=2]PICT0150.JPG[/attachment] I love catamarans where you have such a wide platform on which to string up the sails!! This shot shows the jib flying off the windward bow. On a broad reach this moves the jib much further out from behind the mainsail and into clear air. The jib can be flown like this up to an apparent beam reach. I use this split-sail combo lots at sea as you are rarely ever straight downwind. [attachment=1]PICT0152.JPG[/attachment] This last shot shows the main and big drifter goosewinged off the mast. As you see it closes the gap at the mast and spreads huge amount of sail for giving good speed straight downwind. In winds of 15kts or less Cookie often surfs faster than the wind making all the sails backwind and then billow fwd to pull her off on the next surf!![attachment=0]P1010174.JPG[/attachment] Hope these photos help convince Tiki sailors and builders that the gaff-wing rig is so well suited to these cats. It is so easy to use and powerful too. All those skeptics who say the gaff main won't go to windward.........I beg to differ. I'll post a few pics next on how powerful the wing main is! Cheers, Rory ;)
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]

Sick of boring sail photos yet????? there's more!! this shows Cookies full main and big jib hauled in tight going to windward in calm conditions.[attachment=2]P5190049.JPG[/attachment] These 2 shots show the powerful shape of Cookie's new mainsail. [attachment=1]P5190051.JPG[/attachment] [attachment=0]P5190052.JPG[/attachment] This time I had Westaway Sails add 3 leach battens between the reef points to give a positive curved leech. Definitely more powerful to windward than the old main with a leech that curved inwards and hooked a little to windward. You can probably tell - I couldn't be happier with Cookie's sails and expect these new ones will last another 20 years! I do also recommend you get 3 reefs in your Tiki sails. Although you may well not cross oceans or venture too far offshore, you will get caught in squalls or weather fronts at some stage. With the Tikis being fairly lightweight, it really helps to be able to reduce sail and still keep making safe progress when the weather turns violent. :shock: Cheers Rory

Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Last post on sails from me.....................promise!!! this blurry shot is in 35kts with triple reefed main and storm jib up. [attachment=1]PICT0113.JPG[/attachment] The Jester Challenge certainly gave ample time testing Cookie going to windward in open ocean. Much of my previous voyaging was with the wind and if the wind turned against, I would just heave-to or lay-a-hull and wait for the weather to change. With the Jester Challenge there was no option - I had to figure out how to drive Cookie onwards into the westerlies, safely but swiftly. After 19 years I learned a whole lot more about Cookie and the Tiki 21 and am happy to share what I discovered. It's not a surprise that when when you reef down in a Tiki 21 the center of effort moves forward. If you keep a large sized jib up and put reefs in the main, you start getting quite alarming lee helm and the bows get blown sideways every time they leap off a wave. I used to take the main down to the second reef before I reduced the working jib . Now I put the 1st reef in the main at about 18kts, then after that I reef the working jib so it is half it's size. With this sail combo Cookie drives hard to windward in up to 25kts wind and has a nicely balanced helm. After that the 2nd reef goes in the main. For you folks with roller furling jibs, it will be best to keep making sure the main is much larger in area than the jib when going to windward. This will ensure the least leeway and best drive of your Tiki through the waves. This shot is with double reefed main and reefed working jib. Cookie is hove-to for me to cook dinner.[attachment=0]PICT0024.JPG[/attachment] I am sure most new Tiki sailors will not have the problem of how to make their boats sail fast...........but rather to slow them down when the wind starts to blow hard!! :? Happy sails to all Cheers Rory
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Rory, thanks for taking the time to post all these photos of different sail configurations. Great ideas for different conditions and points of sail. Congrats on the fantastic voyage both ways across the pond as well! Scott
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
+10!! Much appreciated, Rory. . .A wonderful repertoire, gained by much experience 8-) I saved all the pictures for reference. I was out in Vaea Thursday and was able to give my new sails and rigging a good workout in 10k of breeze. I had a sailor on board who had never sailed on a tiki before who really enjoyed the ride. We were averaging 9.5k, and peaked at 12k of boat speed. I gave him the helm and I handled the sheets: it was a good day!
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Beautiful explaination Rory. The mainsail in the shroud is an irritation which few rigs can overcome like this. I also set the tiki mainsail forward of the shroud on Peregrine on the way to Hawaii but dropped the technique later because in the fluky wind of the equatorial waters I sailed it was too much work jibing; dropping the sail, untieing the halyard and retieing it, pushing the sail to the other side of the boat, then raising. Now, to my joy, using the technique with the crab claw is far easier yet. The shroud can be untied, passed between the sail and the mast and retied on the other side. Or, if untieing a shroud is too scarry, the sail can be brailed then passed around the shroud (without dropping). So its so easy I always set the mizzen like this. It makes a huge difference to self steering, the difference between success and failure.
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Sails for Tiki 26}options]
Hi all, Rory frist, congratulations about your Noth Atlantic East/West crossing, and all great sailing passages. I look your photos and don't identificated if your mast and your crab claw is wood or aluminium...and yours stays sistem...please post more photos. Your are the frist guy here talk about TIKI in upwind...TIKI 21 sailing in how wind angle? In upwind. P.S : Fantastic yours sail combinations... Sorry my poor english, I'm a brasilian Roger Martin
HeavyMetal
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Last seen: 8 years 6 months ago
Joined: 27/09/2015 - 02:12
I know this is a really old

I know this is a really old thread...
But I would love to be able to get the pictures the Rory posted.
Thanks

colrodrick
Offline
Last seen: 6 years 9 months ago
Joined: 23/04/2016 - 09:32
Rory's Rig Images

Hi guys

I would like to second the post from HeavyMetal chap above.  I also understand how much water flowed under the bridge, but having access to such gold as Rory's contribution to the Tiki knowledge base is just too good an opportunity to pass up.  Is there a better well-known tiki 21 adventurer on the planet?  I don't believe so.

The images attached no longer appear to be active.

If someone is monitoring this thread, would it be possible to retrieve them please?

I am thinking that the Wharram team is probably busy preparing for their trip to the States.  Don't have too much fun.

So, perhaps they might have a look at this when they return?

cheers

Col