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Hi, Captain Flint (Design 8, Angell keel-stepped carbon mast)  has a mast ram and lowers.  Do I actually need both of these?  If I don't, which should I keep?  I'm only guessing, but I should think the mast ram is what she was built with, and the lowers came with the carbon rig (probably when Tim Tomlinson  owned her, about 2000.)   Any suggestions would be enormously appreciated  - it would be nice to simplicate the rig a bit, but I don't want to have the mast  go over the side!  Dave   

Hi,  does anyone think it would be a good idea to de-tension the top batten a bit when the wind is very light?  It occurs to me that it might be good to get the top of the sail a bit flatter, and maybe make the batten a little easier to pop through when tacking and gybing.   The pic shows what conditions were like on Sunday. 

I guess you can easily tell from what boats we've got around us how much we were struggling in this one!  Dave Cooper

We had our main halyard break this morning.  Halfway up the first beat !   It's got (or rather, had!) a ball on the business end and it's the sort where you tuck a loop through the hole in the headboard and then put the ball through the loop.  It looks like it broke where it goes through the headboard.  Question 1 is:  Is this the best way to make the halyard fast to the sail or is there a better way?
While I'm re-rigging the halyard, I'm wondering if I should also change the cleat.  It's just got a clam cleat with a block below it, so it's pretty convenient to haul the halyard right up to the top and then nudge the rope into the cleat before letting the tension go.   The main has dropped down a couple of times while we've been racing though so it obviously isn't foolproof.   Would I be better with the sort of cleat you figure-8 the halyard round or is there any other kind people would recommend?  I did think about having a soft eye in the end of the halyard and using a rack, dunno if anyone thinks that's a good idea?
Any suggestions gratefully received!
Dave 
N3405