S01-E20 Mizzen Stay Sail: The Secret Weapon for My Sailboat

Flying The Mizzen Stay Sail on a Pearson 424 Ketch out of Chicago's Monroe Harbor. We also demonstrated how to adjust a forward sail's fairlead under tension. This occurred during low wind conditions off of Chicago's Lakefront during the 3 Crib Fiasco Weekend.
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Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com
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A Day to Remember - Benjamin Tissot

[@tyvandm]

Mizzen stay sails are cool, but have you looked at a mule sail? It is in the same area but far superior to the mizzen stay sail 1) can tack/jibe with it up 2) doesn't block any wind from main or head sails 3) doesn't block forward visibility at all 4) incredibly easy to deploy.
Mule + asymmetric spinnaker = heaven
if it looks weird for how it is rigged, it's because the sheet goes to the top of the mizzen, which is an odd thing to imagine at first

[@SailorEricP]

@tyvandm Thanks for the tip. I will look into that. It sounds promising. Thanks for watching.

[@tyvandm]

@@SailorEricP You won't regret it. Note some show the mule with a gaff, but it is not at all needed. Treat it just like the mizzen stay sail, a light wind spinnaker-like sail, and use a similar cut as with the stay sail. It can be put on a roller or used with a sock/bag.
Great video, ketches are as awesome as they are underrated!

[@OnnoKok]

I too have twin backstays from the main mast. Have you had any chafe issues with the luff of the sail rubbing the backstay? Also, have you tried attaching the tack of the sail to the leeward gunwale to see if that helps get the sail around the backstays? Just a thought, I wont have a chance to experiment for a least a month.

[@SailorEricP]

For the Mizzen sail, I have running back stays. I can easily un-tension the non-working (leeward) backstay for the Mizzen to give the sail room and to avoid Chaffe. The main on my Pearson 424 has an attachment that goes back to the Mizzen which acts as its backstay. Thanks for the thought on the tack points. I did try tacking the foot of the Mizzen stay near the foot of the mast on one of the mast pulpit attach points. This seemed to work well, though I might consult my rigger about the appropriateness of using this attachment point in the event of larger wind load. Thanks for your comments and thanks for watching!