Appendix III: Ken Jensen's Beloved Wayfarer Trysail
Photos by Ken Jensen, Heinz Dieter Luetzenkirchem and Al Schonborn/Hans Gottschling.
Text written by Ken Jensen, compiled and edited by Dick Harrington.
the Trysail as seen in KISS Your Dinghy
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Introduction:  For reasons of safety and survival at sea in W1348 “Maitken” the idea of a W-trysail was adapted from Heavy Weather Sailing by Alard Coles in 1968 – this took place through several modifications.  At the time we (there were five Wayfarers) were training in navigation, night sailing, seamanship, and adjusting to weather-changes - sailing non-stop for 24 hours from Copenhagen between the Baltic Sea in the south and the Kattegat Sea in the north.  The very first time our W-trysail was used in earnest was when my two sons (then 12 and 14) and I, during a dark, rainy, windy night in a cold front made a passage from the Bay of Koge – which is known for big waves due to open water - on the way to Poland.  We logged 112.6 nm in 24 hours.     


(above left) Look closely….do you see three genoa/jibs?  Here W1348 is seen in 2006 on Oslo Fjord with winged genoa (starboard) and winged W-trysail (port), plus another jib hanging under the spinnaker boom, which serves as the trysail boom.  Ken is headed in towards the shelter of home waters.  The wind is approx. 10 – 12 m/sec (F-5)—a small gale in Norwegian.  (See www.wayfarejollerdk/10390)
(above right) Shown is double reefed mainsail done the ordinary way.  Compare this to the W-trysails shown in the next two photos below.  Note that with the W-trysail there is small chance for the boom to catch the waves as is clearly possible using a reefed W-mainsail.  (K.J. notes that the reefed main can be improved by raising the boom.  This can be accomplished by one, or both, of the following: a) If the gooseneck is the adjustable type the boom and sail can be raised higher; b) If the sail is roll reefed the boom-end-lifting mini/flat reef can be used to lift the end of the boom.)


Ken's W1348 Maitken with W-trysail (Photo by K.J.)

My W-trysail from 1968 did not use a pole, which is okay when close-hauled, i.e. close reaching.  Two years ago Gudtorn Heldal (W7172) and I sailed 11 hours non-stop from Larvik to Drammen and used his W-trysail part of the way.  He showed me his idea of using the spinnaker pole between a small loop in the tack eye to a small loop in the sheet eye making the sail a boom-loose-footed mainsail.  I found his idea especially efficient on a broad reach and a run as it wings the sails out better.

The foot of my oldest genoa is actually about 5 inches too long for the spinnaker boom.  My newest one, made like a medium genoa by Mike McNamara, is about 4 inches short which is no problem.  The third genoa is right on the ‘money’.  These two later genoas are made with a luff bolt rope to fit inside the sail groove of the mast like a mainsail.  My W-trysail is rolled/folded on the extra spinnaker boom and stowed under the side-decks for easy access.

I use an ordinary W-class spinnaker boom.  Having two thereof I leave my W-trysail on one of them.  However, two narrow loops, one in the tack eye and one in the sheet eye hook onto the ends of the spi pole so any ordinary W-genoa with the short foot length or a medium W-genoa can very quickly be fitted to the pole—if this is wanted!  My older W-trysails were used for many years without a boom.  The gooseneck on W1348 is NOT used with the W-trysail-boom.  (See the diagram below.)
 
  
 
The W-trysail(s) for W1348 has double sheets, like an ordinary foresail, no kicker, but a preventer line is sometimes used on a run in a ‘bumpy’ seaway.  I forgot to free it for the gibe causing my *well deserved capsize* in 2006.  On that trip on a dead run—there were many sea-miles and good size breakers in 25-28 knots of wind on the open fjord coming straight from the Skagerack Sea, so the W-trysail moved up and down.  With a more stabilized sail due to the preventer (the line goes via the spi-sheet hook(s) near the chain plates to a cleat) I got wonderful, stable, speedy surfing and planing … until the need to gibe! My ‘short term memory deficiency’ kicked in here!


Heinz-Dieter’s W10390 Ramp with W-trysail equal to the W-genoa size and with W-jib forward.  (Photo H.D.)

Published in the Wayfarer News Spring 2009, issue 115, is Heinz Dieter Luetzenkirchen’s log of the 2008 cruise made by Heinz Dieter and Ken Jensen.  (Translation to English by K.J.)  They departed from Amel – Sweden in W10390 Ramp and traveled via Lake Vanern (the Gota River-Albrektsounds Canal) to Fredrikstad – Norway, on the coast of the Skagerack Sea.  The weather was pleasant until arriving upon the Skagerack Sea.  There followed several days of heavy weather sailing in gale force conditions.  It was there that H.D.’s W-trysail got extensively used--Ed. ( See www.wayfarerjoller.dk/10390 )      

 
Ramp W10390 with W-jib as W-trysail, which pushed us onto surfs and short planes in a fully cruising-loaded condition during the 2008 Amal – Frederikstad cruise.


Shows Ramp with boom on gooseneck and the cunningham used as the downhaul on the W-trysail.  The lowest glider/slide of the W-trysail is visible in the mast groove.  (Obviously a leading sail edge that will slide into the sail groove is an advantage for the solo sailor.)

 
W-trysail sheet going aft and the line for the kicker/vang or boom-downhaul
goes forward to the ordinary boom-vang adjustment system.


The hook for the foresails mounted to the spi-pole and locked with the locking-pin.  (Photo by H.D.)


The pole end to be hooked onto the mast’s forward-facing pole eye for spreading a foresail, or used aft-wards
for the W-trysail’s sheet and kicker lines.  Also the inner and outer tubes are shown.  (Photo by H.D.)


Multipurpose adaptors for the telescopic spi-pole.
Boat hook – pole with end fitting, locking pin and hole—hook for foresails/spinnaker.  (Photo by H.D.)

Heinz-Dieter, W10390, is an ingenious engineer who makes special kinds of things for his Wayfarer—as shown in the three photos above. His spi-pole is a telescopic type that will serve a spinnaker and the W-jib/W-genoa as a W-trysail boom.  The open forward end of the spi-pole is put on the gooseneck. When used as a spinnaker/whisker pole it has a ‘click-on’ hook.    

Uncle Al and Hans Gottschling brought a W-trysail with them for trial at the 2008 Chesapeake Bay cruise.  The W-trysail is an older full size genoa that Al had lying around.  Hans custom made the boom to fit.  They were very pleased with the sail’s performance.


Uncle Al trying out his W-trysail in Crisfield, sailing Hans Gottschling‘s ‘woody’ Nutshell.  (Photo by Hans)


Hans Gottschling shown with his custom-made W-trysail boom.  (Photo by Uncle Al)