outhaul tension

[409_old]

The boat I bought last year had bungy running the length of the boom to give outhaul tension

I have not seen that on any other boat.

Am I correct in thinking that it is like the laser, when i let the outhaul off the wind then slackens the sail, ie there is no bungy anywhere?

[Alan Price 543]

I've got a continuous length of shockcord taken off one of the mainsheet pullies, round the sail clew shackle and back to the same pulley so that when the outhaul is released the shockcord pulls the sail back in away from the end fo the boom adding fullness.
This works really well on my OK but is a bit sluggish on the Supernova if I realease the outhaul on a downwind leg.But I found that if I release the outhaul while still set up on the beat, the sail pulls in and fills very quickly. Do this at the windward mark and the fuller sail is all ready for the off wind stuff.

[Tony-is now kitesurfing_old]

Dear 409,
If you take a look at the photograph in the 'introduction' section of this web site, particularly the last photo at the bottom. This shows the outhaul as supplied if you have this system then this is where your problem lies.
The pulley lying on the top of the boom creates a hell of a lot of friction so won't release the foot in light airs downwind or any wind. What you need to do is put a shackle through the clew eyelet and attached that pulley to it so it slopes down to the pulley at the end of the boom (not touching boom). With a light section of elestic attached as described in previous post it will work everytime in any conditions. Another good mod for the outhaul is to put another pulley inside the boom to add additional purchase. This makes ease of alteration in strong winds whilst sailing upwind, offwind or downwind.