Best mainsail for single handed sailing

boatmike

boatmike

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Following my previous thread (Westerly v Moody) I am seriously looking at a Westerly Oceanquest centre cockpit version of 1999 vintage that is fitted with a fully battened main and stackpack system. In all my long years I have never sailed one of these although I seem to have used just about everything else! I will be sailing short handed most of the time (SWMBO loves boats but does not pull ropes) .
I like the convenience of in mast reefing but don't like the fact that you have a flat sail with no roach. In principle the FBM and stackpack seems a good idea and the main ought to be able to be raised and dropped from the cockpit. Of course reefing still has to be done on deck and dropping it into lazyjacks does not stow it but I guess coming into harbour its easy to drop it on the way in, berth the boat and tidy up afterwards....... Seems OK. Am I over simplifying? What experience do you good peeps have? Comments please!
 
Single line reefing on a Seldon boom with internal blocks with all lines led back to the cockpit works very well although there is rather a lot of string involved.

A stack pack used in conjunction with full battens and GOOD cars will allow the main to drop and flake perfectly you will only have to take care of the reefing lines that tend to drop out at the boom end but all that needs is for them to be flicked inside the stack pack when you zip it up.

On a large fully battened main you might find that having an electric winch helps in raising the sail as there is a considerable weight but once again ensure you have good cars and maintain them so that they run freely.

Reefing and un-reefing can be done easily and safely from the cockpit single handed with single lines led back to the cockpit with a good autopilot.
 
I single hand a 39’ boat with fully battened mainsail and a stackpack. I wouldn’t choose it any other way.

It self stows beautifully because it’s set up well and has decent cars on the mast track. It also sets well with a good shape.

I don’t even have single line reefing. One tip is to mark the halyard so that you know how much to lower the main to go to the mast and hook the reefing eye on the rams horn.

I couldn’t manage without a decent autopilot.
 
I also sail singlehanded with a fully battened main and stackpack on a Fulmar (¾ rigged so it has a big mainsail) and would choose no other system. Stay with what is on the Oceanquest.
 
I have a fully battened main and stackpack on my Oceanlord. I also have incredibly good harken ball-bearing sliders. Main halyard goes to the cockpit and if I were to make a change to be more single-hand friendly it would be to put a winch on the mast. I *can* haul it up from the cockpit but the extra friction and reduced ability to use all my weight means it's slower than doing it at the mast. Generally there's two of us so I haul at the mast and first mate takes up the slack with a couple of turns round the cockpit winch. Reefing is straight forward: crank in the genoa, head up, let off the main sheet, drop the main halyard (One day I'll get round to marking it...) jump out of the cockpit, hook the cringle on the bullhorn, back to the cockpit, take any slack out of halyard , pull in reefing line, tighten halyard, bear away as necessary, adjust main.

The stackpack doesn't ensure a tidy drop. It's definitely "good enough" for reefing. It would usually be mostly good enough for an emergency drop but at the end of the sail I'll normally motor into the wind and ask first mate to gradually lower the halyard while I run back and forth along the side of the cockpit flaking the sail as it comes down. Flaking care depends on the conditions but just letting it drop would require stuffing rogue bits of sail down before zipping up. On the odd occasion I've done this on my own it's a bit awkward and involves a lot of jumping down to the cockpit to drop bit by bit interspersed with sail tidying. I'm sure if I did it regularly I'd take the drop-first tidy-later approach.
 
Roller furling main is not my cup of tea, but I know people who have them, and make use of them to sail when others with 'better' sails would just motor. That's good in my book.

An ordinary main with slug slides is fine if you have a trustworthy autpilot and well organised hardware and procedures. But if it's a bigger boat, it can get a bit physical.
 
I had a new suit of sails last season. Having a local sail-maker we sat down over a cup of coffee and talked through what was currently on the boat and what my future plans are; single or short handed.

There was a fully battened main and stack pack and we decided to keep it that way after a lot of discussions. The reefing system is like the one below and works for me. Everything can be done from the cockpit.

https://flic.kr/p/RZwj5F
 
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I happen to have roller reefing and had a new set of good quality sails made a few years ago. I like it and it's true, the sail comes out more often than it would if I had slab reefing - I will motor-sail into foul weather instead of sail - I play with the sail area to get the boat "in the groove" - but just because I can and it's easy. I put on the autopilot, roll out some main for stability and hide under the spray-hood where it is warm and dry - but I'm a leisure sailer in the Med and certainly no racer, so ultimate sailing performance is not that important to me.

IMHO, whatever you think of the advantages/disadvantages of roller vs. slab it would be almost impossible to justify swapping one rig set-up for the other on an already built boat. If you really like the boat, then go with the setup you have and learn to single-hand it. It can be modified if necessary to make it more manageable/convenient for you, but as seen in the earlier posts, it is perfectly possible to single-hand a slab reef with lazyjacks.

When I was a kid on my parents boats roller reefing sails, lazyjacks and autopilots were all unheard of on your average cruising yacht - people still single-handed, just on relatively smaller boats.

With the relative rarity of the boat you have found, (compared to the number of used Bavs for example), holding out for another good one with roller reefing is simply not worth it - forget any ideas about converting to roller reefing, the cost/benefit of a conversion will never stack up :cool: - just go with what you have if you like the boat. :encouragement:
 
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Another vote for the fully battened main. I sail a 39 ft boat singlehanded without problems.
What is different in my set-up compared with most others, is that I have separate reefing lines at the luff and the leech. The absolute advantage is that taking in a reef is very easy and quick. In less than two minutes I’m sailing again. It means you have more string in the cockpit, which is a drawback, but a bit of discipline in tidying up takes care of that.
I do not have a stackpack, only lazy jacks, so dropping the sail may look a bit untidy, but it is adequate to moor the boat without problems and then there is ample time for a neat harbour stow.
 
LittleSister said:
Best mainsail if ease of use single-handed were your sole criterion would be junk rig.

Of course, other factors may come into play, not least of which would be that your mast/s is/are probably in the wrong place for it! :D
Click to expand...

The ability to be able to raise or lower the sail on any point of sailing would be a great advantage as far as I am concerned.
 
I am a creaky old fart and single hand a 44 ft cutter. My full batten main comes with lazy jacks but no single line reefing. I have a reliable autopilot so although putting a slab in requires a visit to the mast it is no big deal.

I am lucky in that sailing in the Caribbean comes with fairly predictable wind speeds so I can decide on a mainsail size and then play with the genoa to get a comfortable ride.
 
boatmike said:
Following my previous thread (Westerly v Moody) I am seriously looking at a Westerly Oceanquest centre cockpit version of 1999 vintage that is fitted with a fully battened main and stackpack system. In all my long years I have never sailed one of these although I seem to have used just about everything else! I will be sailing short handed most of the time (SWMBO loves boats but does not pull ropes) .
I like the convenience of in mast reefing but don't like the fact that you have a flat sail with no roach. In principle the FBM and stackpack seems a good idea and the main ought to be able to be raised and dropped from the cockpit. Of course reefing still has to be done on deck and dropping it into lazyjacks does not stow it but I guess coming into harbour its easy to drop it on the way in, berth the boat and tidy up afterwards....... Seems OK. Am I over simplifying? What experience do you good peeps have? Comments please!
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What works for one person wont work for others i can only tell you what works for me :)

I have a fully battened main without single line reefing and manage fine on my own, sticking in a reef requires messing with reef cringles at the mast but while your doing that a decent autopilot can steer, or SWMBO as its not rope related, or just fit single line reefing then you dont need to go up to the mast at all and can stay in the cockpit.

its not that much of a faff and takes seconds so i havent opted for single line yet - when you want to get rid of the sail, just drop it into the stackpack and tidy it later, if you keep your main nicely flaked and have decent sliders it often flakes itself back into a modest order anyway.

maintaining your sliders is the key to getting the sail up without a winch and down again quickly.

i would never consider changing from in mast to slab reefing on any boat, i'd just live with what it came with and make it the best it can be, with a slight preference towards slab reefing because its just simpler in my mind to DIY maintain.
 
westhinder said:
It means you have more string in the cockpit, which is a drawback, but a bit of discipline in tidying up takes care of that.
.
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I see constant comments about " string in the cockpit".
What difference does it make if there is a few metres more or less. It just means a couple more coils. Surely most owners coil the reef lines & hang them up once the reef is in. Just dumping the lot on the cockpit floor is just careless.
I coil the ropes & finish off so the ropes hang on the back of the cabin, neat & tidy.
It takes seconds. What is the difference if it is, say, 10 metres or 15. I can never see the problem.
Certainly much easier to do in the cockpit than at the mast where it can foul the jib sheets in a tack as well.
 
Two things to throw in the pot
1 don’t drop the main without tying it down into the stack pack and then run down wind in a strong breeze as you have Chinese gibe with battens on either side of the mast
2 flake the halyard down and let it go gets it down much quicker
We always found a coiled halyard tended to end up with wind knots.
 
scottie said:
Two things to throw in the pot
1 don’t drop the main without tying it down into the stack pack and then run down wind in a strong breeze as you have Chinese gibe with battens on either side of the mast
2 flake the halyard down and let it go gets it down much quicker
We always found a coiled halyard tended to end up with wind knots.
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1) In 16 years never had the " Chinese gybe that you mention & cannot imagine a situation where it would.
2) Tend not to let the sail go at a run because the end of the battens can come down too quick & "dig in" preventing the luff from dropping properly, Just causes the batten to bend. A controlled drop whilst heading dead into the wind being far better.
3) Knots are often the result of poorly coiled halyard. There is a "right way" to coil a braided rope. Not like a plaited rope.

Just goes to show that different boats have different quirks & what suits one does not suit another. One should not let another person's comments put one off, but just bear them in mind & try out the boat & see what works best.
 
laika said:
The stackpack doesn't ensure a tidy drop. It's definitely "good enough" for reefing. It would usually be mostly good enough for an emergency drop but at the end of the sail I'll normally motor into the wind and ask first mate to gradually lower the halyard while I run back and forth along the side of the cockpit flaking the sail as it comes down. Flaking care depends on the conditions but just letting it drop would require stuffing rogue bits of sail down before zipping up. On the odd occasion I've done this on my own it's a bit awkward and involves a lot of jumping down to the cockpit to drop bit by bit interspersed with sail tidying. I'm sure if I did it regularly I'd take the drop-first tidy-later approach.
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I find having a sail tie handy and quickly loop it round the boom by the kicking strap to hold the sail until I can flake it later and zip it in the stackpack.
 
Concerto said:
I find having a sail tie handy and quickly loop it round the boom by the kicking strap to hold the sail until I can flake it later and zip it in the stackpack.
Click to expand...

Sure that's helpful and it's my last step whether or not I flaked it but the "flake it later" option is not so straight forward with my batton cars: it's not like I can just slide the sliders out the gate at the bottom: the only realistic option that doesn't involve a spanner is re-hoisting which isn't practical with any significant breeze and a marina berth not pointing into it
 
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