Changing fore sails

JimC said:
I've recently bought a larger overlapping genoa for my boat as an alternaive to the small self-tacking jib which was Hunters' standard fit. The idea is to use the self-tacker when single-handing and the genoa when I've a crew. My question is: how do you fold the sail you've taken down within the confines of the boat on a mooring or pontoon berth. Having always owned boats with roller-furling jibs I've only ever had to fold a sail after taking it down at the end of the season when the boat is already ashore and I can spread the sail out on the club lawn. There must obviously be an easy answer as people with hanked-on jibs must be doing it all the time.
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fergie_mac66 said:
you must heave toooo first though
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Did you read the OPs question first
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. Flaking the sail along the side deck or onto a pontoon if available seem the best bets for me though both two-handed operations. If alone may have to be the random fold just stuffed into sailbag option.
 
Amulet said:
Stuff it roughly in the bag any old how.
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As a lad I was taught that this was the best way to treat sails - though terylene ones hadn't been invented then. I have the slowest boat on the east coast, and my sail-maker (James Lawrence) makes sails for working boats not high-performance machines (though many of them perform quite admirably). I do sometimes hanker after a more high performance rig, but the sails I have can take a fair amount of abuse. Mostly they live on the spars and I flake them reasonably carefully, especially at the end of the season. I was winding you up a bit... but it is nice to have a forgiving, no fuss configuration.
 
I tend to sheet the geneoa in hard then let the halyard go. If SH I have a down haul on the 2nd hank that I use in case the sail doest drop by itself.

The sail tneds to come down faily well flaked so by simply pulling the leech against the hanks, you get a decent flake. I then remove the sheets and fold up the sail.

When I get to the hanks, I tie the sail while still attached. I somtimes put the bag over too, then undoo the hanks nd simply fold them into the bag.

I find this works quite well most of the time and it leaves the sail ready to be put back up.

I use the same technique if changing at sea, on the way back up the river or in the marina.

I once used a pontoon, with my brand new genoa and it got a horid oil stain on it. Never again.
 
PhillM said:
I tend to sheet the geneoa in hard then let the halyard go. If SH I have a down haul on the 2nd hank that I use in case the sail doest drop by itself.

The sail tneds to come down faily well flaked so by simply pulling the leech against the hanks, you get a decent flake. I then remove the sheets and fold up the sail.

When I get to the hanks, I tie the sail while still attached. I somtimes put the bag over too, then undoo the hanks nd simply fold them into the bag.

I find this works quite well most of the time and it leaves the sail ready to be put back up.

I use the same technique if changing at sea, on the way back up the river or in the marina.

I once used a pontoon, with my brand new genoa and it got a horid oil stain on it. Never again.
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Exactly.
 
As it is basically a two0man operation, suggest you always leave the boat rigged for single-handed operation - with crew you can always change, but if you find time to sneak off to the boat on your own it will be ready for you.

Rob.
 
rob2 said:
As it is basically a two0man operation, suggest you always leave the boat rigged for single-handed operation - with crew you can always change, but if you find time to sneak off to the boat on your own it will be ready for you.

Rob.
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Excellent suggestion - that's what I'll do - thanks.
 
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