fully furled?

[jana]

i've noticed that many yachts don't fully furl in the genoa but leave a small triangle of sail unfurled. What is the purpose of this? my crew reckon its to make sure the sailmakers logo is displayed, another view is that it's a (sort of) cone shape to indicate that you are motorsailing.

 

[Salty_Sam]

Probably because they hain't got enough string around the drum to pull it all the way in!

 

[Oldhand]

Leave a triangle out and the sheets loose and it will unfurl further and flog itself to pieces in a winter storm. I thus assume people who stow their furling headsails thus are hoping to claim a new sail on their insurance. Always furl fully, include a turn of sheet and cleat the sheets tight.

 

[vyv_cox]

Having seen many boats left on moorings whose genoa unfurled and shredded itself, for the past 10 years or so we have had a short strop permanently spliced to the pulpit with a spring loaded carabiner on its free end. This is clipped to the drum of the furling gear before leaving the boat, just in case something happens to the furling line.

 

[graham]

Leaving a bit of genoa unfurled is leaving the most highly stressed part of the sail being attacked by Ultra Violet rays which will degrade the cloth within a few seasons.

It amazes me how many genoas unfurl on moorings and even ashore in boatyards where the flogging sail can cause damage to the boat next door before it finally self destructs.

Some drums are not large enough for enough turns to roll the sail completely up.You need to either use a thinner cord or roll the last bit up by hand and hold it in place as described by Vyv in the post above.

The answer to your question is that the owners are too lazy to sort it out!

You sometimes see a small triangle of sail made up to fit in a luff spar so some tension can be applied to it to stop the spar vibrating in winter gales when the sail is not fitted.

 

[cpthook]

We chartered a Gib Sea 36 a few weeks ago in Corfu.
On several occasions we found we could not fully furl the
genoa. This was because were furling it into the wind
during relatively strong winds and the sail or rope was
tangling or crossing.

To remedy the situation we would unfurl the genoa when
the wind had died and then furl it again "gently". As the
charter progressed we found we had much more success
fully furling the genoa pointing downwind.

Incidentally, we completely jammed the main furling it away
from the wind!

 

[andy_wilson]

Sails blown away whilst set.

Every insurance policy I have read specifically excludes this risk.

When checking the precise meaning of 'set', I was advised that a hoisted, but fully furled foresail was indeed 'set'.

However, a sail dropped and lashed to the rail, or indeed bagged up and lashed to the rail is not 'set', and therefore is a ripe candidate for such an insurance claim, should your discount make the exercise worthwhile!

Meanwhile I will continue to fully furl, plus a few wraps for good measure, with the sheets made off well. Then, being of the belt and braces variety, I will continue to add a short lashing from the tack to the rail so it can't unfurl for love nor money!

 

[dk]

This is usually because the furling line has stretched and the sail has been furled very tightly. The simple cure is to remove the sheets once it is fully furled, then roll the remaining triangle of sail around by hand, reattaching the sheets once it is all away. When leaving the boat it is always better either to over furl the sail - that is furl it until the sheets are also wound around the sail, or tie a separate line around it for security.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Premature ageing

It would be interesting to know whether sails kept permanently on a rolling forestay age more quickly that those which are dropped, folded and stowed below.

Seems it would be prolonged exposure to UV and weather vs repeated folding.

I don't suppose we could rely on the sailmaking industry for a reliable answer, though!

 

[Mirelle]

\"The Sailmaker\'s Friend\"

is what the late Thomas White Ratsey, the greatest sailmaker of all time, called the Wykeham Martin jib furling gear, because of the speed with which a headsail left rolled up deteriorates - and when the furling line chafes through or stretches so that a gale gets to play with an unrolled corner and rapidly unrolls the lot, your headsail is left in ribbons.

From this point of view, the only difference between the old Wykeham Martin gear, from c. 1911, which people like me still use, and the roller reefing systems, which are in fact even older in design, but which needed modern materials to make them work well, is that a reefing headsail cannot be lowered when rolled, but a jib on a Wykeham Martin gear can easily be stowed rolled (it's what I do with mine) or changed for a smaller jib.

So, we have a strip of blue cloth down the leech...

Still reckon it is the Sailmaker's Friend - why else have they been persuading us all into this bit of kit so enthusiastically?

 

[jamesjermain]

Because...

...They have empowered a whole generation of family cruising which would otherwise have found endless headsail changing dispiriting at best.

Also Ratsey was writing in the age of cotton/flax sails when a sail rolled wet would begin to rot in days.


JJ

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: Because...

JJ,

There is a halfway house (which I'm doing at the moment because my rolling genoa is nearing terminal knackerisation) of hoisting the headsail when first required, rolling it as necessary when sailing or mooring overnight, then dropping it when it is no longer required, i.e. go-home time.

Although sometimes I think it would be nice to have the right headsail for every breeze, along with enough space to store them and the energy to whip them up and down, I do appreciate the convenience of a roller furler, but just question the wisdom of leaving the sail up there from March to November.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: Because...

JJ,

There is a halfway house (which I'm doing at the moment mainly because my rolling genoa is nearing terminal knackerisation) of hoisting the headsail when first required, rolling it as necessary when sailing or mooring overnight, then dropping it when it is no longer required, i.e. go-home time.

Although sometimes I think it would be nice to have the right headsail for every breeze, along with enough space to store them and the energy to whip them up and down, I do appreciate the convenience of a roller furler, but just question the wisdom of leaving the sail up there from March to November.

Another advantage of dropping the roller genny is that I do have a number 3, and so if it looks like a breezy day when I get down to the boat, the number three is hoisted and the number one is spared heavy airs.

 

[Mirelle]

Snap!

That is what I do with my Wykeham Martin jib; it stays up as long as I am on the boat, unless replaced by the spitfire jib, (a very rare event!) but when I leave the boat it goes below.

(Of course, the other solution to JJ's family sailing conundrum is to have a proper rig....)

 

[Twister_Ken]

Any relations at Leeds Castle?

The majestic Leeds Castle

Listed in the Domesday Book, this castle has been a Norman stronghold, a royal residence for six of England’s medieval queens, a palace of Henry VIII, and a retreat for the powerful and influential.

The castle was raised in stone on an island by a Norman baron in the reign of William the Conqueror's son, Henry 1, nearly 900 years ago. 150 years later it came into the possession of Edward 1 and for the next three centuries it remained a royal home.

It later passed into the hands of three famous families, the St Legers, the Culpepers and the Fairfaxes, and was owned for just over a century by the Wykeham Martins, until it was bought in 1926 by the Hon Mrs Wilson Filmer, a wealthy Anglo-American heiress.

 

[Guest]

I thought everybody did that! (N M)

I thought everybody did that! (N M)

-{)>

 

[Jeremy_W]

OK, Mirelle, I give up...

"... the late Thomas White Ratsey, the greatest sailmaker of all time..."

Why is he greatest of all time? I don't have that essential reference work, a 1938 copy of YM on me, but why the greatest? What did Paul Elvstrom, Bruce Banks, Lowell North et alia do wrong?

Did this gent invent the spinnaker? Make the sails for Britannia or Endeavour? Were "Mirelle's" original sails Ratsey & Lapthorn? I think we should be told!

 

[Guest]

I expected it is done by those with little experience and even smaller brain power will have seen smart racing boats with little triangle little of the sail attached to their Luff grooves, and try and copy them.
Ideally the best thing to do is to roll all at extra jib sheet out of the cockpit round the forestay. One it clears the cockpit and two there's less chance of the sale of getting windy in it and becoming the sail makers best friend.
Of course the reason for the Racing Boys have that little bit of jib left up all time is to stop the luffa groove wearing out.
So if you do take your jib off when not on the boat put some tension on the the system to stop it thrashing about

-{)>

 

[Guest]

Yes and a bit of Victory

If my memory serves me correctly.
Undoubtedly someone will correctly but before him all sails were flat

-{)>