Furlers vs hanks

[zoidberg]

I've been reading Lin Pardey's 'As Long As Its Fun' and, among the multiple preferred ways of doing things, there is the preference for hanked-on headsails over furling.
There are others with similar views.
Just as there are many deeply-experienced ocean travellers - in big boats and small - who prefer to have furling headsails.

What do you prefer, and why?

 

[lustyd]

I prefer roller reefing over either because it can be easily reefed rather than changing sails.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I roll because nobody in their right mind would go on our foredeck, hard on the wind in 16kn and change sails.

 

[Pye_End]

A cutter - staysail with slab reefing, yankee with roller.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A cutter - staysail with slab reefing, yankee with roller.

On the right boat, perfect.

 

[johnalison]

Other than a jammed halyard, there is nothing to go wrong hanked sails. It is also possible to have a second sail hanked on below the working sail to speed up a sail change, and sail changes are easier in difficult conditions because you don’t have to have a whole sail on deck uncontrolled.

On the other hand, furling failures shouldn’t happen with a well-maintained and well-designed set-up. Sailing with a furler is infinitely more relaxing and foredeck adventures are unnecessary most of the time. An additional benefit is the ability to change sail area almost instantly and basically always have the right amount of sail deployed. This would be true for coastal and offshore sailing, but maybe the requirements for ocean sailing might be different.

 

[Sumara of Weymouth]

I am afraid I am one of those lunatics who actually prefer hanked-on sails although I realize they aren't for everyone. I have set out my 19 reasons here: I actually prefer hanked-on headsails, am I completely bonkers? – Sumara of Weymouth

 

[capnsensible]

Well, time moves on. Who is gonna change headsails these days?

Swinging the lamp, I learnt all about piston hanks (which can seize btw) on service yachts like Nicholson 55's. At that age, as a watch leader taking my watch onto the foredeck in all sorts of winds and seas was an adventure. Big heavy sails and skippers bought up in the era of character building.....

Raced a lot on smaller yachts changing headsails with twin luff grooves. This, in a competitions, bought its own challenges. And tactics.

Mebbe less hard yakka, but a lot safer with the furler. They hardly ever go wrong these days and gets more people short handed out on the water in my opinion.

Sure hanked on sails can still have a place on offshore sailing. Our tootle across the Atlantic and back a couple of times gave plenty of time to tweak and tune a roller headsail poled out with the boom and an inner forestay with a storm jib sized hanked on headsail poled out the other side. Coz let's face it, nearly all the time out there you got time. Oodles of it. So it's nice to have something else to do.

So to answer the op, furler for me. Also remembering when the Pardeys were sailing, Pontius was a Pilot and furlers were in their infancy.

 

[lustyd]

An additional benefit is the ability to change sail area almost instantly and basically always have the right amount of sail deployed

Strictly speaking that’s roller reefing rather than furling. Furlers are usually in or out affairs that just spin the sail to put it away while roller reefing has the metal in the middle and allows reefing.

 

[johnalison]

Strictly speaking that’s roller reefing rather than furling. Furlers are usually in or out affairs that just spin the sail to put it away while roller reefing has the metal in the middle and allows reefing.

I don’t do strictly in any sense of the word. I can’t easily get away from thinking of roller reefing as applying only to mainsails for those of us who sailed in the Middle Ages, and there may still be people old enough to have used Wykeham Martin furling, but I’m afraid that for me a sail can be furled or part-furled. There may be sailors who talk about reefing the jib when part-furling it but I can’t be bothered as life’s too short.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We have furling and reefing headsails, so well aware of the difference. Our code 0 furls, our 110% jib reefs, we top out at 15kn true if close hauled, and there’s little point in pushing on, you go no faster. The code sail will be furled long since, the jib will get reefed to the 1st batten. Most modern boats are not much different. If you sail something older, you may find some advantage to hanging on to your sail plan for longer. Which makes it even worse when you finally have to do it. Our foredeck is bad in 15kn, that’s about 24-25 apparent.

 

[Roberto]

I'd add another option: furling sails with non-twist rope luff (with or without hook); they can range from gennakers to storm sails, for both racing and cruising boats.
So, three ways of sail hoisting: hanks, classical roller furler with alu tubes, free-hoist rolling sails
Four tack positions: fixed forestay, removable forestay just aft of the forestay, staysail position, bowsprit forward of forestay.
Two/three wind conditions: light and heavy, or light average heavy.

Combining all of them gives 20-30 different combinations: anyone can find what is more suitable to their needs, then possibly filtering by involved cost.
"This is best" for one may well be the worse for a lot of other people with different ways of sailing, nothing best than a reasoned choice made by oneself

 

[WFA]

Changed from hanked genoa, working and storm jib to just a furling genoa after my partner passed away and it has revolutionised my sailing.
No more dodging back and forwards handing head sails while trying to hold a course each time wind conditions change. Or necessity of bagging and stowing heavy and often wet sails.
I have a 36ft wooden motorsailer and at 76 I am now confident of continuing single handed cruising for many more seasons until my body finally gives in. I also added a snuffer for the MPS which enables me to continue to enjoy what is now less demanding off-wind sailing.

 

[MontyMariner]

Furler, I sail solo, but I have an inner removable inner forestay to hank on a Yankee or storm sail.

 

[pandos]

I had notions of a hanked on sail on a solent rig with a furler Genoa.

I bought a second boat with a high end furler on the jib and an aftermarket furler on the main.

It is so easy to reef that I actually managed to sail with the boat level and fast...and without leaving the cockpit. With a keel that only dropped halfways..

Next trick is to try out the self tacking jib...that will be true efficiency (laziness)

 

[Supertramp]

My boat sails far better on the wind in 20knts+ with a hanked Solent jib rather than the part furled genoa. It is obviously harder to handle than a roller furler but furling a genoa singlehanded in 30knts is sometimes a battle. My boat is unusual in that I have a wide, bulwarked foredeck and all sail handling and furling is done on deck (no cockpit).

The hank on sails drop quickly, on any point of sail, and are easy to manage because they are relatively small with the clew at the mast or further forward. And they are built to take stronger winds than the genoa.

It depends how and where you sail, but on all day passages with volatile weather I value the ability to set up a snug rig (reefed mizzen and Solent jib) and then unroll the genoa /main if more sail is needed.

All that said, the convenience of rolling sail away simply and safely in the dark is a big plus for rollers. For me, having choices of sails and combinations makes sense. It is more complicated for sure with more ropes and halyard etc. Add in poles and preventers and I begin to resemble a square rigger....

 

[Stemar]

Furler every time for me. The less I go forward, especially when it's a bit bumpy, the better Madame likes it. After all, if I go overboard, who's going to bring her breakfast in bed?

Besides, our genny is pretty big. Spread out ready to roll after drying, it goes across the living room and most of the way to the front door. Managing that on my own when it's time to reduce sail would not be fun, and all the worse because the work involved would probably mean I've put it off until I really have to. Yes, I know, reef when you first think about it, but who hasn't put it off hoping it's just a gust?

 

[ashtead]

Since we got 2 headsails (one with self tacker) both on furlers to reef I cannot see any advantage in brass seized pistons on headsails as found in days of yore in the Nicholson training yachts or the humble westerly. centaur with its ratsey sails . Even in south coast sailing struggling to dehank a small centaur headsail as the deck pitchpoled about wasn’t much fun and that was just off the south coast. Save for the cost of furler replacement particular if you have the type found on your older Bowman etc I cannot see why if sailing as a couple you would ever want hanks put on a sail. Furlers to electric winches mean you can peel from a large headsail to a small self tacker single handed if needed if crew asleep etc or preparing sustenance ,playing on plotter or radar etc .

 

[benjenbav]

With plentiful and professional crew: hanked. Single-handed or sailing as a couple/family: furling every time and twice on Sundays.

 

[johnalison]

My boat sails far better on the wind in 20knts+ with a hanked Solent jib rather than the part furled genoa. It is obviously harder to handle than a roller furler but furling a genoa singlehanded in 30knts is sometimes a battle. My boat is unusual in that I have a wide, bulwarked foredeck and all sail handling and furling is done on deck (no cockpit).

The hank on sails drop quickly, on any point of sail, and are easy to manage because they are relatively small with the clew at the mast or further forward. And they are built to take stronger winds than the genoa.
View attachment 184775
It depends how and where you sail, but on all day passages with volatile weather I value the ability to set up a snug rig (reefed mizzen and Solent jib) and then unroll the genoa /main if more sail is needed.

All that said, the convenience of rolling sail away simply and safely in the dark is a big plus for rollers. For me, having choices of sails and combinations makes sense. It is more complicated for sure with more ropes and halyard etc. Add in poles and preventers and I begin to resemble a square rigger....

A headsail will furl easily if you turn off the wind to put it into the lee of the main. Even when sailing to windward it is usually advantageous to do so because of the time saved, as well as being kinder to the sail.