furling Genoa

J

jaminb

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 Jan 2021
Messages
450
Visit site
My prevailing sailing (solent) after 4 years appears to be one way beating into a F4 gusting upto F6 and going the other way very broad reaching / running in similar. I mainly sail single handed on an AWB so my spinnaker and cruising shute are a bit of a handful in the prevailing conditions.

Is it possible to order a new furling genoa cut so it sets nice at 80 - 100% and turns into a sack at 130% ? I really cant be bothered with all the hassle of physical upgrades of a solent rig (2nd forestay; reinforced deck fittings etc etc).

Assuming not can i cover all points of sailing with a blade on the existing forestay and a new top down furler?

thanks
 
I ordered a slightly smaller genoa for my boat, same height but shorter foot and it transfomed it ... OK - I made an error and I had to change my furling line as UV was on other side to my old ...

I have no wish for the larger area anymore .....

As to your old sail - you could get it recut by a sailmaker ... instead of buying a replacement ?
 
jaminb said:
My prevailing sailing (solent) after 4 years appears to be one way beating into a F4 gusting upto F6 and going the other way very broad reaching / running in similar. I mainly sail single handed on an AWB so my spinnaker and cruising shute are a bit of a handful in the prevailing conditions.

Is it possible to order a new furling genoa cut so it sets nice at 80 - 100% and turns into a sack at 130% ? I really cant be bothered with all the hassle of physical upgrades of a solent rig (2nd forestay; reinforced deck fittings etc etc).

Assuming not can i cover all points of sailing with a blade on the existing forestay and a new top down furler?

thanks
Click to expand...
What would you do if you were beating into F2-3? Motor? Or accept that things were going to take longer/go less of a distance?
 
jaminb said:
My prevailing sailing (solent) after 4 years appears to be one way beating into a F4 gusting upto F6 and going the other way very broad reaching / running in similar. I mainly sail single handed on an AWB so my spinnaker and cruising shute are a bit of a handful in the prevailing conditions.

Is it possible to order a new furling genoa cut so it sets nice at 80 - 100% and turns into a sack at 130% ? I really cant be bothered with all the hassle of physical upgrades of a solent rig (2nd forestay; reinforced deck fittings etc etc).

Assuming not can i cover all points of sailing with a blade on the existing forestay and a new top down furler?

thanks
Click to expand...
I think you’d be asking the impossible with 1 sail. As to your last paragraph, you’ve been spying on us. Our roller jib is actually about 110%, quite flat, and an upwind machine. We have a code 0 on a furler too. In up to about 6kn of wind we can get fairly close with it. Any more than that and you’re better off if hard on the wind, with the blade. But at 70 plus degrees, the Code 0 is a dream. Immediate performance boost, like engaging the supercharger. Just don't expect to point up hard in anything but a zephyr.
 
How
Refueler said:
I ordered a slightly smaller genoa for my boat, same height but shorter foot and it transfomed it ... OK - I made an error and I had to change my furling line as UV was on other side to my old ...

I have no wish for the larger area anymore .....

As to your old sail - you could get it recut by a sailmaker ... instead of buying a replacement ?
Click to expand...
I have a 180 Genoa like new and a 135 that's like me, well worn. Is it viable to have it re cut ?
 
My boat came with a 150% that I found profoundly unsatisfactory. I have replaced it with something about 100% and I find that a lot more satisfactory. I only really miss the area when running / broad reach in lighter airs but I have an asymmetric that I can use if I will the need.
 
For Solent sailing visibility is quite important. We had a 140% deck sweeper that gave no visibility and, when well reefed, did not set at all well. I got a new 120% high cut genny that gives much better visibility and furls to near nothing superbly, it doesn't even need the sheet traveller to be adjusted. The only time I miss the big genny is when running and broad reaching in lighter breezes. A cruising chute makes a very occasional appearance.
 
jaminb said:
My prevailing sailing (solent) after 4 years appears to be one way beating into a F4 gusting upto F6 and going the other way very broad reaching / running in similar. I mainly sail single handed on an AWB so my spinnaker and cruising shute are a bit of a handful in the prevailing conditions.

Is it possible to order a new furling genoa cut so it sets nice at 80 - 100% and turns into a sack at 130% ? I really cant be bothered with all the hassle of physical upgrades of a solent rig (2nd forestay; reinforced deck fittings etc etc).

Assuming not can i cover all points of sailing with a blade on the existing forestay and a new top down furler?

thanks
Click to expand...
You are not alone with this dilemma. Many Bavaria owners have had 110% higher clew foresails made to replace the standard 135%. A much better all purpose sail. A top down furler assymetric is a useful addition. I had a later Farr designed Bavaria which had a better balance of main/foresail area and a 105% jib. I added a relatively small asymmetric on a furler and found the boat very easy to sail single handed, particularly as I had in mast furling which allows much more flexibility in sail area to balance the boat.
 
I would go along with refueler. Smaller is better. Around here racing with fairly regular 18 knot winds hank on jibs are the preferred arrangement. I carry 4 jibs. Smaller is always better. I have yet to see a furled jib work very well hard on the wind. (by comparison with hank on small jib. Go for smaller jib mostly only furled for storage. ol'will
 
My 38 ... first trips - we used the 120 ..... it was powerful but not really needed for general sailing ...

The boat has a Self Tacker rail and we searched through the sail bags and found the self tacker ... rigged it ... went out for a trip ... WOW ! so much better ... OK - so we lose a bit of speed - but if not racing - what is better ? ease of use and good sailing ability .... or ... playing with sail oversize for the job in hand ?
I still have the larger for races ... but ST stays on for general ...
I have considered whether to set the ST jib not using the ST rail ...

My 25 replacing that large sail was as I say earlier a huge improvement .. I never expected such a change for really a small change in sail.
 
jaminb said:
Is it possible to order a new furling genoa cut so it sets nice at 80 - 100% and turns into a sack at 130% ? I really cant be bothered with all the hassle of physical upgrades of a solent rig (2nd forestay; reinforced deck fittings etc etc).
Click to expand...
Anything is possible with a good sailmaker.

Go and chat to several, ideally over a cup of coffee, they can work magic with sails.
 
As others have said a furling jib is a compromise. For a single hander they are fantastic, but half furled can lose shape. Mine has vertical pads sown into the luff which does a good job of taking some of the bag out.

Above 30 knots it is not going to offer a good foil shape that drives as efficiently as perhaps one might want. I have an inner forestay which can hank on a bright orange storm jib. I am ashamed to say I have not tested it yet but it is reassuring to know if conditions got really sticky and I needed to work to windward I could stow the roller jib and use a sail cut for the conditions. I really must test it!

I liked the recommendations for a cut down jib as I do not like the loss of visibility when mine is fully unfurled. When commissioning a recut no doubt the vertical luff pads could be added.

I have a symmetrical spinny I have been using a lot more in the last couple of years, and it offers way more drive than jib and main. Ideally I would like a asymmetric spinny for light wind work more off the wind but I can keep the symmetrical spinny going almost to a broad reach so probably will never want to part with the £ for the additional sail.
 
Aja said:
What would you do if you were beating into F2-3? Motor? Or accept that things were going to take longer/go less of a distance?
Click to expand...
Thanks everyone food for thought. I am not sure how effective my 130%?? genoa is going to windward even in lighter airs. Plus the visability point is a good one, I cant see anything down to leeward which is no fun beating down the Solent singlehanded so I often sail partially furled even in lighter airs.

My thoughts were if I could get a blade like shape on a partial furled I would be less worried if the unfurled shape wasnt quite right (a reversal of the current position) but it sounds like moon on a stick territory!

thanks again
 
I don’t think we have heard what boat it is. With a fractional rig, a jib of around 110% can make sense but an older masthead rig might be underpowered. My boat is 19/20 and I have sailed with a 110% jib for many years, while in my previous boat, a Sadler 29, I would regularly change between two foresails. A padded luff will help, and my laminate jib will set almost as well with a few rolls as when full. If you can run to a laminate, that will solve some of your problems. If properly looked after, it should last well enough, 12 years for my last one.
 
Good point should have said. Jeanneau SO37 with a masthead rig. In anything over a 15 knots into the wind the weather helm is bad enough to over power the autohelm and any gusts have me broaching.
 
jaminb said:
Good point should have said. Jeanneau SO37 with a masthead rig. In anything over a 15 knots into the wind the weather helm is bad enough to over power the autohelm and any gusts have me broaching.
Click to expand...
That is classic symptom of the overlap creating weather helm but not drive. I expect when you roll in a couple of turns it goes away. If you go to a higher cut 110 or 115 you will lose little except in light airs off the wind and extend the wind range of the sail.
 
it's a fairly light boat.
You have to sail it.
You don't get to just write cheques to sailmakers and switch on the autopilot.
The OP is about gusting winds in the Solent.
If you're not going to be active with the sheets in the gusts, then you need to reef.
Which rather makes the full unrolled size of the genoa a bit irrelevant.

There's other aspects of sail setting which might be worth considering, including sheeting the genoa outboard a little in more wind.

The Solent, although dismissed by the Clyde sailors and the like, is not an easy place always.
Lots of tides and headlands and windshifts.
Challenging for both sailors and autopilots at times.

If you want easier sailing, then reaching to France or Alderney is often worth a look.
 
jaminb said:
Good point should have said. Jeanneau SO37 with a masthead rig. In anything over a 15 knots into the wind the weather helm is bad enough to over power the autohelm and any gusts have me broaching.
Click to expand...

mmmm I hope all is secured down below if you keep broaching !! I suspect you mean she's healing over and then slewing up into wind ?

Anyway ... its typical when a large genny is used and it has sail aft of the mast ... combination of that and the mainsail mean the Centre of Effort causes the pivot point of the boat to be too far aft and you then fight to not 'luff up' ... ie weather helm. Too often people think that reduce or let out main - but that genny is still powering away ... so it calls for reduction of both - or in lesser cases - just reduction of the genny.

Autohelm should be able to cope with a well balanced boat - even with touch of weatherhelm .. your post indicates that you may be overpressing the boat .. to put straight - more sail does not always mean more speed ... as the sail area gets pressed more as wind increases - you get more heel - hull shape changes and drag changes ... weatherhelm increases etc.
Reducing sail area can bring the boat to better heel situation ... less drag ... better balance and sail angles ... can often mean speed is more.
 
Refueler said:
mmmm I hope all is secured down below if you keep broaching !! I suspect you mean she's healing over and then slewing up into wind ?
Click to expand...

??????

Heeling over and slewing up into the the wind is exactly what broaching is! At least that's what I've always understood and what numerous definitions I found on t'internet say it is.

E.g. Wikipedia:
'A broach is an abrupt, involuntary change in a vessel's course, towards the wind, resulting from loss of directional control . . .'
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top