Gale Sail

[VO5]

Have any of you fellow forumites have one of these ?

 

[chrisedwards]

Have any of you fellow forumites have one of these ?

yes - the last panel on my junk sail - sets perfectly and in the right place. Blondie Hasler said it would be the only sail he would consider when beating off a lee shore in a gale.

 

[snowleopard]

My mast is one.

 

[prv]

I think the OP is talking about a specific product, which if I remember rightly is a storm jib with a sleeve so it can be hoisted over a rolled genoa.

I haven't got one; I just furl the jib and rely on the staysail. It's tiny enough that I've happily kept the whole thing set in a F7, and it still has roller reefing available in the event that I needed even less.

The boat came with a hank-on storm jib which was the same size as the staysail, which seemed somewhat pointless

Pete

 

[liverpool]

gale sail

i have a similar type of storm sail made by Peter Sanders, Lymington. Have only used in AWS around 25 knots but it performed well. Key issue is hanking on and hoisting over furled jib - quite a fiddly job (especially as material when new is fairly stiff) and sleeve needs to be generous enough to slip over jib (esp at clew with sheets on). My storm sail is hoisted with spinny halyard and has a dedicated tack line already clipped on to the sail. Let me know if you need more info. Iain.

 

[Poignard]

Corect me if I am wrong but .....

Surely the friction must make it very difficult to hoist in a strong wind.

Also you would have to stand up right in the bows to pass a lashing around the genoa and to untie the genoa sheets, before the sleeved sail can be hoisted.

Seems like one of those things that might work well at the Boat Show but not in reality.

Anyone here used one in a gale?

 

[VO5]

The Gale Sail is a product manufactured and marketed in the United States.
It is a storm jib effecively that can be set by sealing the sleeve at the luff around a rolled headsail.

They are made in different sizes to suit.

My question is: How is the sleeve fastened (because illustrations of it do not disclose this) around the rolled Genny / headsail ?

Is it by hooks, velcro, a zip. or other ?

Does anyone here actually have one of these ?

 

[prv]

I think PBO tested a number of these devices, maybe a year or so ago. Perhaps worth finding the article if you're not swamped by owners here?

Pete

 

[VO5]

I think PBO tested a number of these devices, maybe a year or so ago. Perhaps worth finding the article if you're not swamped by owners here?

Pete

Pete I don't mind getting swamped. I would like to get to the bottom of the riddle. The manufacturers were not helpful in explaining, that's why.

 

[KenMcCulloch]

My question is: How is the sleeve fastened (because illustrations of it do not disclose this) around the rolled Genny / headsail ?

Is it by hooks, velcro, a zip. or other ?

There's a bit of video here http://www.atninc.com/gale_en.php - not completely clear but it rather looks as though the sleeve is fastened by the sail hanks passing through pairs of eyelets, one on either side. Certainly looks worth investigating as an alternative to a lazy forestay and associated complexities.

 

[prv]

Pete I don't mind getting swamped

I think one of us has misread something.

Apart from that, do the instructions say what you're supposed to do with the sheets on your roller genoa when you set this thing? Presumably it can't go up past them? On bigger boats the clew is often out of reach when the sail is furled, and even if not it's higher than you'd want to be reaching in rough weather, trying to undo knots that have been soaked under strain all season.

Pete

 

[deep denial]

As I understand it you're supposed to run the sheets downwards and secure at the tack, then slip the Gale sail over the whole lot.

 

[prv]

As I understand it you're supposed to run the sheets downwards and secure at the tack, then slip the Gale sail over the whole lot.

Ah, that makes a bit more sense

Pete

 

[VO5]

As I understand it you're supposed to run the sheets downwards and secure at the tack, then slip the Gale sail over the whole lot.

Yes, that's right.
In practice that is not a problem.
The genoa sheets can be got out of the way also by making fast to the windlass.
But the burning question is how the folding over flap is secured.
And the halyard to pull it up can be the spinnaker halyard, no problem.

 

[snowleopard]

And the halyard to pull it up can be the spinnaker halyard, no problem.

Provided the securing eye is on the forward side of the stay or you're in for serious chafe, possibly resulting in holes in the genny.

 

[Signed Out]

And when you pass the sheets down, or whatever you do to them, what keeps the sail furled until the gale sail is raised? A strop, strap, tie? All would need you to reach up on a larger boat.

Also, would the furler's foil be up to large shear stress at the ends of this sail, assuming it's shorter than a normal sail, and used in far heavier wind than a semi furled genoa?

 

[RobBrown]

I came across a similar type of storm sail advertised by a Jersey Chandlers, which I liked the look of, but have never got round to pursuing, due to ltd funds being required elsewhere:

http://www.bluewatersupplies.com/storm_bag.htm

 

[VO5]

I came across a similar type of storm sail advertised by a Jersey Chandlers, which I liked the look of, but have never got round to pursuing, due to ltd funds being required elsewhere:

http://www.bluewatersupplies.com/storm_bag.htm

I have looked at it.
The sail itself is well constructed, no doubt, granted.

However the explanation overlooks the significance of the obvious:~

1. The illustration only shows one sheet, and a flimsy one at that.
2. The illustration does not explain if the sail remains attached via the luff, and if so, how.
3. If it does not remain attached, really it is like a cruising chute shrunk to storm jib dimensions with a heavy weight of canvas in lieu.
4. If it is not attached by the luff, then one presumes the tack is chosen in advance and remains so, negating the requirement to be able to change (If it is not luffed) as the crossover would expose the rolled genoa to the risk of chafe from the halyard.
5.As a consequence of all the above rigging it to be sheeted midships does not appear possible.
6. No mention is made of repacking, or storage dimensions.
7. And it is not cheap.

Again, here we have incomplete information once again.

 

[VO5]

Provided the securing eye is on the forward side of the stay or you're in for serious chafe, possibly resulting in holes in the genny.

Yes, you are correct.
From what I have been able to deduce, the head eye at the top of the sleeve is forward, therefore eliminating chafe risk in the Gale Sail when hoisted using the spinnaker halyard.
But again details are not provided as to how the sleeve itself is secured along its length, which is the burning question.

 

[prv]

http://www.bluewatersupplies.com/storm_bag.htm

1. The illustration only shows one sheet, and a flimsy one at that.

I think the top picture shows two sheets, made out of a single line passed through the clew ring and then knotted in the middle. Not how I would attach a sheet for a storm sail perhaps, but it's only a demo rig.

The lower pictures definitely show two sheets.

2. The illustration does not explain if the sail remains attached via the luff, and if so, how.

Reading the text and looking at the shape of the bag, I believe the shape of the thing is essentially two jibs, joined at the luff. One comes aft each side of the rolled genoa, and then the clews are joined together by the sheets. The two layers of cloth are pressed together by the wind to work as a single sail.

3. If it does not remain attached, really it is like a cruising chute shrunk to storm jib dimensions with a heavy weight of canvas in lieu.
4. If it is not attached by the luff, then one presumes the tack is chosen in advance and remains so, negating the requirement to be able to change (If it is not luffed) as the crossover would expose the rolled genoa to the risk of chafe from the halyard.
5.As a consequence of all the above rigging it to be sheeted midships does not appear possible.

I think none of the above applies, as it is held all along the luff by being wrapped round the genoa. Can't see any reason you shouldn't tack it, or sheet it amidships. Main problem I can forsee is if going downwind, as the sheet won't be holding the luff hard against the genoa any more and it might flog itself into a funny shape.

Again, here we have incomplete information once again.

That's because you're looking at a chandler's website, not that of the product itself. A quick google finds repacking instructions. I couldn't find any dimensions, but that's not uncommon. You can get an idea looking at some of the pictures.

Pete