hank to roller jib conversion

[wilkinsonsails]

Have tried that on a customers request ,not very successful as rather baggy and floppy luff .
.Unfortunatly couldn't be tensioned to form a reasonable flying shape .
Discarded the eyelet tape for proper luff conversion in the end .

 

[Poignard]

OK, that has helped a lot, stupid idea of mine, lol. Thank heavens for these forums and experienced people there to offer advice. Sounds like slugs are the way to go.

If you do go for slugs, please let us know how you get on with them because I'm thinking of fitting them.

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Slugs do have the advantage when lowering the sail, that they can remain captive in the foil,allowing the sail stowing on deck .With a bolt rope all the sail has to come out of the groove ,and slither over the side .

 

[solent clown]

Have tried that on a customers request ,not very successful as rather baggy and floppy luff .
.Unfortunatly couldn't be tensioned to form a reasonable flying shape .
Discarded the eyelet tape for proper luff conversion in the end .

was that because of the movement/flex in the furler assembly compared to the stay?

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Combined luff wire (in jib ) and stretchy bolt rope in tape caused a movement descrepancy ,along with halyard tension .
We could stretch the two tight in the loft ,to get the eyelets matching the Hank position ,but that tension was never duplicated on board .

 

[solent clown]

Combined luff wire (in jib ) and stretchy bolt rope in tape caused a movement descrepancy ,along with halyard tension .
We could stretch the two tight in the loft ,to get the eyelets matching the Hank position ,but that tension was never duplicated on board .

thanks for the benefit of your experience. I think we may just start off without the furler, and see how we go. We just like the tidyness and simplicity of a furler, and the wife finds it easy to handle

 

[Poignard]

Slugs do have the advantage when lowering the sail, that they can remain captive in the foil,allowing the sail stowing on deck .With a bolt rope all the sail has to come out of the groove ,and slither over the side .

That's what attracts me to the idea but I'm concerned mainly about whether the slugs might tear out of a foil designed for a luff rope; in my case, a very old Rotostay. Instead of the load being spread along the foil it would be concentrated at the slugs.

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Very rarely tear out on use,usually jam when slugs catch on poor foil joints on hoisting .
Plastic slugs don't damage ally foils.So secure seizing or webbing strap sewn thru slug ,to make a good job of of staying attached to foil.
Important thing to remember is ensuring that the halyard swivel is at the right angle to the halyard ,sometimes needing a strop to get the luff the correct length .
The hoist length will still be critical on the furl if you use a storm jib say ,halyard swivel still needs to be pretty close at the top .

 

[Poignard]

Thanks for your professional advice. Very helpful.

 

[solent clown]

+1.

 

[William_H]

thanks for the benefit of your experience. I think we may just start off without the furler, and see how we go. We just like the tidyness and simplicity of a furler, and the wife finds it easy to handle

Yes you will have enough work to do getting the boat in commission without converting to roller reefing. Around here at our club where racing is the norm just a small fraction of the less competitive boats use roller reefing. The keen ones including me stick with hank on jibs. Always go for smaller jib if in doubt on wind expectations. You can fit a line from halyard down to bow then back to cockpit for pulling jib down from cockpit. But it still leaves jib on foredeck so under foot when picking up mooring. One concern of roller reefing is the susceptibility to wind damage when jib is left on and furled but I think the main disadvantage is that they just do not set well when partially furled compared to a proper sized and shaped strong wind hank on jib. olewill

 

[John the kiwi]

You can fit a line from halyard down to bow then back to cockpit for pulling jib down from cockpit.

Definitely do this! Being able to take the jib down from the cockpit can take a lot of stress and fuss out of tricky situations. Also makes it safer for the person going forrad to pick up mooring or whatever. It always seems that there is a wind squall just when you go head to wind to pick up a mooring or drop the anchor!
Not as tidy as a roller but in terms of taking sail off in a hurry it has the same effect.
Initially i only rigged the jib down haul when single handed, but now use it all the time.
Cheers

 

[Poignard]

Do you thread this line through the hanks or is that unnecessary?

 

[solent clown]

" You can fit a line from halyard down to bow then back to cockpit for pulling jib down from cockpit."

Yes, we already do that in one of our larger dinghys.
We have roller on one of our larger boats too, wife loves it, as it's not messy up front, and easy to use, but she will just have to get used to hanked on for now

 

[John the kiwi]

Do you thread this line through the hanks or is that unnecessary?

I don't thread through the hanks, I just have a fixed loop in the line, which is only 3 or 4 mm incidentally, and hook this inside the 3rd hank from the top.
I have a block close to the fore-stay and when pulled down as tight as possible, there is only perhaps 3 ft of jib above the deck which is effectively nothing.
I found when I hooked to the halyard or top hank that the top hank would tend to go sideways and add hugely to the friction.
Your mileage may vary as they say.

 

[Tranona]

Yes you will have enough work to do getting the boat in commission without converting to roller reefing. Around here at our club where racing is the norm just a small fraction of the less competitive boats use roller reefing. The keen ones including me stick with hank on jibs. Always go for smaller jib if in doubt on wind expectations. You can fit a line from halyard down to bow then back to cockpit for pulling jib down from cockpit. But it still leaves jib on foredeck so under foot when picking up mooring. One concern of roller reefing is the susceptibility to wind damage when jib is left on and furled but I think the main disadvantage is that they just do not set well when partially furled compared to a proper sized and shaped strong wind hank on jib. olewill

The OP already has the furling gear, but not a sail that will fit without modification.

The question is whether it is worth modifying the sail that he does have, and if so how best to do it. There is nothing unusual about the question, nor the possible solutions, just whether it is worth the cost on an old sail or whether he is better off looking for another sail, either new or used.

Roller furling using the type of gear he has is almost universal on the type of boat he has which is a small 24' yacht with no pretensions to racing performance. There is no advantage and indeed many disadvantages to retaining a hank on jib, however you try to rig it to remove the negative aspects.

 

[lpdsn]

... I think we may just start off without the furler, and see how we go. We just like the tidyness and simplicity of a furler, and the wife finds it easy to handle

The secret to a tidy foredeck is to have an excess of sail ties. Just bunch up the sail and tie it to the top guardrail (or the guardrail if you only have one) leaving a gap underneath so you can put a line on a cleat etc.

Old jack stays are good source material for cheap sail ties. Use a hot knife when cutting them up so no fraying and an overhand knot to put a loop in the end.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

You can buy the luff-tape of the correct size and sew it on yourself. I have done it many times on my own sails as well as those of some friends. Although I do have an old Industrial Pfaff that does a simple zig-zaq I have managed genoas up to around 35m² or so. Going over the thick parts at the head and the tack areas is done using hand power to turn the wheel, mainly to prevent the needle from possible bursting. For your size of boat you might even manage with a good domestic machine.
Ready-made luff-tape is not expensive for what it is. Second-hand industrial sewing machines are frequently available on internet and will also be useful for replacing UV sacrificial strips.
I like to do myself whatever I can; if it goes wrong I don't need to blame anyone else but I will try again to find another solution.