inner forestay

D

deep denial

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 Mar 2006
Messages
517
Location
Southampton
Visit site
I plan to fit a removable inner forestay on my 26foot boat, for all the usual reasons (it has a rolling furler). The question is, when the genoa is rolled up, to what extent will it's bulk affect the airflow over the hanked on jib just behind it? Would there be any noticeable drop in performance?
 
Like most things, it depends; in this case, on the separation between the two stays.

Inevitably (upwind at least) there will be some dirt coming back onto the jib, and ideally you'd drop the genoa (not always practical). Whether it's just inconvenient or a real pain depends on distance. But good odds you'd be better off than sailing with a half-furled potato sack up front.
 
If you are planning to furl the genny and hoist a smaller jib for heavy weather you may need to take into consideration the weight of the furled genny which in a smallish boat may reduce the boat's stability. This might be significant in extreme conditions although it is quite a common rig on larger craft.
 
deep denial said:
I plan to fit a removable inner forestay on my 26foot boat, for all the usual reasons (it has a rolling furler). The question is, when the genoa is rolled up, to what extent will it's bulk affect the airflow over the hanked on jib just behind it? Would there be any noticeable drop in performance?
Click to expand...

What are "The Usual Reasons" in the past 23 yrs with roller furlers i have had only one problem & that due to a Hood system with badly designed inserts in the top swivel i had already bought replacements & at the time didnt realise why they had reverted to a former design. i found the prob @ the Looe Channel.
nxt day i went & bent the ear of the little chappie @ Hood Sails, they repaired my sail FOC & replaced the inserts i had lost o/b
 
Maybe the better scheme would be a light weight genoa on furler and a working jib on furler on inner forestay.This would reduce being on the foredeck in bad weather and not trying to make a genoa into a strong wind sail.Most furld genoas look awful as working jibs.
 
mogy said:
Maybe the better scheme would be a light weight genoa on furler and a working jib on furler on inner forestay.This would reduce being on the foredeck in bad weather and not trying to make a genoa into a strong wind sail.Most furld genoas look awful as working jibs.
Click to expand...

the trouble these days is many carry too few sails due to R.R.
in the days of hanked on sails one carried a full suit of sails, this also spread the wear through-out the wardrobe.
unless one intends to do Ocean Passages i personally cant see the point of temp inner fore stays.
 
I understand why you are adding the inner stay and I agree. As long as the inner stay is close to the bow, parallels the forestay and attaches quite close to the masthead there will be no need for running backstays. The best way is to make it removeable and clip it on when needed. When not in use it can be clipped aft near the mast. It is called a solent stay. Here's a link to information and pictures of a solent stay installation. http://www.practicallysailing.com/b...-stay-and-sail-in-practice-for-offshore-use-1
Hope this helps.
 
Yes, thanks, - there won't be any structural problems or need for running backstays, and a removable stay is certainly what I will have fitted - but what about the original question - will the presence of the rolled up genoa have any significant impact on the performance of the inner sail. there will incidentally be very little separation between the two sails.
 
"there will incidentally be very little separation between the two sails."

Then yes, as stated earlier, there will be a detrimental effect, at least as far as working upwind is concerned.

However, a nice flat jib, even with some dirt flowing onto its luff, is going to be a better heavy weather sail than a baggy, partly-rolled genoa.

For better efficiency, drop the genoa when hoisting the jib. Or take it down before setting out, if it looks like a breezy day.
 
deep denial said:
I plan to fit a removable inner forestay on my 26foot boat, for all the usual reasons (it has a rolling furler). The question is, when the genoa is rolled up, to what extent will it's bulk affect the airflow over the hanked on jib just behind it? Would there be any noticeable drop in performance?
Click to expand...

Hi, I did this on my 29footer a couple of years ago, for the same reasons. I would say that the problem with the bulk of the furled genoa has more to do with the windage in itself. In the kind of wind strengths where the inner forestay is likely to be deployed, there is plenty of wind for the jib to work in. Even if there is a small loss in performance due to turbulence, I havent found it to be important or even noticable.
However, whI did find that the arrangement gave some lee helm, which surprised me. I put it down to the effect of windage of the furled genoa. Its not a big problem, though, because as soon as the boat heals over a bit the balance shifts and the normal weather helm comes back.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gif
 
BabaYaga said:
Hi, I did this on my 29footer a couple of years ago, for the same reasons. I would say that the problem with the bulk of the furled genoa has more to do with the windage in itself. In the kind of wind strengths where the inner forestay is likely to be deployed, there is plenty of wind for the jib to work in. Even if there is a small loss in performance due to turbulence, I havent found it to be important or even noticable.
However, whI did find that the arrangement gave some lee helm, which surprised me. I put it down to the effect of windage of the furled genoa. Its not a big problem, though, because as soon as the boat heals over a bit the balance shifts and the normal weather helm comes back.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gif
Click to expand...

on our previous boat Co32 we had 2 roller genoas

1 x 135%
1 x 125%

this worked well & select the best size for forecast conditions based on the KISS principle
 
"in that case why removable inner stay."

Main reason. If you need to do it at sea, dropping a big genoa shorthanded in half a gale is not a fun project.

Second reason. It moves the foresail's centre of effort aft, at a time when the mainsail's c-o-e is moving forward, to keep better balance.
 
sailorman said:
the Vindo in the photo is far from balanced
Click to expand...

I wouldn't quite agree. It depends very much on wind strength and point of sail. And of course how much the main is reefed down. Photo was taken in sheltered waters and wind gusts of 25 knots. Two of three reefs in main taken. A bit under canvassed, really, but balance was fine. My observations of some lee helm has been in stronger winds, with three reefs taken. Not when close hauled and heeling, but a little off the wind.
 
I've got one which is there for Nos 3, 4 and storm jib, although in practice it's only ever the no3 I use. You dont need to worry too much about airflow, as you are likely to be reaching or at most close reaching when the wind gets up a bit. You are unlikely to be beating for a sustained period (unless you are a masochist). The wind will be coming from the side, rather than the front, and (at least in my experience) airflow from the rolled up genny isn't a big issue.

Also, as others have said, even if htere is an airflow issue its still a whole lot better than having a horrible, horrible half rolled up genny flapping around like a tent on the forestay.
 
deep denial said:
will the presence of the rolled up genoa have any significant impact on the performance of the inner sail. there will incidentally be very little separation between the two sails.
Click to expand...

Up wind in stronger winds (Top of 5 and 6) I don't think a bit of turbulence on the luff will make any noticeable difference.

The other useful application for an inner fore stay is to use twin head sails down wind in fives and sixes, especially short handed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top