Possibly dumb questions for those with ST Jibs

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Dave 71

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My boat, a Hanse, has a ST Jib. We've found it works well for us and like it. Experimentally, as a test of its down wind (lack of) performance I've tried it jib only. It did make the boat move, gave steerage and as we were not in a rush, was not a complete disaster. Having it bang from side to side is annoying, though

Longer term, I think a good combo for my boat would be an asymmetric on a furler. I have the sail, but I'm reluctant to spend the cash on the furler right now as it's something that probably will only be used infrequently and want to make best use of what I've got.

Can a ST jib be poled out? I Have a pole, but if I'm honest not 100% sure how to set it up. I've seen it done, although fudged with a boat hook but not actually done it with a proper pole. I'm wondering if the pole would just swing across when the sail gybes rather than keeping the sail out to one side, so presumably some kind of preventer line needed.

There are stops on the ST track that can be used to hold the car in place. Normally these are out the outer ends of the track but could be moved across and used to prevent the car from moving along the track. I am wondering if the pins that lock in place are man enough for the job. There is no mention of the intended function of these in the manual. Are they intended to stop the sail tacking, could these be used in combination with a pole? And maybe even heaving to?

I'm not really looking to maximise performance so I'm not that fussed about the performance aspect. I'd like to learn the technique, stop it banging and, well, boats look good goose winged! We did try main only at the weekend and found the boat rolled a bit (there was a bit of a sea running) which was not completely comfortable, so rolled the jib back out. It did help dampen the roll.
 
Our self tacking system uses the Hoyt Boom system.

It has enough friction to stay put when goosewinging.

For heaving to I am experimenting with a lashing to the midships cleat.

For a small, elderly crew, ST is the bees knees.

IMHO, of course.........................................
 
A lazy sheet system does work if a consistent wind assists
goose winged is practical
ST is worth its weight whilst short tacking,short handed or even as we were just getting older
as above heaving too takes a bit of organising
 
Make yourself a short whisker pole - big dinghy fittings will probably do. Much lighter and simpler than a full pole. Other threads on here explain how to make one.

Use a proper pole in stronger winds.
 
My Southerly 46RS was designed for a self tacking jib, and couldn't sail without it.
The Southerly 46RS has about 1,200 square feet of upwind, about 550 sqft of that in the jib. I'm 76 and sail single handed most of the time. Short tacking is very easy, just put the helm down.
Sailing down wind is another matter, the sheeting angle works very well going up wind (sailing to an apparent wind angle of 30deg, sometimes 28deg), but as soon as the sheets are eased, the sail shape is very poor. I use a second lazy sheet, on the gunwale, well forward to improve the sail shape when reaching, and that makes big difference, to the sail shape and boat speed.
Dead down wind I use the same lazy sheet, but with a second block well aft, and it is possible to keep the jib on the windward side, effectively goose winged, without a pole. I need to adjust the boom angle so that the wind deflected off the main sail, usually not squared right off against the shrouds, but sheeted in a bit , that somehow stabilizes the jib. It also pays to sail dead down wind, almost running by the lee.
In very light conditions I tack down wind, at an angle of about 155 deg true. That keeps the jib from banging around on the track, and the gain in apparent wind keeps the boat speed up, often to close to the true wind speed (if the boat has clean hull).
I've often thought about a short whisker pole, but it would have to be fixed to a very low point on the mast, because the jib is deck hugger, and I haven't found a sensible way to do that, but probably not tried that hard, because I can get the jib to set to windward.
 
If you use a whisker pole ( telescopic) you can pole it out. Use a sheet with the plastic snap shakle and put a couple of beads on it to locate the pole. Even in light winds it adds a knot , knot and a halsf
 
My little single handed keel boat sailed on the narrow rivers of the Norfolk Broads, has a jib club for obvious reasons. The jib club and sail extend forward of the pivot point by 25% of the jib club / sail foot length.
Here's one of the Ludham historic hire fleet with a jib club.
1686669044408.png
It's easy to handle. Even with 4 jib sheets, the extra pair go to the luff end of the club so you can hold the jib out when running.
The only problem is the small size of the jib, it means when running a big gust hitting the main, tends to make the boat turn to windward strongly.

If you don't want a jib club, then look at flying jib sticks, used on dinghys. They self stow against the mast, and pole out the jib from pulling string in the cockpit. It can easily be scaled up.
 
Last edited:
ProDave said:
We might be buying a boat with a ST Jib. My only question is we would want to add a locking mechanism to hold the car at one end (if there is not one already) otherwise you won't be able to heave to.
Click to expand...
Mine has just such a mechanism, but i don't know if that is what it is for! (although i cant see what else it would be....)
 
Well, lots of answers but none of them quite answer my question....

If I were to use a pole do I need to do anything more than for an overlapping jib, to stop the pole flying across if the wind shifts? @michael_w yes, lashing it would stop it going over, but are you suggesting that a pole isn't needed? what would stop the sail backing? Or are you suggesting that would replicate the jib sheet secured on a winch?
 
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