Rigging a storm jib

Travelling Westerly

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You don't mention how many will be on board, if you are single handing or just the two of you its a totally different story to there being 6 competent individuals.

My comments are based on limited crew numbers.

Having used a tri-sail with a crew of 6 - I would never want to consider it with a crew of 2. Other may have better ideas.

Because of this we specified that our third (and final reefing point) massively reduces our main area. Our main is 45^2 and the third reef brings it down to 12m^2, on a 38' cat. We don't have a further reef, which might have been another option. But trying to attach a tri sail standing on a cabin roof in buildings seas, effectively single handed is not for the faint hearted.

As mentioned by another member we try to prepare in advance. We have 2 attached headsails a screecher, a sort of Code Zero (also 45m^2), and a 150% genoa (35m^2). We also carry a self tacking jib, which as it fits inside the foretriangle is a 'sort of' No4. If bad weather is forecast we remove the screecher and the genoa and simply replace the, furling, genoa with the self tacking jib and hank on the storm jib to the inner forestay.

I'll be interested in comments on use of tri sails.

As you are asking sensible questions on your 'developing' theme - you might want to extend the queries to jackstays and tethers.

Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan for the reply

It's just me, well my wife is on board as well but I write her out of any sailing duties at present. Once she has some sea miles under her belt then I may start to give her some duties but not right now.

As its effectively just me I must plan way before the weather gets up. As long as the weather forecast is accurate then I shouldn't find myself racing to change sail plans but I know you can get caught short. That's why I'm starting to practice setting up. I don't have any time constraints so I don't mind changing sails early and if they're not required in the end then so what - no big deal.

I like the idea of not having to use a trysail and just use a heavily reefed inmast main but want to hear if this is wise.

Jackstays and tethers already sorted and all my lines lead to my center cockpit
 

Wansworth

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Sails and their construction has moved on light years from those yachtsmans hints and tips about setting storm jibs or tri sails etc
One ocean voyager whos name escapes me recommended setting a tri Sail the size of the deep reef to be used in conjunction with a separate track and sheets therefore saving the mainsail from unneedful wear if in a windy zone or weather system.It was all ready in a bag at the base of the mast ready to set.
 

geem

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In four Atlantic crossings and numerous other long passages (with just me and my wife) we have never hoisted our storm jib in anger. We have a large overlapping genoa ( on the main furler) for light winds and a second working jib on an inner furler. The working jib is heavy cloth and triple stitched. It has a foam luff so can be reefed down to 2/3 of its full size and still have reasonable performance. At this reefed size it is only 25% larger than our storm jib. We have tacked to windward successfully with this furled working jib and triple reefed main in wind up to 30kts for 48 hours and made excellent speed and tacked through 90 degrees. This was all out in the Atlantic with seas at about 2.5m.
If we were out in the Atlantic and faced head winds of 45-50kts we would probably set the JSD and wait for the storm to pass. Believe me, beating to windward in winds up to 30kts for 48hrs is not fun. Its very hard to sleep and the stresses on the boat are significant. The thought of removing a headsail and setting a storm jib on deck in 50kts does not fill me with enthusiasm. I just wouldnt do it given sea room.
 

steve1963

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In four Atlantic crossings and numerous other long passages (with just me and my wife) we have never hoisted our storm jib in anger. We have a large overlapping genoa ( on the main furler) for light winds and a second working jib on an inner furler. The working jib is heavy cloth and triple stitched. It has a foam luff so can be reefed down to 2/3 of its full size and still have reasonable performance. At this reefed size it is only 25% larger than our storm jib. We have tacked to windward successfully with this furled working jib and triple reefed main in wind up to 30kts for 48 hours and made excellent speed and tacked through 90 degrees. This was all out in the Atlantic with seas at about 2.5m.
If we were out in the Atlantic and faced head winds of 45-50kts we would probably set the JSD and wait for the storm to pass. Believe me, beating to windward in winds up to 30kts for 48hrs is not fun. Its very hard to sleep and the stresses on the boat are significant. The thought of removing a headsail and setting a storm jib on deck in 50kts does not fill me with enthusiasm. I just wouldnt do it given sea room.
What is a JSD?
 

Sharky34

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In four Atlantic crossings and numerous other long passages (with just me and my wife) we have never hoisted our storm jib in anger. We have a large overlapping genoa ( on the main furler) for light winds and a second working jib on an inner furler. The working jib is heavy cloth and triple stitched. It has a foam luff so can be reefed down to 2/3 of its full size and still have reasonable performance. At this reefed size it is only 25% larger than our storm jib. We have tacked to windward successfully with this furled working jib and triple reefed main in wind up to 30kts for 48 hours and made excellent speed and tacked through 90 degrees. This was all out in the Atlantic with seas at about 2.5m.
If we were out in the Atlantic and faced head winds of 45-50kts we would probably set the JSD and wait for the storm to pass. Believe me, beating to windward in winds up to 30kts for 48hrs is not fun. Its very hard to sleep and the stresses on the boat are significant. The thought of removing a headsail and setting a storm jib on deck in 50kts does not fill me with enthusiasm. I just wouldnt do it given sea room.
I used a storm jib on my last crossing, because the original stays'l blew out due to age (not my boat).
 

siwhi

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I like the idea of not having to use a trysail and just use a heavily reefed inmast main but want to hear if this is wise.

It's 4am, you're on deck alone, 2 days into a 5 day passage. Pitch black, no moon, no stars. Conditions are ideal, 25 knots tws at 150 degrees to the heading, you're on a broad reach, doing 8 knots.

You're expecting a change in the weather to come in a few hours, but by that time it will be light, you can get the crew up to help.

Within a minute with wind has surged to 45+ kts, and doesn't seem to be moderating at all. The sea is building fast, the rain so strong and horizontal that it stings and you can't focus properly. The fishing rod, lashed to the pushpit, starts to whip around and smash into the solar panels, the jerry cans start sliding, slowly trying to come loose and the bimini starts to rip itself apart. A big wave lifts your quarter and decides it wants to carry your stern along with it for a moment, so you heel over more and the genoa, which had been either partly blanketed by the main, or poled out on the other side, now either backs and collapses totally or powers up. Either way the result is the same - you're pulled over more. Stuff downstairs goes flying and you can hear shouting from the missus, but can't make out a word above the din, assume she's telling the kids to stay in their bunks.

You grind in the big genoa, priority number one, all the way in. This might involve messing with the pole and maybe a guy, but hopefully not if you've set it up right. Next the main. Do you want to relax the preventer? Probably not, but if you do, hopefully it's led back to the cockpit, otherwise it's another clip on and crawl to the bow to undo it. Standing up or even crouching in these conditions is now impossible. The back to the cockpit to stick reefs in the main. Or drop it completely to put up a try-sail? How are you going to drop it? Sail on a reach, sheet out the main til it depowers, then pull it down from the mast and tie it down. Even if you could sail on a reach with the waves surging beam on to you, trying to stand up at the mast in big seas in anything above a gale and have even one spare hand to tie down the sail is, for me at least, impossible.

The idea of then going below, finding another sail and getting that rigged up is another 20 minutes of exhausting and frankly dangerous messing. Can you remember where the sheets are - in the sail bag or in the lazarette? Where do you tie them off to? What's going to happen once it's rigged and ready to go, but you have to go back to the cockpit to hoist it - surely it will just fly off crazily and damage something - probably you - in those 20 seconds it takes to get from the deck to the cockpit. Does it have a dedicated mast track or do you now have to push the main right down and open a gate (did you bring the allen key?) to feed in the trysail. By now waves are regularly breaking, the noise is incredible, the bimini is history, and there is a real difference between how hard you have to hold on at the top of a wave compared to the trough.

Far easier to get a deep 3rd or 4th reef put into the main. Then it's a quick 30 second reach (getting the timing right between big wave sets), open halyard, reef in, up with the halyard tension again, point back down at 150 apparent. Then downstairs to pick up the bits of broken plastic kettle, books and other crap that have gone flying, grab some comfort food and climb back out. For us, with a deep reefed main in 40-55 knots for several days, the boat handles incredibly well, better than genoa only heavy weather downwind sailing which I had typically done prior. Whatever your protocol is, dropping and hoisting sails in heavy weather is easier said than done. Minimize it if possible.
 

Travelling Westerly

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It's 4am, you're on deck alone, 2 days into a 5 day passage. Pitch black, no moon, no stars. Conditions are ideal, 25 knots tws at 150 degrees to the heading, you're on a broad reach, doing 8 knots.

You're expecting a change in the weather to come in a few hours, but by that time it will be light, you can get the crew up to help.

Within a minute with wind has surged to 45+ kts, and doesn't seem to be moderating at all. The sea is building fast, the rain so strong and horizontal that it stings and you can't focus properly. The fishing rod, lashed to the pushpit, starts to whip around and smash into the solar panels, the jerry cans start sliding, slowly trying to come loose and the bimini starts to rip itself apart. A big wave lifts your quarter and decides it wants to carry your stern along with it for a moment, so you heel over more and the genoa, which had been either partly blanketed by the main, or poled out on the other side, now either backs and collapses totally or powers up. Either way the result is the same - you're pulled over more. Stuff downstairs goes flying and you can hear shouting from the missus, but can't make out a word above the din, assume she's telling the kids to stay in their bunks.

You grind in the big genoa, priority number one, all the way in. This might involve messing with the pole and maybe a guy, but hopefully not if you've set it up right. Next the main. Do you want to relax the preventer? Probably not, but if you do, hopefully it's led back to the cockpit, otherwise it's another clip on and crawl to the bow to undo it. Standing up or even crouching in these conditions is now impossible. The back to the cockpit to stick reefs in the main. Or drop it completely to put up a try-sail? How are you going to drop it? Sail on a reach, sheet out the main til it depowers, then pull it down from the mast and tie it down. Even if you could sail on a reach with the waves surging beam on to you, trying to stand up at the mast in big seas in anything above a gale and have even one spare hand to tie down the sail is, for me at least, impossible.

The idea of then going below, finding another sail and getting that rigged up is another 20 minutes of exhausting and frankly dangerous messing. Can you remember where the sheets are - in the sail bag or in the lazarette? Where do you tie them off to? What's going to happen once it's rigged and ready to go, but you have to go back to the cockpit to hoist it - surely it will just fly off crazily and damage something - probably you - in those 20 seconds it takes to get from the deck to the cockpit. Does it have a dedicated mast track or do you now have to push the main right down and open a gate (did you bring the allen key?) to feed in the trysail. By now waves are regularly breaking, the noise is incredible, the bimini is history, and there is a real difference between how hard you have to hold on at the top of a wave compared to the trough.

Far easier to get a deep 3rd or 4th reef put into the main. Then it's a quick 30 second reach (getting the timing right between big wave sets), open halyard, reef in, up with the halyard tension again, point back down at 150 apparent. Then downstairs to pick up the bits of broken plastic kettle, books and other crap that have gone flying, grab some comfort food and climb back out. For us, with a deep reefed main in 40-55 knots for several days, the boat handles incredibly well, better than genoa only heavy weather downwind sailing which I had typically done prior. Whatever your protocol is, dropping and hoisting sails in heavy weather is easier said than done. Minimize it if possible.
Wow great reply, you sold it to me - thanks(y). Do you write books by any chance :)
 

TernVI

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A storm jib is a good thing to have when it's very windy and there's land down to leeward.
It's not just about ocean crossings where you can drift with your drogues and all that, one day you might want to make progress up wind in a lot of wind.
I agree that changing from a main to a trysail is not a trivial thing to do, but sailing up wind when you've shredded the main is not easy either.
Picking up JMUK's comment, the sheeting angle of a storm jib is a funny old thing, actually you don't want to set the sail at a close angle, because you won't be pointing ever so high or going ever so fast and if the true wind is 30+ knots, the apparent wind is not going to have moved forwards ever so much. But OTOH, because it's likely a high clew sail and you want some twist in it, the line of the sheet might not be what you expect. Either horizontally or vertically, ie. how far aft the lead needs to be.
It's instructive to try it out in 'quite windy' conditions.
A lot of racing yachts carry storm jibs because the 'Notice of Race' etc requires them, but when you buy such a yacht and get the storm jib out of the bag, you may find it doesn't really work.
As for only having one sheet, just don't go there, you may want to tack, heave to, back the jib etc.

It's not just about surviving hurricanes, it's also about making safe confident progress when the wind is above the range where your normal sails works properly. 30 knots may not be a 'proper storm' but a storm jib can make it a lot less of an ordeal.

You also need to think about having enough power in any storm sails to maintain control and progress in winds which are merely 'strongish' and the sea is 'very lumpy'. Tiny storm sails which forced you to change back to the No2 etc could be an own goal.

For most coastal cruisers, read the forecast, know when to stay in the bar.
 

Travelling Westerly

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"It's not just about surviving hurricanes, it's also about making safe confident progress when the wind is above the range where your normal sails works properly. 30 knots may not be a 'proper storm' but a storm jib can make it a lot less of an ordeal."

Very good point, I think this was in the back of my mind too just not as well articulated (y)
 

capnsensible

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Generally, storm jibs need to be high up the forestay well clear of waves breaking over the foredeck. This means the sheet lead for going upwind is well aft. Sometimes it even needs to go through the shrouds, rather than outside them all. It just needs checking.
Being a bit of a smartass, my commercial boats all had a fairly easy rigged storm jib complete with sheets and as part of a course, it came out of its bag every week. I know that's unusual, but whatever. Some commercial yachts I've sailed have had hopeless storm jibs. Beads on a wire to go round a furled Genoa. A sleeve to hoist up it. Those are the worst offenders and simply to get a tick when coding.
Realistically, I've used a storm jib to windward a few times......mostly when the headsail has ripped.
Used it far more poled out going downwind. At that, it's fab!
 

geem

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My headsails are genoa 700sqft, working jib 285sq ft, storm jib 150sqft. We find the working jib starts to work well when the true wind speed, whilst going to windward goes above 20kts. Its good without reefing to about 28kts but to some extent depends on sea conditions. Heading up the windward passage with wind gusting to 38kts with wind constantly above 30 we had wind against current and very steep seas but kept the full jib up with two or three reefs in the main. The steep seas stopped us at times so we had the engine on at 1000rpm. This allowed us to head up a little on the course and bear off when a particularly large steep wave came along. A friend in a 40ft cruiser racer could make no progress under sail alone so dropped all sail and engined! He tried motorsailing but with his boat being so light the angle of lean was above the maximum angle at which the engine could operate.
No one solution is going to work in all conditions or on all boats. It depends on what sails you have, what sea conditions you have, how close to land or your destination you are. If you need to endure tough conditions for a few hours or a few days you tactics may be quite different. I big powerful engine can be a godsend. Ours is 86hp on a 44ft boat. If you have sufficient fuel it may be your best bet to get to your destination.
Photo is with full working jib and two reefs in Windward passage between Cuba and Haiti circa 28kts( guessing as we have full working jib and 2 reefs)
 

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dom

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A storm jib is great when there's land to the lee but the ability to travel upwind is by no means confined to that. For example, running off could lead the vessel into a dangerous part of a big depression in circumstances where clawing up to windward is a route to safety. In terms of windward progress, every well found boat should manage it in up to 30-35kts, a limit many dinghies can achieve. And IMHO everyone heading offshore should practice this skill, for these are the kind of winds that will exist at the periphery of a big depression, not in its midst.

The laws of physics mean that the force imparted by the wind rises roughly in proportion to the square of its speed. The maximum power of your boat meanwhile remains roughly constant, limited by its hull/keel/mast/sail combination. Consequently, as the wind builds one reefs to prevent overpowering the boat. But alas, the forward drive in a F6/7 will not be dissimilar to the drive in a F4, or indeed F3 for a racing boat. Meanwhile the wind resistance of the boat (hull + rig + all of the garbage hanging off it) increases roughly with the square of the wind speed. Consequently the wind resistance to power ratio ratio gets worse as the wind blows harder. Toss waves into the equation it immediately becomes clear that - especially for lighter/smaller boats - one can end up fighting a losing battle.

My first advice is therefore to take a look at sprayhoods, biminis, etc, which increase windage. Not to forget the roller genny, if it can come off well in advance, so much the better, possibly replace the sprayhood for a smaller cockpit version, and try to keep weight in the boat as deep as possible; it will make a big difference, believe me.

Now to the sailing: a sail's shape significantly influences its drive to sideways force ratio and affects its stall characteristics. This is a complex area, but one will typically go from inner blade jib to storm jib at some point. If one doesn't want to go onto the foredeck - who does!! - there are furler systems which allow the jib to be hoisted first and then deployed as required. A storm well-cut jib will drastically improve upwind performance, no doubt about it.

Turning to the main, going for 3 or 4 reefs, as opposed to a trysail, can be much better in sailable conditions. One can flatten-off the main much better as the wind blows harder (use the cunningham, outhaul, backstay and kicker). Then use the mainsheet and traveller (if available) to work the boat forward - fast windward progress in heavy weather requires more human effort.

And finally, nobody wants to be stuck in 55kts+ of wind; 35kts is fun, but above 40kts many boats will be reaching/have surpassed their windward limit. There are some fantastic weather routing services around which often cost sub-£100 per week for cruising applications. Well worth the money to have an experienced meteorologist as crewmember with vast contemporaneous data sets sitting in a warm space calmly thinking for you, as opposed to trying to wing-it in the thick of things.
 

Stemar

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Far easier to get a deep 3rd or 4th reef put into the main. Then it's a quick 30 second reach (getting the timing right between big wave sets), open halyard, reef in, up with the halyard tension again, point back down at 150 apparent.
Agreed, provided those deep reefs are roped up and ready to go.

I've seen lots of boats (most?) in marinas with three reefs, but only two ready to go, the idea being that you undo reef one and reuse it for reef 3. This is going to involve a trip to the mast and, if you haven't done it because you knew some dirty weather was coming so you've skipped reef one, that's going to be at the point you really don't want to be going out of the cockpit.
 

geem

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Agreed, provided those deep reefs are roped up and ready to go.

I've seen lots of boats (most?) in marinas with three reefs, but only two ready to go, the idea being that you undo reef one and reuse it for reef 3. This is going to involve a trip to the mast and, if you haven't done it because you knew some dirty weather was coming so you've skipped reef one, that's going to be at the point you really don't want to be going out of the cockpit.
.
Going to the mast to reef is easy compared to going onto the foredeck to install a storm jib especially if you have good high granny bars. For one thing the mast part of the deck isnt likely to be spending time under water like the pointy end of the boat?.
I agree that removing a reef to insert the third reef is possibly dangerous as you need to leave the safety of the mast to remove a reef from the end of the boom. We dont have an aversion to going on deck to reef. We like the simplicity of the system and the rope free cockpit. It would be easy to change to reefing from the cockpit but we dont see it as an advantage on our boat. I know on other boat designs reefing from the cockpit is a must. I am certain we can put a reef in quicker than many systems that reef from the cockpit.
 

Frank Holden

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Simple fix to the sheet issue.... two cars for the genoa, two for the storm jib...

What I have.... two headsails... big genoa and a working 100% jib. Normally have the working jib on the furler except when a trade wind passage is in prospect.

Storm jibs? I have three... as built she came with a 150 sq foot one which you can see in the attached pic... one dark night in Bass Strait I realised it was way too big for the job. Spoke to my sailmaker in Melbourne ... 'Ah that is a 'pre-Fastnet sail'...... these days we would suggest a 100 sq footer'.....
So I bought a 100 sq footer.
Cupla years later on the way to NZ found it was a bit big.... spoke to the sailmaker in windy Wellington... 'round here we would suggest a 50 Sq footer for Cook Strait...'
So that is what I have....

What I do... apart from sizing the headsail to the voyage.

For a long passage or a short one where I think the weather may freshen a bit.... I pick two storm jibs... normally either the 150 or the 100 plus the 50.
I hank on the larger and marling hitch it to the rail... halyard and sheets rigged.... everthing ready to go
The small one gets hanked on below this and is just marling hitched to itself ... see the pic.

P1020808.JPG.jpg...

If I want to fly the smaller sail I just drop the larger one.... unhank and rehank the little one above it while sitting on the foredeck ....move the halyard and sheets over and up she goes

I have 3 reefs in the main... had a main with 4 reefs once... never used the fourth one...

I try to avoid going to windward but the storm jibs get a lot of use going downhill. Furling jibs aren't really reefing jibs..... not after you get to the 'third dot'.....after that the centre of effort is too far frd and too high up.

Pic is late May... running north from Estrecho de Magallanes to Mar del Plata... set up as a sort of cutter
 

ColinR

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Setting a storm jib in the conditions that need it is no fun, especially if you have to attach the emergency forestay. This is swinging about like crazy with quite a bit of weight in it and you are perched on a wildly bucking foredeck trying to hang on and line up the fitting and get the pin through, depending on the system you have. And then hank on the sail and hoist it. Not easy. And is it necessary? Other have made the point about trying to sail to windward in a smallish boat in strong winds. I have found on my boat the best thing is to heave-to under a deeply reefed main and no headsail. This will depend on the boat but its worth a try in a blow as it means less time on the foredeck. By the time you are thinking of a storm jib you will have the main deep reefed so just wind in the genoa and heave-to under main only.
 

Biggles Wader

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Setting a storm jib in the conditions that need it is no fun, especially if you have to attach the emergency forestay. This is swinging about like crazy with quite a bit of weight in it and you are perched on a wildly bucking foredeck trying to hang on and line up the fitting and get the pin through, depending on the system you have. And then hank on the sail and hoist it. Not easy. And is it necessary? Other have made the point about trying to sail to windward in a smallish boat in strong winds. I have found on my boat the best thing is to heave-to under a deeply reefed main and no headsail. This will depend on the boat but its worth a try in a blow as it means less time on the foredeck. By the time you are thinking of a storm jib you will have the main deep reefed so just wind in the genoa and heave-to under main only.
Surely you need some sort of jib up in order to heave to?
 
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