What would you do?

Major_Clanger

Major_Clanger

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Vim has a great suit of sails with the exception of the no.1 Genoa which is tired and baggy (the owner is remarkably similar). Here's the quandary; shall I buy a new hank-on genny or, since I rarely race these days, bite the bullet and get a furling heads'l?

I like the idea of being able to reef so easily and I'd still have a storm jib in extremis. Modern tri-radials seem to set incredibly well off a furler so perhaps it's time to get rid of 4 different jibs and create some locker space.

What would you do?
 
If you can, try to obtain a furler that has some kind of a safety locking system. I believe there is such a system available in New Zealand.
The Achilles' Heel of jib furlers is their propensity, when there is a good proportion of the sail furled in, for the control line to chafe through and release the full sail, just when you least need it. (Don't ask how I know about this?).
You will also need a removable inner forestay for the storm jib. Alternatively, a storm jib that can be hoisted over the furled headsail.
There are those who say that a roller reefed genoa is far inferior to interchangeable sails, but , (a), that depends on your style of sailing, and, (b), a padded luff will help.
 
Furler. Much easier to use. Check clearance for anchoring.

A removable inner forestay for strong wind sailing is a nice to have and removes the nagging concern about hidden forestay damage.

The deluxe option is three furlers with gennaker, genoa and jib...... which would cost as much as a boat.
 
I agree with the above, go for a furler.

Yes, there will be a little bit of a performance hit compared to hank on, but the convenience and safety factors far out way that IMHO.
 
Another vote for the furler. You may lose a little performance when it's partly furled, but being able to reduce/enlarge from the cockpit in seconds means you'll have the right amount of sail more of the time. How much do you enjoy going below to get another sail, going onto the foredeck to swap then putting the damp sail back down below?
 
If not racing, then a furler is handy.

I can however guarantee that if you are used to a properly set J3 or J4, then there will come a point when you are going upwind in fresh conditions when you are going to look at your part furled jib and sigh a bit....

Where you sit on the scale of performance vs convenience is entirely up to you....
 
flaming said:
If not racing, then a furler is handy.

I can however guarantee that if you are used to a properly set J3 or J4, then there will come a point when you are going upwind in fresh conditions when you are going to look at your part furled jib and sigh a bit....

Where you sit on the scale of performance vs convenience is entirely up to you....
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When the sail is new, it's fine. When it's gone a wee bit baggy, it's bloody awful part furled. Even when it still sets ok at the full monty. Ours is at this stage.
 
A furler is a good option & there is no reason why you have to have one sail. You can have a genoa & a smaller sail. I have a friend who just looks at the weather & selects which sail to hoist on his 28ft leisure. If off wind he uses the bigger sail most times. If up wind & likely to be windy then it is the smaller sail.
If it gets windy with the bigger sail he can still furl it, but with a lesser sail shape
He has made his sails last a long time using this system .
I have a self tacker so never have to furl. I would not sail with a furled genoa if I could help it. It just ruins performance & pointing angle. I Do not think that it does the sail much good either.
 
I have a furler but I don't use it for reefing. You could buy a new genny and fit your other sails with luff slides and a strop so you could still use them. Indeed - your new genny could have luff slides and then you'd have the best of both worlds. I find the ability to disappear the headsail at the pull of a string very useful but as soon as you take a roll, you get a terrible bag on the luff.
 
neil_s said:
I have a furler but I don't use it for reefing. You could buy a new genny and fit your other sails with luff slides and a strop so you could still use them. Indeed - your new genny could have luff slides and then you'd have the best of both worlds. I find the ability to disappear the headsail at the pull of a string very useful but as soon as you take a roll, you get a terrible bag on the luff.
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It‘s either not well designed for furling, or it’s too worn.
 
Chiara’s slave said:
It‘s either not well designed for furling, or it’s too worn.
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I got the impression that Neil-S was suggesting fitting the new genoa with luff slides.So question of worn would not apply. I think that he was also suggesting making the other smaller sails useable, so that furling was not so necessary. That is far more useful than a part furled sail.
Neil S did say that the benefit of the furler is that one can douse the sail in an instant. To me that is the reason I have it. When I had my genoa made, I specifically told Goacher that it was NOT to be designed for furling. Yet they managed to get that wrong- (along with incorrect cruising chute dims :rolleyes: ). Just because one has a furler does not mean one has to sail with a part furled sail.
 
You don’t have to. But it can be done, as long as your jib isn’t made by the guy who made sails for HMS Victory. I’ve had tri radials that do set well part reefed. Shortening sail on a small tri by any other means is for brave young men, and plenty if them. Mine were made by Dick Batt. My current one is too, but it came with the boat and is 11 years old.
 
The problem with fitting a genoa with luff slides is finding suitable kit. A typical 5mm type luff tape/foil requires a very small slide (5mm) with a tiny spine that passes the narrow bit of the foil. Strength is an issue and I couldnt find anything to suit when I looked a couple of years ago. I would still consider doing it if someone knows any better?
 
Another one voting for a furling set up. But do choose a modern laminate Genoa with foam luff, and you will find that furled performance can be quite reasonable.
 
For the relatively recently acquired family boat we have a furler, which is the first time I have ever owned such a thing having raced for 30+ years.

The previous owner specced a smaller headsail with less overlap as his wife was having trouble winching in the big genny.

This actually suits me a treat as I never have to reef the jib in normal coastal sailing.

Depending on how your boat is rigged and canvassed it might be worth thinking about. Ours has a fractional rig with a big mainsail so I never need to do much past one or two reefs in the main.
 
Another vote for the furler. To save money, worth checking for 2nd hand. We got a 2nd hand Profurl C420 for our Sweden 36 (so slightly over specified) for £450.

Riggers often have 2nd hand units from customers where the rig has failed (obviously not due to furler failure), and whole lot has been replaced under insurance.

Also recommend foam/padding etc. on luff of sail to improve reefed shape.
 
Foam luffs, take the advice of your sailmaker. Some sail cloth and some cuts, they’ll be a valuable component. We’ve not used one, tri radial high modulus fibre sails maybe don’t need it. I think probably having running backstays may help there too.
 
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