Danny Jo
Well-Known Member
I used to believe that the mast (and perhaps the boom) was the piece of equipment that survives the ravages of time best.
Safety gear, on the other hand, tends to have a short shelf life (lifejackets 2-4 years, liferafts that need servicing every 3 years, EPIRB, flares, etc.) But what about storm sails? Not every boat has them, of course, but I wonder how many boats that have them ever use them.
Freestyle's storm jib and storm trysail were unfolded for inspection today. Nineteen years old, evidently never used, and in pristine, shiny day-glow orange, condition. I guess they may be in the same condition when Freestyle reaches her final berth. (It's not that Freestyle is a complete stay-at-home - twice across the Atlantic, East coast of USA, three years in the Med.) I postulate that it is not just lack of exposure to storms that accounts for the rarity of use of storm sails. I wonder whether, more often than not, strong winds give way to gales which give way to storms in an incremental, if not unexpected, fashion. So one is thinking about setting the trysail when conditions are already pretty dodgy on deck, and may try bare poles if the third reef is too much sail.
I'm green, honestly - not a troll.
Safety gear, on the other hand, tends to have a short shelf life (lifejackets 2-4 years, liferafts that need servicing every 3 years, EPIRB, flares, etc.) But what about storm sails? Not every boat has them, of course, but I wonder how many boats that have them ever use them.
Freestyle's storm jib and storm trysail were unfolded for inspection today. Nineteen years old, evidently never used, and in pristine, shiny day-glow orange, condition. I guess they may be in the same condition when Freestyle reaches her final berth. (It's not that Freestyle is a complete stay-at-home - twice across the Atlantic, East coast of USA, three years in the Med.) I postulate that it is not just lack of exposure to storms that accounts for the rarity of use of storm sails. I wonder whether, more often than not, strong winds give way to gales which give way to storms in an incremental, if not unexpected, fashion. So one is thinking about setting the trysail when conditions are already pretty dodgy on deck, and may try bare poles if the third reef is too much sail.
I'm green, honestly - not a troll.
