Wykeham Martin furlers - remove headsails when leaving boat?

[Mataji]

Twin headsails, both with Wykeham Martin furlers. The question is should I remove the headsails when I leave the boat, or are a couple of turns of the sheets round the sails plus an extra sail tie sufficient?

 

[Guise]

It depends, if the forecast is fine and you feel OK then leave them for a few days, if not stow them. Personally when I had a boat with these I always stowed them if leaving her for more than a few days and I never felt they were as secure as a roller reefing headsail with a foil. In addition if your headsails don't have a sacrificial strip they will suffer UV damage over time.

 

[Mataji]

Thanks for the reply. It’s not much trouble to remove the sails, they’re not very big. The sensible thing is obviously to remove them. I’m not sure why I asked in the first place - just hoping I could get away with being lazy.

 

[Plum]

It depends, if the forecast is fine and you feel OK then leave them for a few days, if not stow them. Personally when I had a boat with these I always stowed them if leaving her for more than a few days and I never felt they were as secure as a roller reefing headsail with a foil. In addition if your headsails don't have a sacrificial strip they will suffer UV damage over time.

I mostly leave mine rolled, but lowered so it lies on deck, then a couple of ties to keep it rolled and tied to something.

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