One of the reasons for proper sail folding, aside from the obvious lifespan
factor, is good seamanship.

When a sail is folded correctly and still in the bag you should be able to
attach the Tack without removing the sail. (then it doesn't blow away of
course).

At this point the bag can be removed and the sail hanked on -then the sheets
added. It's all about keeping sails (and crew) on deck and out of the water.

The bigger the boat, the more important proper sail folding/handling is.
Imagine screwing around on the deck of a 40 footer in big seas trying to
find head vs tack vs clew. Now imagine doing it on a maxi. Scary!

DP



"padeen" wrote in message
...
I was shown how to precisely fold my sails for my 16' Luger and told that
this is a must, but there are times when I don't have the space or time to
do this. How do people with larger boats fold their sails, especially
when
underway? Don't they just shove them into the sail storage area and dry
them when they can? Just what are the issues involved with folding, vs.
stuffing, sails?
TIA for any information.

Padeen