On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 12:10:40 -0500, "Karin Conover-Lewis"
wrote:

I had a friend in Los Angeles harbour whose mantra was, "Sails go up and
down -- toilet paper goes round and round." I noticed, though, that he
didn't seem to mind using the roller furler on MY boat. lol

Oh, don't get me wrong: furling is a wonderful thing, particularly on
bigger boats and in rotten weather. But it's a compromise, and the
compromise is that you lose on shape and pointing ability, and you
court mechanical failure with few alternatives (short of the
interesting "Gale Sail", I suppose). Add to that the tendency NOT to
strip the stay in heavy weather, creating potential foredeck hazards
and windage should a tear begin, and the issue of UV
degradation...well, it's not the Holy Grail it might seem at first.

The positives (ease of use, not having to carry sail inventory, not
having to brave the foredeck in wet weather, not having to wrestle and
stow huge genoas) are of course well known.

Me, I like hanks for mechanical simplicity and reliability. I have
blown one sail and wrecked one piston hank since 1999, and I carry
(generally) five sails (No 1, 2, 3, genoa staysail and cruising
spinnaker, with maybe a storm jib in the forepeak), which fill a
quarterberth I don't otherwise use. I cruise like I am racing, which
means trimming and setting for long legs, because I like to navigate
on paper, too G

When I go South, as they say, I will almost certainly go to the
"yankee-cut genoa on a furler" which is nearly universal. But as I
favour a cutter and/or ketch rig, I will likely want to keep a
hanked-on staysail stay for back up and peace of mind, and I won't
have mainsail furling, preferring to reef early.

Having said all that curmudgeonly stuff, I think the double
roller-reefing forestays called "Solent rigs" and found on many modern
cruisers like Sagas and so on are very, very appealing, and if I ever
win a lottery it's "hanks" for the memories...I've gettin' one of them
beauties!

R.