headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

"Jere Lull" wrote

Upwind, the difference is pretty much the difference in length about a
foot or so behind the luff, where the power comes from. There's some
benefit from less drag in the smaller sail, too.


Exactly. My old Genoa, reefed down to the area the boat could carry in fresh
conditions, had less leading edge than the working jib. I now have just a
bit more area than the old working jib with full length leading edge and
more leading edge when reefed to the old working jib size. The overlap area
is really only effective reaching and, if you want the 150% area for light
air, better to put it in an asym.

--
Roger Long

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

The furling line should end in a ratchet block and then lead forward to the
cleat. The ideal location is such that you are located about mid way
between the block and the first fairlead. You can then reach down and swig
the line while holding the free end to lock the ratchet block. This lets
you develop quite a bit of extra power without the risk of overdoing it with
a winch ($$$$) and pump in the first few rolls.

I would have been in a real pickle last fall when caught close too a nasty
lee shore in a sudden gust front if I hadn't just converted to this
arrangement. I couldn't run off and was suddenly overpowered enough that
I'm not sure I could have gotten the boat to tack. New Englanders can read
the full story in the October "Points East". Anticipation is an important
part of using a roller rig.

--
Roger Long

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

On 2008-08-10 07:22:14 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

The furling line should end in a ratchet block and then lead forward to the
cleat. The ideal location is such that you are located about mid way
between the block and the first fairlead. You can then reach down and swig
the line while holding the free end to lock the ratchet block. This lets
you develop quite a bit of extra power without the risk of overdoing it with
a winch ($$$$) and pump in the first few rolls.

On our boat, that would put that turning block well aft in the cockpit,
crossing sheets and the primary -- full-time. That disturbs me. Why not
just go around the primary winch for the short period? You won't have
the jib sheets on it at those times. (BTW, you just described another
form of winching.)

I happen to use a cabin-top winch as our "snub" for the furling line.
(When tying off, I wrap the line a dozen or so times around the winch,
many wraps overlapping previous ones, before going to the cleat.)

I can't winch with the winch as the lead is wrong (coming down), but
with only two blocks in the lead's run, I have very little drag and
have furled the sail in 25++ fairly easily.

I can get a little more power by bracing a foot against the bulkhead;
two feet and "lift with the knees" gives real power, yet I can feel if
the "haul" is wrong (usually the chute halyard wrapping up top).

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
"Ernest Scribbler" wrote in message
. ..
Do downhauls count?



I had one of those on my Gay 20... worked like a champ.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.nambla.com




Too Much Information

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

Sounds like your cockpit is arranged quite a bit differently than mine. I'm
always using my jib winch when furling because I run a single turn of the
sheet around it to get a nice tight furl.

I can't see anything wrong with the way you are doing it though. The key
point is to have some "feel" which swigging provides. Too easy to over pull
with a winch. I was just looking at a broken Harken torque tube a couple
days ago.

--
Roger Long

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:38:55 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Sounds like your cockpit is arranged quite a bit differently than mine. I'm
always using my jib winch when furling because I run a single turn of the
sheet around it to get a nice tight furl.

I can't see anything wrong with the way you are doing it though. The key
point is to have some "feel" which swigging provides. Too easy to over pull
with a winch. I was just looking at a broken Harken torque tube a couple
days ago.

Harken says that if you need to use a winch to furl, there is
something wrong with either your setup or your technique.

I find I have to use heavily padded gloves for that small diameter
furling line when the wind is up, but never had to resort to using a
winch.

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

On 2008-08-10 16:57:43 -0400, said:

I find I have to use heavily padded gloves for that small diameter
furling line when the wind is up, but never had to resort to using a
winch.

A trick: I added a short tail of 3/8" braid to the end of ours and put
a loop in the end. Easy to grip. A beneficial unexpected consequence is
that the line can't slip through the block if the sail snaps out
quickly.

We only use gloves on our boat for chill protection.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

On 2008-08-10 13:38:55 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

Sounds like your cockpit is arranged quite a bit differently than mine. I'm
always using my jib winch when furling because I run a single turn of the
sheet around it to get a nice tight furl.

The 135 sheets to the primaries on the coming, and even if I were using
the 110 on the cabin-top secondaries, I can get the tight furl from the
port-side sheet. Remember, we're talking about furling in heavier
winds, a time when we'll obtain a tight furl anyway. In light airs, I
don't need to snub the furling line.

If that's not clear (somewhat expected), let's just say that it works for us.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

In article ,
wrote:
On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:38:55 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Sounds like your cockpit is arranged quite a bit differently than mine. I'm
always using my jib winch when furling because I run a single turn of the
sheet around it to get a nice tight furl.

I can't see anything wrong with the way you are doing it though. The key
point is to have some "feel" which swigging provides. Too easy to over pull
with a winch. I was just looking at a broken Harken torque tube a couple
days ago.

Harken says that if you need to use a winch to furl, there is
something wrong with either your setup or your technique.

I find I have to use heavily padded gloves for that small diameter
furling line when the wind is up, but never had to resort to using a
winch.

Schaefer says the same thing, as do all the people I know with furlers.

I've never had to use more than regular effort to furl, even in 20kts. It's odd that there would be that much on the furling line.

headsail furlers -the good, the bad and the ugly...sound off!
 

On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:34:23 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-08-10 16:57:43 -0400, said:

I find I have to use heavily padded gloves for that small diameter
furling line when the wind is up, but never had to resort to using a
winch.

A trick: I added a short tail of 3/8" braid to the end of ours and put
a loop in the end. Easy to grip. A beneficial unexpected consequence is
that the line can't slip through the block if the sail snaps out
quickly.

We only use gloves on our boat for chill protection.

Be glad that you don't have arthritis.