I own a 14' cat and have the chance to buy a nice self furling jib that
would fit it well. tha cat currently has a standard jib on it. would
it be silly to think about adding a self-furler? I've been on yahcts
with self furlers before and it was sure nice being able to have the
jib on-demand like that. Raising or lowering the jib on my cat while
on the water is amusing at best. I have reefing points on my main and
having a furling jib would allow me to reduce jib size to match the
main.

The only thing im thinking about is raising it. This cat is used
weekly and its on a trailer. Im often out sailing alone, the mast is
22' and i can step it myself if its not blowing a gale, but would the
self furler have to be added to the mast before it is stepped or can it
be done after?

Thanks,
Shaun

imagineero wrote:
I own a 14' cat and have the chance to buy a nice self furling jib that
would fit it well. tha cat currently has a standard jib on it. would
it be silly to think about adding a self-furler?

Not at all. They're great for handling the boat around docks or beaches.


..... I have reefing points on my main and
having a furling jib would allow me to reduce jib size to match the
main.


Small furlers are good for reefing. They can't roll up the luff of the
jib evenly (or as would be best, slightly more in the middle) or hold it
fixed that way, and so the jib tends to roll into a bag shape whcih only
makes the boat difficult to steer. Best for either keeping the sail
rolled up all the way, or unrolled.




The only thing im thinking about is raising it. This cat is used
weekly and its on a trailer. Im often out sailing alone, the mast is
22' and i can step it myself if its not blowing a gale, but would the
self furler have to be added to the mast before it is stepped or can it
be done after?


You can put the upper swivel on the jib halyard, and use it that way.
The furler gear has to be strong enough to take the whole load of the
mast, the jib has to have a wire luff, and the halyard & block have to
be strong enough to take the load of the mast also. THe halyard must be
hi-tech zero stretch line. Then, you can use the jib halyard & luff as
the forestay. Makes it a little easier to raise the mast, actually. Take
the old wire forestay off, it will only get the jib wrapped around it
anyway.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

thanks for the ideas Doug!
my cat has 4 stays supporting the mast; two to the front of the floats
and two to slightly behind midships. my current jib doesnt act as a
forestay, it has a wire luff and clips to a crossmember at the front of
the floats and then hoists with the jib halyard. does this change
things at all?

The self furler is a very close match at the luff and leach but quite a
bit bigger across the foot... should i have it re-cut or should i try
to move the tack further forward? being bigger it would probably afect
the ballance of the boat wouldnt it?

imagineero wrote:
thanks for the ideas Doug!
my cat has 4 stays supporting the mast; two to the front of the floats
and two to slightly behind midships

In that case, you're good to go! No need to monkey around with any of
the stays.


The self furler is a very close match at the luff and leach but quite a
bit bigger across the foot... should i have it re-cut or should i try
to move the tack further forward? being bigger it would probably afect
the ballance of the boat wouldnt it?


Yes & no. The biggest problem it's likely to have is getting the
sheeting angle right so you can trim the sail for effective pointing
upwind. You will probably have to move the pulley which the jib sheet
runs thru.

In theory, a bigger jib should change the balance of the boat but you'll
notice that thousands (probably tens of thousands) of keelboats have big
genoas that they sail with, and little or no bad effect on the helm. I'd
give it a try as is.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King