Reducing sail priority

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Akka

Get that jib down. As everybody except the jerks has pointed out, the choice depends on the boat. The key in your case is, no staysail, no roller furling. So, suppose you reef the main first and then the wind picks up to gale force. What now? You've got to get that jib in. So you go forward, hank on the little jib and drop the big one. As you try to unhank the monster, a wave comes ove the bow and catches the part that's free. Now we've got a sail in the water and still no headsail. Depending on your latitude, hypothermia is an issue. Your girlfriend is hanging in there but thinking about what to do when yodu finally reach harbor, and it doesn't involve you. You're thinking, wish I'd done this first!

You get back , burn the credit card and buy a roller furler, result happy GF that's goes sailing again.

Dave

[Dexterbase]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

You get back , burn the credit card and buy a roller furler, result happy GF that's goes sailing again.

Dave

Can you reef with a roller furler? That's a serious question I've never used one. I was always under the impression that with a roller furler your headsail was either rolled up or all the way unfurled.

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by Dexterbase

Can you reef with a roller furler? That's a serious question I've never used one. I was always under the impression that with a roller furler your headsail was either rolled up or all the way unfurled.

You're kidding right?
I have furler on both jib and main
It's so easy
You can put just what sail is needed
Just roll it in or out.... From the cockpit

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Dexterbase

Can you reef with a roller furler? That's a serious question I've never used one. I was always under the impression that with a roller furler your headsail was either rolled up or all the way unfurled.

There are very few roller furlers now that don't allow you to use them to reef.
There are drawbacks. Sail shape gets bad, not a good upwind shape. The PO on my boat had ordered one cloth weight higher than recommended. Even the recommended cloth weight would have been a crappy light air 150% genny. The sail still stretched when reefed in heavy air.

Since I sail in an area that is quite often light air, and you are either sailing upwind or downwind, seems mostly upwind. I now use a light weight cloth 150% from the racing inventory that came with the boat that is too long in the luff to work on the furler, and switch down to a #3 that I can furl/reef when it's forecast to be heavier.

Most people are happy with their furlers, I guess I'm too picky about sail shape.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Most people are happy with their furlers, I guess I'm too picky about sail shape.

My Christmas gift to the boat was Garhauer adjustable genoa cars. When I roll my 135 up to a 75%, moving the position of the car forward seems to give a better sail shape.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Most people are happy with their furlers, I guess I'm too picky about sail shape.

My solution to this was to put a genoa on the furler and keep the hank sails for use on the Solent stay. There is some interference in the flow from the furled sail, but it's a compromise.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

My solution to this was to put a genoa on the furler and keep the hank sails for use on the Solent stay. There is some interference in the flow from the furled sail, but it's a compromise.

I've been thinking about adding a Solent stay when I head out. Got some ideas at the boat show from riggers about fittings required, distributing the load on the foredeck, etc.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Snore

My Christmas gift to the boat was Garhauer adjustable genoa cars. When I roll my 135 up to a 75%, moving the position of the car forward seems to give a better sail shape.

That fixes twist, not the deep draft positioned too far forward.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

IME, this is backwards. Having owned both types of rigs, I suggest reefing the larger sail first... assuming that both reefing practices work similarly well.

Cheers,

Jim

Yep, we always reduce the main first. Depending on the wind direction we may put in two reefs before reducing the headsail.

[Ketchgould]

I have the exact same issues just add a dog and two daughters. We reduced the main first. I made reefing much easier too with better cam locks.

We are buying a roller furler, nine years too late. Can't wait. Getting the alado nautical. About $1400 for a 33 foot boat.

[SimonV]

To keep headsail shape exeptable, on a roller furler it must have a decent foam luff, but only upto 50% furled. After that sail shape is less important.

[mtarcher]

I read somewhere that it's best to reef the sail that the wind is hitting 1st...downwind sail = reef the main...upwind = reef the jib/genoa...all this dependent on the boat in question.

[builder dan]

On my boat its always headsail first as its on hanks as someone previous said get it down before it gets too windy,I can always sheet out the main as well

[markpierce]

On my 1980s pocket cutter, it was (1) take down the flying jib, (2) reef the main, (3) reef the main again, (4) take down the club jig or the remaining mainsail depending on point of sail, and (never needed to), (5) take down last sail and deploy a sea anchor. Having halyards, downhauls and jiffy-reefing lines all leading to the cockpit made the process simpler/safer.

[JPA Cate]

You'll benefit from some experimentation with this one. You need to find out what works best for your boat.

If you go to a furling headsail, you will be well served by a padded luff, tri-radial headsail: they seem to work best "reefed." When you reef a furling headsail, you load the headstay differently, and it leads to needing to replace the stay more frequently than [we] had previously been aware of: like 4 yrs. instead of 10. It stresses the wire differently, or so our rigger said. Our wire, and apparently others' wires, break about 6-12" below the swage. We had a furler stay break in 25 k. when we were on the wind. It became a bush repair in Vanuatu. We were lucky to save the furler, and really glad we had StaLocks.

But most important is to learn what is best for your boat, then if changes are needed, make them.

Have fun experimenting.

Ann