Thoughts on Solent Rig?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Joli

It sounds like you have it pretty well sorted. Get the inner forestay with a roller furling jib, it requires running backs and a substantial ring frame or cable to carry the load from deck to hull. When adding the sheave box look to see where your pole lift exits the mast, its best if it is above the exit of the inner forestay.

Regarding changing headsails at sea. Without a large crew it's tough to do partially because the sails are big and partially because the luff is loose, the sail can and will go everywhere. When we were racing it took half a dozen guys to change from a #1 to a #3 and we always tried to do it inside out (ie raise the new sail on the inner track, tack then lower the old sail, now on the inside against the sail you just raised). Then you have to put away the sail you just brought down. That requires a sausage bag and bricking the sail into thirds, stuffing it into the bag and dragging the bag below. Depending on the jib the weight could be 150#'s.

Sailing a big boat with a small crew requires window shades forward of the mast, an easily reefed main and easy way to project sail when going downwind so a carbon pole and socks are needed.

Hope this helps. Our rig is 93' off the water, we've learned a lot over the past 20 years we've owned the boat.

Photo below of the misses changing out the main halyard from the very tough sail from the East Coast to the Caribbean last fall. Thanks to FKG in St Martin for fixing us up with a new halyard and North Sails for repairing the staysail which is not on the furler in this picture.

Wow! . . .

[b_rodwell]

Great discussion! I have been thinking about those issues but didn't come up with a good solution.
One thing I can add is about the importance of taking. I was a liveaboard for six years and sailed halfway around the world on a Lagoon 400. I don't remember tacking once. So when someone says they have a self tacking jib for cruising, I say why?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by b_rodwell

Great discussion! I have been thinking about those issues but didn't come up with a good solution.
One thing I can add is about the importance of taking. I was a liveaboard for six years and sailed halfway around the world on a Lagoon 400. I don't remember tacking once. So when someone says they have a self tacking jib for cruising, I say why?

Your sailing is obviously very different from mine! We do a lot of long passages, and so long boards on the same tack are common. But we tack when we need to! One night in June getting out of the Stockholm Archipelago we tacked more than 100 times!


But tacking, even with our cutter rig which requires taking the principal headsail around the inner forestay, is no big deal. I have never desired a self-tacking jib. My staysail is self-tacking, and I don't like the shape. I use a barber hauler on it a lot.