Will a furled jib destroy the rig?

[Bowdrie]

To "Destroy the rig" is a pretty harsh term.
I can imagine though, that similar to a slapping/flapping halyard, there may be an instance where the furled jib gets into a phase of synchronicity with the wind.
In that case one could change halyard tension to alter the harmonics.

[boatman61]

Have hove to often with furling sails and never had a rig failure yet.. but if it really bothers you try heaving to under main alone instead.
Likely you'll end up forereaching but you won't be stressed about your rig..

[donradcliffe]

The short answer to your question is that as long as you manage the size of the genoa and the sheeting angles you will be fine. Make sure that your furling line doesn't chafe. I used the same 125% genoa for 10 years and 60,000 miles.

[jen1722terry]

Catscatcher wrote: "Consider a staysail - I love mine and am thinking of getting an even bigger one for days like a fresh sea breeze. The boat balances much better and you protect your expensive large genny. I have had my staysail for decades and it is still in great conditon, because it is heavy and kept out of the Sun."

Ditto what Catscatcher said. We bought a small (31') cutter for this very reason. We often sail with just the staysail and a single reef main. It makes the boat self-tacking, which is great for banging around the bay and watching the classic boat races at our homeport in Maine.

However, the staysail furler means we can no longer fly our old, stout storm jib, which is not really an issues as we don't go well offshore.

In bad blows, we wrap halyards around the furled sails or remove them completely, as stated earlier.

Cheers

[GordMay]

This article addresses the question: “Why can’t I just roll up my genoa really small, to cope with heavy weather?”
“The perfect storm (jib)” ➥ https://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/cruis...ect-storm-jib/

[Kettlewell]

By the way I have found that when I do take the roller jib off prior to a hurricane approach I will need to run jib sheets to the forestay in order to keep it from oscillating in heavy winds. I also do this during winter storage. Even then, sometimes the forestay gets oscillating pretty badly. After Hurricane Bob I climbed the mast to check the rig and I found a bunch of broken strands in the forestay right at the swage fitting. My guess is that the heavy vibration in the 100mph winds caused them to break. If the furled jib is still on in heavy winds you can get some very heavy oscillating, but usually you can stop it by tightening down the jib sheets. If in harbor I will often climb up as high as I can and tie a stout sail tie around the furled bundle too. I have seen many roller jibs come undone in high winds.

[jen1722terry]

Per Kettlewell's observations, we had some detreioration in one of our two forward stays. We just had a complete rigging check last year and the inner forestay was frayed at the top swage, so we replace it. However, the standing rigging on our boat as at least 20 years old, maybe more like 25.

The boat is stored on coastal Maine mast up, but in a well sheltered yard. Fortunately hurricanes of any great intestity are rare in that area, but we do get some frisky nor'easters each winter.

So, the moral of this thread may be to not only secure well or remove your furled sails when necessary, but also to get your rigging checked after a hurricane.

Cheers to all.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by zachduckworth

The presenter argues that a highly furled jib can result in a failed rig when the wind gets high enough. [....] But is this really accurate in less-than-gales? He seems to be saying at one point that this danger is in much heavier weather, like 50kts or something.

This is the essence of it.


The first question to answer is what sort of weather you, your boat, and your crew are capable of dealing with and likely to encounter. Removing the jib from the foil and setting a storm jib in a building sea is beyond the capabilities of most cruisers.

[gsuescum]

Don’t know if this helps… just a data point.

Our catamaran survived a direct hit from hurricane Maria when it hit Puerto Rico. The eye of the storm passed directly over us.

Afterwards an insurance surveyor came to give her a look over. We had stripped all the sails before the storm but I was still worried that the wind force may have damaged the rig. He replied that the forces the rig sees when sailing are greater than the hurricane could have caused to the bare rig.

Think about the forces on your rig when the job is furled compared to sailing on a blustery day.

[Kettlewell]

He replied that the forces the rig sees when sailing are greater than the hurricane could have caused to the bare rig.

Think about the forces on your rig when the job is furled compared to sailing on a blustery day.

It's the vibration and oscillation that can set in in very high winds, like in a hurricane, which is very different than the steady force applied when under sail. Have you ever been onboard when the wind in the rigging sets up a vibration that sounds like you're inside a musical instrument?

[clakiep]

Riggs come down by vibration - best when resonant - or sudden schocks. So with fluttering sails in strong winds or when becalmed in choppy seas - hardly under a strong but constant load. Once crossing the Southatlantik on a Dean 400 catamaran, the sheethorn of the jib ripped of while atempting to furl the jib in. As with no sheet attached the jib unfurled by itself partly and flutterd violently. We had to take the jib down for not braeking the forstay and than get dismasted.

Capt. Claus Sâo Paulo/BRASIL

[sailingharry]

This past December, I was in Isla Mujeres with a friend on an identical boat to mine. We have a "Solent Rig" with a 150% on the outside stay, and a 95% self-tacker on the inside. On the way into port (after our crossing from Key West), we unrolled both jibs and payed special atttention to a nice tight "harbor furl." So with that as the setting.


We had a front come through while at anchor. Winds to 50. We discovered our anchor was "set" in eelgrass, ugh. As we motored around in the harbor (with all the other poor souls, on a moonless nights, and numerous boats at anchor with NO lights), the inside jib started to unroll (strange, as it happened in the top 1/3, had nothing to do with the furling line). We successfully unrolled and re-rolled it (in a harbor in 40-50), but it only lasted about 10 minutes before it was back at it. We eventually dropped it (again, in a harbor in 40-50 with only 2 of us aboard).


When that sail top was opening up, it was "flagging" and shaking then entire boat. We were seriously worried about it taking the rig down. Everything was shaking. And it was a fairly long period, maybe 1-2 second long flogs, so it was really pulling things, not just shaking.


Am I 100% confident that roller furling is vastly superior to any other short handed solution to headsails? YES! But was this scary? Equally, YES

[TrentePieds]

Scary, I'm sure :-)

Being unable to get rid of windage aloft in the twinkling of an eye imposes risks I don't like.

Poles and wires you canna get rid of, but canvas and sundry hardware? Aloft? Ugh!

Of course I trade off the risks by having to go on deck. But I don't GO on deck anymore. That's for the young and the gormless! These days I CRAWL on deck :-) And sometimes come back quite moist around the nether parts.

TrentePieds