Junk rigged schooner , Pros , Cons?

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by TopHat

Capt Rottnest,
I have suffered from "fan ups" due to my inexperience with the rig. but managed to sail many miles until into the relative protection of calm water to fix the situation.

Do you think a light line tied to the aft of say the third top batten, then led down pass the back end of each batten, through a block at the end of the boom, then along the bottom of the boom to the mast, down onto the cabin top & back to a cleat at the cockpit would solve this problem, the line could be made fast once reefing or raising sail is done?

cheers

There is a preventer solution suggested on the JRA forum, as you described it. I don't like adding another line though. The four for each sail is enough for me. But fan ups only happen with reefed rigs and while hard gybing (which is letting it go and backwinding stops it). Short gybing, hauling in the sheet hard as she goes around, solves the problem anyway. Just be attentive in a blow, when very windy, some people tack instead. We still short gybe because by then the sails are so deeply reefed they are still easy to handle.