Due to a lack of experience plus what seems to be an oddly laid out
boat, we have now spent two full weekends trying out different configurations. We have now identified a couple of ways to keep the working lines off the
lifelines, but now we are locked in a battle of wills as to what procedures should be. I think we are leaning towards
furling the sail to clear the
deck whenever we are moving the pole about, but there are still some concerns about the efficiency of this in situations where you might only hold course for 10-20 minutes, such as might happen in a
race or sailing in a bay or lake.
Can you gybe around to bring the main over to shadow the pole? Is it better to release the guy sheet from the pole before the gybe? Instead of gybing, would you just pull the
jib to leeward? If so, would you release the guy from the pole before or after pulling the
jib over behind the main?
Or, is it better just to furl the jib because it isn't driving the
boat while it is shadowed, anyway. And you can probably
work faster if you aren't worried about it or pushing it out of your way.
If the general public takes after the couple posing these questions, this might become the new anchor/gun/how many hulls topic.