Tacking Jib with Inner forestay

[Tayana42]

I almost always sail with my staysail set. Tacking the yankee over is generally not a problem as the staysail prevents the yankee from getting caught up on the staysail stay. If I need to do a lot of short tacking I furl the yankee and sail with staysail and main.

[Cheechako]

I just used one long sheet with a bend at the shackle... less bulky.
For tacking,,... it's a bit of an art, but basically let the jib backwind just enough to bulge through the gap, Dont release the sheet, then release smoothly and gradually. It can be done quite well and reliably.

[Smokeys Kitchen]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

.... Tacking the yankee over is generally not a problem as the staysail prevents the yankee from getting caught up on the staysail stay. If I need to do a lot of short tacking I furl the yankee and sail with staysail and main.

+1 for this approach

Our staysail is also on a furler so it is not removable. Having a smallish, high clewed Yankee for a jib/genoa also helps

[sand6000]

We removed our inner forestay altogether and installed2 forward lower shrouds on new chainplates attached to a bulkhead forward of the mast. Perfect solution. Who needs a cutter rig anyway.

[Mike OReilly]

Out boat has the same challenge. In decent wind it’s never an issue. We use Cheechako’s method. Mostly works great. The problem occurs in very light-airs when there’s not enough wind to blow the sail through the gap with ease.

Our solution is to furl and unfurl. On our rig we only have to furl in part way to make it work, so it’s not a big deal. Of course, if we’re smart (or not being too lazy ), we’ll have swapped out the heavier standard yankee for our light-airs nylon drifter. This sail slips through the gap pretty easily.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by iliohale

Removable inner forestay is the way to go. I have used something like this:

https://www.cruisingworld.com/forestay-solutions

Gary

That won’t work with a cutter, which uses the staysail daily.

[Cheechako]

I guess this is obvious but, it's all about timing! It aids tacking a heavy cruiser a lot and gets the jib through to boot.

[saillr]

We had the same problem with our Island Packet 40 cutter when we first got it. Solved the problem easily. Changed the Sunbrella leech cover for UV resistant Dacron leech cover. It is so slippery that the jib comes through the gap no problem when tacking with the Stays'l furled.
I have done many thousands of solo miles and would not want to trust any form of stay remover (Highfield etc) in an open sea. That is one of the main advantages of a cutter configuration. When the wind builds fast you can quickly furl the jib and continue with the stays'l.
Another good argument for the cutter rig is its ease of "heaving to". Just back the stays'l and reduce the main to about the same area and lash the helm.

[dperchlik]

I have a small slot between the stays and the above method shown by Cheechako doesn't work for me as there isn't enough sail in the slot to pull the rest of the sail through in lighter air.
In light air I release both sheets and the sail aft of the stay offers little resistance to the sail area between the stays. As the sail is blown through I pull in on the sheet.

And if that doesn't work, I roll up the headsail until it pulls through.

[Scrimshaw4]

I have the same configuration. To tack smoothly I slowly releasing the jib sheet until the Jib begins to backwind and billow thru the slot between the jib and inner forestay. Once backwind gets the sail started thru I then release and take up on the opposite sheet. To minimize restrictions from the sheet crossing the inner forestay / staysail I use a one piece sheet looped thru itself at the clew.
Just some thoughts.

[jen1722terry]

Really interesting idea, using cow hitches with zip ties.

We have a smallish cutter (31'). We fly a Yankee on the forestay and a self-tacking jib on the inner forestay. We've always used a buntline hitch on the Yankee clew with the tails taped or seized. The knots "usually" slip through the slot but occasionally the buntline hitches snags on the inner forestay. Hence, we partially furl as we tack in all but light air.

The cow hitch has less bulk than the buntline hitch, so we'll give it a try this summer. Using zip ties to seize the tails seems faster and more durable, though
I might want to take a file or emery board to the tail stubs after I snip them off.

Yet another great thread on this deep and vast forum.

Also, if any of you plan on visiting Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island in Maine this summer, look us up. We'll be on float #314 on the far east side of this gorgeous little harbor. Boat name is "Glissade."

Cheers!

Jenn and Terry

[thunderhoof]

If the jib shackle does not come within 12" of the deck block when the jib is sheeted fully then a possible solution is to make a spectra "Y" with an eye splice on each leg.
The central leg is attached to the jib clew with a luggage tag splice and the other two legs are attached to the jib shackles. When tacking the "Y" should slide smoothly over the inner forestay during the tack.

This arrangement is used for Asym spinnakers for exactly this issue with the main forestay.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I guess this is obvious but, it's all about timing! It aids tacking a heavy cruiser a lot and gets the jib through to boot.

Indeed!



The OP has gotten, as far as I know, a complete list of good solutions.


Backwinding the jib just a bit before blowing the sheet helps a lot. Just don't overdo it!



Getting rid of bowlines helps a lot.


Like others, I use dyneema soft shackles and I have eye splices at the ends of my sheets. I've been using this setup for a few years and many thousands of miles of sailing by now and it works quite well. This is a big improvement over bowlines, but the knot in the soft shackles does still snag a bit. I think a better way would be to strip back the cover of the sheet (if your sheets are dyneema, which I highly recommend) and splice a longer loop in it, then cow hitch that to the clew cringle. I did that with my outhaul and it works a treat. The stripped dyneema core is smaller in diameter and much more slippery than the polyester cover. A lazy way to do this would be to simply take some single braid dyneema and splice a long loop through your existing eye splice, or cow hitch twice.



Cow hitches in dyneema do reduce strength, but you should be using a diameter of single braid which has so much reserve strength that it won't matter.


If you still have polyester sheets -- racing dyneema sheets, one size smaller in diameter, are much easier to handle and perform much better, at least on a larger boat. In addition, dyneema sheets, one size smaller, are much more flexible and much lighter, so will pull around the inner forestay much more easily. This is one of the best things you can do for your boat if you haven't done it already. Just be sure to avoid the "cruising dyneema" carp which has very small diameter core and loose cover -- bleh. Use the good stuff.




Another thing to pay attention to is the sun cover on the staysail. If this is made of a high friction material, then you will have misery trying to tack the jib over it. Newish sunbrella works well. Most cutters will not be using the staysail when hard on the wind, so will be tacking the jib with the staysail furled. But if you have a choice, tacking the jib will be easier with the staysail unfurled and working, as others have said.

[roverhi]

If you can afford dedicated sheets for the jib, a single piece line with a brummel splice at the sail clew is the best solution for a non hang up sheet attachment. Not a locking Brummel splice but steps 10-13 in these instructions https://www.jamestowndistributors.co...t.do?docId=912

A cow hitch will also work and easy to undue but not a clutter free as a Brummel splice.

[Kenomac]

Earlier I recommended soft shackles, but what we actually use is eye splices on the end of both sheets, then a 2 meter long piece of Dyneema wrapped through the eye and through the yankee or staysail jib clew miltiple times then tied off in such a way that it provides a smooth surface.