Furling the Genoa
- Thread starter thaeni
- Start date
Actually I prefer this method. Flagging the sail, especially in heavy wind damages it. You do have to be careful that the furler does not get hung up as the winch is powerful enough to break it.
If you had to I suppose. Seems like a strain on the equipment. I don't turn full into the wind, I stay off the wind just enough so that there is some tension on the sail and it furls up tight.
I turn down wind and blanket the jib with the main. Then it rolls up by hand. My furler instructions say to never use a winch. Too much risk in damaging it. I almost said I turn off the wind, but that sounded like I controlled it with a switch.
I belive it best to let the conditions dictate what is best. Any time you can keep excessive loads off any equipment you are doing yourself a favor. If you get yourself behind the boat and need the winch to roll up, use it. Then remember how you got yourself into that situation.
As with the others, I now ease off just enough to relieve tension and furl by hand. Apart from damage from flogging the sail, trying to furl with the sail and sheets flapping can lead to a half deployed tangled mess, as I found out one day when the wind picked up and I was solo ...
What furler do you have. Most say you shouldn't ever use a winch. My ProFurl says you can. I've only done that once in 18 years. Use the good advice offered here. It's technique, not brute force, that should be applied.
That is also how I teach my students to furl the jib. One extra step I show them is to take a few turns then hold the furling line and pull the sheet tight. Repeat until the sail is furled. This gives a tight roll and helps prevent the candy cane effect.
That is pretty much what I do all the time, often solo. Furl the genoa while headed downwind blocked by the main (no need for winch) and keep a little tension on the sheet for a neat roll.
I finish with two or three more complete turns wrapping the sheets around the roll, then cleat both sheets and the furler line to prevent accidental unfurling. Every year I see one or two boats in the harbor with shredded head sails on windy days or after storms because someone didn't bother to secure those lines.
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Yes, I always do that and teach it. We call it a storm wrap and stress that it should always be furled that way.