So, I'm hoping someone can tell me just how crazy I am (ideally, by providing a simpler solution). We're considering moving from hank-on headsails to a furling genoa (for all the normal reasons). We have a pretty complete selection of hank-on headsails, including light and standard 150s, a 110 working jib, and a storm jib (about a 70, I think). The cheapest option would be to have our standard 150 converted for furling.
The standard wisdom I've seen is that the genoa can be furled / reefed about 20% before the sail shape disintegrates completely, so the furling genoa would serve down to the equivalent of a 125 or so. But if we wanted to go a little smaller to the 110 or (heaven forbid we need it) the storm jib, is it completely nutty to consider adding a removable solent stay?
It would connect just aft of the furler (probably 6-12 in) and just below the masthead (I'd probably anchor a block to the solid masthead casting somehow). In normal usage, it would stay flat on the mast, and if we wanted to use a smaller headsail, we'd attach it to the bow, tension from below, and hank on a headsail normally.
I'd probably make the solent from ridiculously oversized dyneema (maybe 5/32 or 3/16 - large enough to take some chafing from hanks and still be overkill for strength. And cheap enough to replace if needed). The solent would be inside the headstay, and thus a little shorter. So we might have to shorten the headsail pennants a bit, but that's simple enough to do. We have an adjustable backstay, so we should be able to apply a little more backward tension to counteract the increased forward tension of the second stay.
From a little Internet reading, it looks like the removable solent system is a fairly standard (and increasingly popular) solution on larger cruising boats. Any reason it shouldn't apply on a C-22?
Or (much more likely), is there a far simpler way to accomplish the goal? That is: roller furling for normal usage and the ability to easily hoist a smaller headsail on the fly.
The standard wisdom I've seen is that the genoa can be furled / reefed about 20% before the sail shape disintegrates completely, so the furling genoa would serve down to the equivalent of a 125 or so. But if we wanted to go a little smaller to the 110 or (heaven forbid we need it) the storm jib, is it completely nutty to consider adding a removable solent stay?
It would connect just aft of the furler (probably 6-12 in) and just below the masthead (I'd probably anchor a block to the solid masthead casting somehow). In normal usage, it would stay flat on the mast, and if we wanted to use a smaller headsail, we'd attach it to the bow, tension from below, and hank on a headsail normally.
I'd probably make the solent from ridiculously oversized dyneema (maybe 5/32 or 3/16 - large enough to take some chafing from hanks and still be overkill for strength. And cheap enough to replace if needed). The solent would be inside the headstay, and thus a little shorter. So we might have to shorten the headsail pennants a bit, but that's simple enough to do. We have an adjustable backstay, so we should be able to apply a little more backward tension to counteract the increased forward tension of the second stay.
From a little Internet reading, it looks like the removable solent system is a fairly standard (and increasingly popular) solution on larger cruising boats. Any reason it shouldn't apply on a C-22?
Or (much more likely), is there a far simpler way to accomplish the goal? That is: roller furling for normal usage and the ability to easily hoist a smaller headsail on the fly.