switching Stay'sl from hank-on to furling, how to rig with or without boom

[Loyalist]

Hello all!! I am thinking of modifying my cutter rig by putting a furler on the stay'sl. modifying the stay is the easy part of course deciding whether to keep the boom or not is the question. As I see it, if I keep the boom, it stays self-tending but how do I arrange the lines to allow for boom control and rig the foot to move along the boom as it furls in and out. Do I articulate the boom so it lifts as I furl?
Or do I run the sail like a furling genoa,and just run a set of sheets and a furling line.
I am not racing so furling up the stay'sl and blowing the Yankee through the slot only becomes an issue in tight quarters.
Any thoughts, experiences, and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. The boat is a 1980 Hunter 37 cutter for you familiar with the rig.
Thank you all in advance.
BobV

 

[justsomeguy]

how do I arrange the lines to allow for boom control and rig the foot to move along the boom as it furls in and out. Do I articulate the boom so it lifts as I furl?

My IP35 has a furling staysail with boom, self tending. Furler control line and single sheet are led back to the cockpit. The single sheet is led from the clew to a turning block on the end of the boom, back to the base of the boom, then parallels the control line back.
There's also a boom downhaul led back to the cabintop (the 4:1 blocks) and topping lift.



So far, I like the way it works.

 

[Loyalist]

Hi Guy
I get it, the key is the topping lift. the rest is line management. It is elegant once the the traveller play is positioned all you need to do to control the sail is pull in the furling line as you let out the sheet. This allows the stay'sl to tack and once tacked, the negative pressure behind the stay'sl will pull the yankee through the slot when you release the windward sheet. Does it really tack as well and easy as that or are there some catches to it.
I like it a lot.
BobV

 

[justsomeguy]

Does it really tack as well and easy as that or are there some catches to it.

I've been advised to furl in the headsail when preparing to tack, and don't have enough experience to discount that advice as of yet.
But I'll certainly get back to you when I do.

 

[ifmdalvey]

I would disagree with furling the stay sail when tacking. It took me two years to of discouragement with my IP37 to find out that flying the staysail is the answer. Far less friction unfurled than furled. But i do not let the gib sheet fly until we are well through the wind, in fact, i wait until the main has tacked then let the sheet fly.

 

[NotCook]

I'd like to extend this discussion further on the question of eliminating the boom entirely. In our case, I'd like to eliminate the mizzen boom entirely. We are contemplating installing behind-the-mast furling, eliminating the boom, and allowing it to be loose footed just line the genoa.

So, one of the questions Bob asked was about just having a sheet (to the traveler), and the furling line, with no boom. How dramatically would this impact performance and sail trim options?

I have more specifics and questions, but I don't want to hijack Bob's thread, so I'll start another.

 

[py26129]

The staysail on our IP31 does have the boom but is set "flying". I.e. it has no dedicated stay but has a wire luff and a 2:1 halyard in order to tension the luff fully. I agree that tacking with the staysail takes a bit of time for the genoa to squeeze through the slot in front of the stay sail. Tacking without the staysail is the same as on a sloop. I could see it being a pain with a staysail stay in place all the time or even a furled sail.

 

[Loyalist]

I am pleased for all of the conversation. I think that "just some guy's" lines setup is perfect for my configuration I just need to add the topping lift and the rest of the rig is already in place. I don't see that blowing the yankee through the slot is a problem after the the tack and running it past the foils should be better than running it past the bare stay. py26129 how do you reef the stay s'l on the wire luff? Is it on a furler?. Ian, I agree that the last sail to run is the yankee, I keep looking at that big black sail in your photo and I'm trying to figure out how you furl it.
seriously, how do you have your stay s'l rigged?
Not Cook, I think your mizzen quest has merit in this discussion as it is all about the lines and angles from the traveller and sheeting. I do agree though that you will probably get a more experienced response by creating a loose footed mizzen thread. I think that the key to success might be in the cut of the sail so sheet angles stay relatively constant. I am impressed by all that sail.

 

[py26129]

You hit the one drawback right on the head. Our staysail cannot be reefed. It's all or nothing.

 

[ifmdalvey]

Pull the plug and that big black sail disappears very quickly.

 

[justsomeguy]

But I'll certainly get back to you when I do.

Last Friday's sail was in too little of a breeze to get the foresail through the slot without someone going forward. Spent a lot of time in irons.