Point to ponder: furling the jib

[Tom J]

Ditto that..............never know when we will have a 70+ mph wind storm. Never had a jib sail unfurl, albeit a boat neighbor did resulting in a shredded head sail.

I wonder if cruisers are more aware of this. We also rode out an 88 mph microburst in Cuttyhunk Harbor, MA one night, and we didn't see any shredded sails. Everyone there was from somewhere else, whereas in Salem, a lot of the sailboats belonged to locals.

 

[BigEasy]

I always furl the jib and have three wraps of sheets around the furled sail as well as tie off the end of the sheets. Have never had a problem with a sail unfurling, in thunderstorms and squalls. In the event of a strong tropical storm or hurricane, I drop the jib and stow it in the cabin. It takes all of 10 minutes to remove the sail, so why take a chance on blowing out a $2500 sail and possibly causing damage to the furler & boat. After severe storms, sail lofts and canvas makers are backlogged for months before you get a new one or repair, so a little bit of prevention pays off.

 

[heritage]

Another cause of furling jibs being shredded in a storm is not getting a tight furl, which can happen in very light winds or winds from the stern. About half way up the furled jib a strong wind can inflate the loosely furled sail. Flogging can damage the sail and the force can move the boat about at anchor or on a mooring. Best to unfurl the loose sail and re-furl when moored.

 

[quadrille38]

Have seen sails unroll in a storm and then whip themselves to pieces. I’ve always made it a practice to roll the sail to get 3 or 4 wraps of the sheets and then I tie a sail tie around the furled sail.

I use another sail tie to secure the furling main as those have been known to unroll as well.

 

[jssailem]

When I first wrapped my furler, The line was a bit loose on the drum. When I wrapped the sail in a stiff wind, the sail wrapped tightly and ran out of furling line to get the sheets wrapped up on the sail.

So I fixed it. Now when I pull the furling line, there are plenty of sheet wraps to hole the sail in place. When furled, I tie off the furling line and the sheets in the cockpit.

Watching the video, being a solo sailor, it sure reduces my trips to the cockpit to raise a sail having my halyards at the mast. The presentation was not long, but the time could have been cut in half had he raised his jib with a halyard at the mast. Perhaps the time saved in raising sails, the reduction in friction (the hoist does not require a winch), and the near proximity to the sail so you can see if there is a hang up - correcting it before damage occurs is of value.

The adjustment of wraps is a great lesson. No reason for a sail to be improperly wrapped.

 

[BigEasy]

The luff tape pre-feeder that was demonstrated in the video, posted by Sailfanatic, appears to be a handy gadget when hoisting a roller furled jib single handed. The Harken model in the video can be had for approximately$20 from Amazon / Atlantic Rigging. I plan to order one before hurricane season approaches!

 

[Ward H]

I'm also one who puts three wraps of sheets around the furled jib and I always tie my furling line to a horn cleat. If I'm unable to get a tight wrap on the Genoa due to wind conditions I'll wrap my spare jib halyard around it to secure it.

 

[nightowle]

I'm a bit short on wraps......but not my boat!

 

[jssailem]

Easy. It is an excellent tool. I got it when I installed my Harken furler. It is as easy to use at it appears on the video.

 

[NoReverse]

Need to read your manuals. If you have an oversized jib on my 37.5, you need to remove 1/3 of the core to have enough room on the under deck furler. So a lot of times it is a bad setup/maintenace, not enough line or didn’t wind enough on the drum when sail was out on. I must see a dozen unfurled sails in storms ruined a year…
Don’t secure the furling lines??? Do you leave the hatches open when you leave for the day because you don’t see any clouds??

 

[Dalliance]

Another cause of furling jibs being shredded in a storm is not getting a tight furl, which can happen in very light winds or winds from the stern. About half way up the furled jib a strong wind can inflate the loosely furled sail. Flogging can damage the sail and the force can move the boat about at anchor or on a mooring. Best to unfurl the loose sail and re-furl when moored.

I’ve seen this happen in my harbor. When furling in light wind or down wind, I keep a little tension on the sheet to get a tight furl. Like everyone else, I always put on at least three storm wraps and secure the furler line and both sheets.

 

[Tom J]

I’ve seen this happen in my harbor. When furling in light wind or down wind, I keep a little tension on the sheet to get a tight furl. Like everyone else, I always put on at least three storm wraps and secure the furler line and both sheets.

Keeping tension on the furling line is key. I have learned the hard way to not let guests/crew furl the jib. Overwraps on the drum and a loose wrap always result. I keep a sheet in one hand, and haul the furling line with the other hand, always keeping tension on the furling line.

 

[Roland5048]

Keeping tension on the furling line is key.

That is correct when unfurling the jib lest you run the risk of an override in the drum. This will, of course, happen at the worst time possible. When furling, I pull in some furling line then put some tension on the sheet to tighten the sail. Pull in a bit more line and repeat til fully furled. Never had one unfurl in a blow but like others have mentioned, have seen a lot of shredded jibs after a good storm.

 

[PaulK]

I wrap the spinnaker halyard in the opposite rotation around the jib. That was after I got to buy a new jib.

For storm prep we do that with both spinnaker halyards, wrapping them each in opposite directions. For hurricanes, the sails come off.

 

[kappykaplan]

For storm prep we do that with both spinnaker halyards, wrapping them each in opposite directions.

 

[Crusty Ol Salt]

Tons of great advice in this thread. Thx a million.

 

[Tom J]

For storm prep we do that with both spinnaker halyards, wrapping them each in opposite directions. For hurricanes, the sails come off.

Yep. Every time we get to hurricane warnings, the sails, the bimini and the dodger come off. Thankfully, the last couple of hurricanes didn't hit us, but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Dalliance]

Keeping tension on the furling line is key. I have learned the hard way to not let guests/crew furl the jib. Overwraps on the drum and a loose wrap always result. I keep a sheet in one hand, and haul the furling line with the other hand, always keeping tension on the furling line.

Agreed. I sail single handed most of the time so it’s not an issue, but when I do have guests/crew, I too have found it best to furl the genoa myself.