Sail care and handling for trailerables
- Thread starter Grotto
- Start date
We're hank-on people. Headsails folded, bagged, and stowed. We currently carry four in total.
As I have been till now. I like the “idea” of an easily reefed headsail from 150-just a sliver. But the condition of this sail from being stored on the Furler in the elements has me wondering if the best way to store it till the next sail is to bring it down and fold it till the next sail.
No better photos right handy here, but I sewed up a cover that slips over the furled headsail on our V17. it gets installed as we break down each day. the first couple feet of cover form a closed tube that slips over the furler spool end. the rest of the cover is open on the side and just gets wrapped around the sail and a tie every few feet along the stowed mast. this provides very good protection wile trailering, as well as winter storage under the boat port. the 4' section of pvc supports the portion of the sail/furler that hangs out over the end of the crutch.
Doing it this way takes an extra few minutes at the ramp, but that's more than made up for by having the furled headsail on and ready to go when she hits the water.
Doing it this way takes an extra few minutes at the ramp, but that's more than made up for by having the furled headsail on and ready to go when she hits the water.
+1 @Gene Neill I’m lazy but my tendencies to be cheap outweigh my laziness. Stow those sails , flaked appropriately and bagged in the garage dry and happy.
I like that, not the cheapest. I used to race Lightning’s and we bagged the mast after every race. Nice way to tidy up the stays, and keep the halyards protected too. So till I learn to sew, off they come. (Yeah I did know it.) but now I have another project!
Boats with roller furling stay in slips with their sails stored on the furler in rain and sun, with little I’ll effect. I think trailerable sailboat experience the same weather and conditions ( except for squished bugs from driving.)
If you use a breathable fabric for the UV cover, the possibility of mildew is reduced. I recommend that you take care to minimize abrasion while trailering.
I kept my headsail on the furler on my trailerable sailboat 24/7/365mwhen I was trailering frequently. Storing sails rolled up is good for them.
The added weight of the furler and sail requires special arrangements when mast raising. The furler has a tendency to slide to one side, hitting the spreader, which rotates the mast. but that can be prevented if you know how.
Here’s an example.
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I have a similar system on my F24 which has a furler with a rigid metal foil.
However, I would recommend removing the sail for a long road trip, to protect it from abrasion.
Judy
Ps. Sorry if there are typos. Damned auto correction.
If you use a breathable fabric for the UV cover, the possibility of mildew is reduced. I recommend that you take care to minimize abrasion while trailering.
I kept my headsail on the furler on my trailerable sailboat 24/7/365mwhen I was trailering frequently. Storing sails rolled up is good for them.
The added weight of the furler and sail requires special arrangements when mast raising. The furler has a tendency to slide to one side, hitting the spreader, which rotates the mast. but that can be prevented if you know how.
Here’s an example.
I have a similar system on my F24 which has a furler with a rigid metal foil.
However, I would recommend removing the sail for a long road trip, to protect it from abrasion.
Judy
Ps. Sorry if there are typos. Damned auto correction.
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JSG, still sorting through the above "perfection"! Still can't find the extra period. It's all good, though.
A method I've been using which helps keep the roller furler from flopping off to the side onto the spreaders is to fashion up a large shock-cord "rubberband," tied between the roller furler drum and the bow pulpit or trailer part.
I've been using this when raising and lowering the mast, and it really helps to keep things under control. It also slows down the mast descent, as it is a counter-acting force to the weight of the dropping mast. It takes a little playing around with the length of the "rubberband," but overall it's a really simple set-up, and works both raising and lowering.
@Jackdaw has hit on my main concern by leaving it on the furler when trailering or in storage.
The previous owner had the flexible furler rigged wrong, so that the sail could not be lowered while the mast was up. So they left it on all the time.
I assume they used ties along it's length, based on chafing marks
This led to staining of the sail from organic debris and road spray getting into the rolled up sail, in addition to it being wet from rain.
@RussC 's idea of a cover seems like a good option.
Russ, does that PVC pipe support have drain holes on the bottom ?
@DrJudyB has an F24 ? I'm green with envy.
The previous owner had the flexible furler rigged wrong, so that the sail could not be lowered while the mast was up. So they left it on all the time.
I assume they used ties along it's length, based on chafing marks
This led to staining of the sail from organic debris and road spray getting into the rolled up sail, in addition to it being wet from rain.
@RussC 's idea of a cover seems like a good option.
Russ, does that PVC pipe support have drain holes on the bottom ?
@DrJudyB has an F24 ? I'm green with envy.
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I've had it about 15 months, and I'm very happy with it! It's fun to sail, and because it's fast it can cover a lot of territory on a day sail or an extended cruise. The cabin is not very big inside, but it's huge on the outside.
In a light breeze, even without a spinnaker:
On a stormy, windy, bouncy day:
No drain holes, but if the sail were to get wet for any reason it would have to be unfurled and dried asap anyway.
I'm visualizing a bag with a gap/slot along the bottom for much of it's length, which seems like water would drive it's way in on the highway in the rain. Moreso when it's sitting in a curved pipe. ?
or are you saying it does get wet sometimes anyhow, and you just deal with it when it happens, but most of the time is does not ?
I trailered a hobie 18 around the East coast from NH to FL for over 6 years while my wife worked as a traveling nurse. Stored the roller furling jib right against the mast on the trailer most of that time, no cover. I would occasionally take it off but kept it rolled up. The hobie is long gone but I think the jib is still rolled up and in the rafters of my garage. It was in excellent shape the last time I saw it. I still have the main too. I've been thinking about building an ice boat for it.
- Will
- Will