Converting A Hank On To Fit A Roller Furler

Capt. Kermie · Mar 22, 2010

Take it to a sail loft and they will tell you. I took both my jib and genoa into Northsails for conversion and wondered the same thing. The guy took a look at them and pointed out that they were still in fairly good shape, lots of crinklyness and stiffness still in them and good for at least five more years, so I paid $150.00 for each sail (25' luff) and am still using them three years later.

Warren Milberg · Mar 22, 2010

Joe:
Around here, it costs around $6 per foot to remove hanks and sew on sail tape. It also costs around $6 per foot to add Sunbrella UV to the foot and leech. White Dacron UV material is a bit cheaper. My guess is that you are looking at $500-$600 to convert by a loft. So the question is whether you would do better to sell your hank-on sail and buy a new or used 110. I think I'd sell the sail and buy a used furling 110 one from Bacons or some other sail broker and it would be just about a wash.

Not sure how your boat handles as the wind gets over 18 kts or so, but on mine, having a smaller furling headsail is really worth it. I tend to start the season out with the smaller genoa and then switch out to the 150 once the doldrums hit us around the end of June.

Chris Burti · Mar 22, 2010

ReefRite, makes some pretty nifty conversion slides on tapes that work great. I converted a couple of sails myself for our Call 27-T/2 with a heavy duty sewing machine and dacron thread when we installed the ReefRite furler.

They are called Kiwi Slides and can be obtained here:

http://www.desktopwings.com/

Joe · Mar 23, 2010

Joe.... I'd check the local sail lofts and let them quote the luff tape conversion. Might be less that you think... but I'd consider not installing a UV panel if you plan to use the sail for specific conditions rather than leaving it on the furler all the time.

A new blade for your boat is around $1500 from an offshore loft like this..... http://thesailwarehouse.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=storeframe.html&cart_id=

so, in my book, a $240 expenditure for a jib in good condition is a no brainer.

Do the math... for how many times you'll use it ... just get the tape installed. No luff pad either, but ask the loft if the sail needs a recut to flatten it out a bit. If the weather is questionable... start out with the blade at the dock.... If the wind mellows....change back to the genny.

kenn · Mar 23, 2010

Isn't there a bit more to converting a hank-on headsail to furling than just adding the luff tape and some UV protection? Can you partially roll up just any old headsail and have it behave nicely?

I'm thinking that at a minimum, the luff would need to be recut, to make the sail shape work better when reefed... or am I overcomplicating this?

Thanks

Ron20324 · Mar 23, 2010

kenn said:
Isn't there a bit more to converting a hank-on headsail to furling than just adding the luff tape and some UV protection? Thanks

I had luff tape added to my jib when I put roller furling on my B235. However, the sail loft never mentioned that the headboard would not allow a very good furling action. After one weekend of use, I let Bacon's take it on consignment and bought a very nice genoa from them.

Steve Dion · Mar 23, 2010

Joe: I suggest that you contact one of the sail lofts that sell used sails. You can probably find a very nice sail that is all ready for your boat. Like some of them have indicated, you can have several hundred wrapped up in converting an existing sail.

You may also find that these sail lofts that sell used sails will take one of yours in on trade!