Downhaul for the head sail?

[John Eastin]

Okay all you C27 Gurus,Once again, I've been reading SAIL magazine. There was an article in there which told how to rig a downhaul on your head sail, leading the line (sheet?) aft and into the cockpit. (thus preventing the need to go forward if your only purpose is to drop the canvas) Has anyone tried this and if so how did it work for you? Seems like bringing both halyards and the downhaul back into the cockpit would make singlehanding a whole lot easier? I'm sure there will be some cost associated with the purchase of the blocks and such but other than that, is there anything else I'd need to be concerned with?

 

[John Eastin]

uh oh...

Sorry, I'll just read the response to the post prior to mine and eliminate the need for you to answer twice...unless you have some specific differences which are applicable. Thanks!

 

[Bruce Harkness]

I have both+more

Downhaul (sail control), halyard, outhaul, jiffy reefing all back to the cockpit. Easy to rig. If you are into the finer points of sail control, this makes it useable. If you have to go up to the mast, you are much less likely to mess with the fine adjustments. Can send pics if you are really interested. I am not using this to lower the head sail, you have to go up to the mast to flake it anyway. Sounds like all the extra line needed to pull the sail down would be more mess than it was worth. bjh44@excite.com

 

[Sean]

cheapo

This came up on another thread of a different chat group and one sailor had a realitvely cheap downhaul method. He used light grade twine/rope and led it through the life line stanchion bases on the starboard side, through the luff/bow connection and then to the top of the sail. He claims it works fine without having to buy blocks etc.......might be worth a try.Sean

 

[John G]

headsail down haul

I rigged a downhaul on the head sail of my Catalina 30 and it works great. The line is not a problem. Small block attached to the stanchions work best. Use a good line, 1/4 or 5/16 nylon will work, stay away from twine. Attach the end to the head sail at the halyard with a figure 8 or bowline. Lead the line down the head stay through a few of the hanks. Through a block at the base of the head stay, then through a couple of blocks back to the cockpit. Stow the line in the cockpit combing bin. You may want to put a small cleat to hold the bitter end while the sail is up. Little trouble, lots safer than going forward unless absolutly necessary.

 

[Rob Rich]

Heave Ho

I like the idea of a downhaul, but I think about the added aggrivation of threading it through the hanks and I usually head off to some other project.For the meantime, here is what I do. Coming up onto a close reach, I tighten the main and the jib as close as I can, then cleat them. Afther making sure they are secure, I go tack gently, allowing the jib to backwind. The boat goes through the wind, and about 60 degrees past, and settles into a slow heave.At that point, I fire the engine, leave the helm to my wife (or tie off if singlehanding) and move to the mast. I let the jib halyard out and allow it to start to come down. Then I let the main halyard to slack too. By the time the boat tries to round up, the jib is lying diagonally across the deck, and the main is in a temporary roll, completely down. Works great.Best Regards, Rob

 

[tony]

Down haul is a Great Idea

When i was new at sailing, i had been caught in several rough situations, usually when alone, on my Catalina 25. The first time I had to lower the jib by myself, i discovered that in high winds, the jib/Genoa does not fall, it drops a little and stays there until you pull it down. When i made it back to land, the first mod on my boat was a jib down haul. The next rough occasion led to homemade Lazy Jacks for the main. The following storm led to a downhaul for the main. More rigging...yes. More trouble....NO! When you are alone, The less time you spend away from the cockpit( especially with no one at the helm ), the happier and safer you will be. P.S. Downhauls require very little stress so there fore you can use less expensive blocks, but deffinately stay with marine grade.