Folding/laying and lashing mainsail to boom on Oday 19

[weh5748]

Just purchased an Oday 19 and raised and lowered the main for first time. On my previous boat barrels remained in track when sail was lowered and i could neatly fold the sail accordion style on the boom and lash it down. With the rope sewn into the sail where it threads up thru the mast it appears it needs to be fully pulled out of the track when tied down for the night. Then lashing it to boom neatly (vs crumbling it up) seems pretty impossible given the stiffness of the cord in sail. Perhaps I was spoiled by my Hunter, but wondering how others handle this. Thanks, Bill

 

[Sunbird22358]

On my DS II I simply roll the sail on top of the boom. After lowering the sail, I unshackle the halyard, then starting at the head of the sail, I roll the sail up in a long tube on top of the boom, then wrap 5-6 bungee-cord stops around the sail and boom, then put on the sail cover. I sometimes fold over the top 2' or so of the sail then start rolling, but today I just started rolling at the headboard.
Admittedly, it can be "fun" doing this on a windy day...... but I find it usually works out OK.
The other option would be to have sail-slugs added to the luff of your sail, but that may require other modifications to compensate, since the luff of the sail will now be moved an inch or so aft of the mast, I've heard of this being done....but haven't actually seen the results of the mod. The 19 is not a "class" boat, so you are not limited in doing this mod like in the DS Class, so a sailmaker might be able to remove the bolt-rope from the luff and add the slugs.
In the meantime, it may not be perfect...but my method does work for me. I thought I had a picture of this, but all I could find was a few showing how I rolled the sail on my old WIDGEON.

 

[Joe11688]

Just purchased an Oday 19 and raised and lowered the main for first time. On my previous boat barrels remained in track when sail was lowered and i could neatly fold the sail accordion style on the boom and lash it down. With the rope sewn into the sail where it threads up thru the mast it appears it needs to be fully pulled out of the track when tied down for the night. Then lashing it to boom neatly (vs crumbling it up) seems pretty impossible given the stiffness of the cord in sail. Perhaps I was spoiled by my Hunter, but wondering how others handle this. Thanks, Bill

I pretty much furl my mainsail similar to Sunbird. Before I go any further I just want to say that sail slides are a must on the luff and I also prefer them on the foot of the sail.
For sail ties, I adopted this method several year ago: http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/sailties/sailties.htm Many thanks to Colin Jarman for this neat idea.
Unlike the way Colin Jarman has his bungee attached at both ends of his boom, I use two bungee cords and tie each end to an eye strap at each end of the boom. This way, I can remove the slack in the bungees a lot easier at either end as the bungees stretch out and sag in time.

Each time I furl my sail, I let the clew outhaul off. I cover my sail whenever possible and when I trailered my boat, I left the sail on the boom with the cover on it, and stowed it in the cabin. After I got the mast raised, it was just a matter of connecting the topping lift to the back of the boom and leading the boom out of the cabin to connect to the gooseneck fitting. It was like having an extra pair of hands helping me.

Sail slides in a mast can present a problem when you lower the sail. They have a tendency to slide out of the sail track. They make these doo hickies that fit into a sail track and can be secured with a knob that's on it. Personally I think they are a pain in the butt. What if you lose it?
Fortunately for me, I have a mast winch just above my sail slot feed through opening and I'm able to use a 3/16"X15" piece of braid and tie it around my mast under the sail slide.
If you encounter this problem and have no mast winch, you could always use a nylon wire clip screwed to the mast. I usually tie a slipped reef knot in this braid line and it works like a champ for me.

Even a mainsail with sail slides on the luff can be slow at times when I drop the mainsail. I read where someone has used a few drops of dishwashing detergent on each slide in place of a sail slide lubricant and I tried it. This too works like a champ.

I like things that make sailing more enjoyable. Sailing in itself can be a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be. There are certain things that we can do to our boats that can make them more user friendly. I like to think that I've found a few of them and I'm always ready to adopt more of them.