Anybody had installed a "genaker furler"?
I think I would use it more and leave
more space below.
I think I would use it more and leave
more space below.
Genaker Furler
- Thread starter triumph250
- Start date
I use them all the time.
First you cannot leave them up. They are HUGE windage in front of your jib. And they have no UV protection. So they really save you no space or effort.
True flat cut genakers with the anti-torsion rope in the luff are great sails to roll. For true asyms, where the luff flies free from the rope, not so much. Much better (and less costly) in a sock.
First you cannot leave them up. They are HUGE windage in front of your jib. And they have no UV protection. So they really save you no space or effort.
True flat cut genakers with the anti-torsion rope in the luff are great sails to roll. For true asyms, where the luff flies free from the rope, not so much. Much better (and less costly) in a sock.
Not sure how a rolled up tight gennaker causes such a "HUGE windage" issue. Maybe a little? And a rolled up tight gennaker takes up far less space than any socked sail. Agreed on the uv issue but you can really leave it up for a couple of days cruise, or at a minimum, up at the dock-down at the end of the day. These equate to certainly enough savings of space and effort to give a top down furler serious consideration.
I agree that windage, UV damage, and 'time up' are continuums.
But from my practical, real world experience and perspective you DO NOT want to leave them up. Not for a 'couple day cruise', not for a long beat to windward. Maybe overnight, if you finished with it and expected to use it in the morning.
Because of the sail's soft curved luff, they roll imperfectly and flutter upwind, whipping the cloth, and opening up pockets of sail on the roller. And trust me the windage to windward is VERY noticeable, on boats from 40 to 25 feet.
If you cannot leave them up 100% of the time, then you have to allow and dedicate for storage below, and be able to physically move them. People read the brochure and think you can treat them like a rolled headsail. You cannot. Look around, you see no one that actually uses one leave it up.
Having crafted a top down unit for the asym, I agree wholeheartedly with Jackdaw. It's easy to leave the assembly up if you're just out poking around, but it's not something that should be left deployed all the time. Our asym is intended for "no air" operations anyway, so it wont be out in any kind of breeze, that said, I'd take a top down over a sock any day of the week.
Cheers
Gary
Cheers
Gary
I am taking delivery is Sense 50. A local guy with one who cruises a lot says he uses either his non overlapping staysail or a furling code zero with uv protection 90 percent of time. He doesn't use Genoa much. I'm going with staysail for heavy weather and a gennaker with a sock for better downwind performance. The 2000 square foot 1.5 ounce shoot is a beast, though.
We are just taking delivery of an Oceanis 48 and decided to put a smaller (92%) self-tacking jib for convenience and a full gennaker on a top-down furreler just in front of the jib. The gennaker has a UV cover, but we won't leave it up for more than a couple of days.
I installed a GX10 Selden Top down furler on my 37. The gennaker has 850 SF. Our boat is rated for up to 960 for the gennaker but I felt that 850 would be easier to handle and big enough. When you round the mark and deploy the sail you will pick-up 100 yards on the guy with the sock! It is not trick free you have to practice. It is slick when it rolls out fast, the wind will help.
we sail in SF Bay, I have to take it down with true wind of 16K. Good Luck with the new equipment.
we sail in SF Bay, I have to take it down with true wind of 16K. Good Luck with the new equipment.
I have a 1500 ft spinnaker on a Spinex Topdown Furler for my 45. It does deploy quickly but I find furling it back up to be a big chore. I don't race so I often wonder if a sock would be easier. It certainly would have been less expensive.
Wow! That is a BIG Gennaker, I can see how it would take a lot of pulling to furl it. I am sure it is easier to store when it is in the bag.
