how to furl a genoa

[tartansailboat]

Claygr, what you describe as a deep broad reach with main sheet in is about the situation we were in when I could not furl the jib manually. This is typically the maneuver that I use to furl the jib and it works OK in medium winds but apparently not in high winds.

I head to a broad reach when I want to furl the jib and let the jib sheet fly, the jib is now aligned with the wind with much less force but it is flogging around quite a bit and I try to furl it in fast to reduce the harmful effect of flogging, but not in the high wind case, could not furl it in manually. Had to finally use the winch.

thinking out loud, if I were to head downwind, more than a broad reach, and keep the jib still sheeted in, maybe I could let out the main enough to blanket the jib without heading too far down wind?? I agree that with the jib sheeted way out, I would have to head pretty much dead down wind for the main to blanket the jib but with the jib sheeted in, maybe not so far, maybe far away from an accidental jib situation.

Of course there is the problem that in a high wind, it might not be easy or possible to head down wind with the jib sheeted in. After all, it is a big jib (or else why bother to furl it in) and rather small rudder.

Also, of course, I will try not to get into that situation again.

 

[kappykaplan]

tartansailboat, in conditions such as you describe, I put the wind to about 150/160 relative and ease the main as far as possible. It does a very good job of blanketing my 150% genoa, and I can furl with ease - even when solo. Good luck.

 

[tartansailboat]

Kappy, just to make sure I understand your "recipe". You turn almost dead down wind, i.e. 150/160 versus 180 for dead down wind, and then you let out the main as far as possible to blanket the jib. But at that point is the jib sheeted very far our or "in" as would be the case for close hauled, or somewhere in between?

I am wondering that if I leave the jib sheeted in, or at best just a little eased from the close hauled situation, that I dont have to turn that far downwind for the (let out) main to blanket the jib?? The thought of turning 150/160 scares me for an accidental jibe and I probably dont have time to rig a preventer. Such a jibe would probably take down the rig, let alone someone's head. In that tense situation, it is easy to make a mistake at the helm.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Kappy, just to make sure I understand your "recipe". You turn almost dead down wind, i.e. 150/160 versus 180 for dead down wind, and then you let out the main as far as possible to blanket the jib. But at that point is the jib sheeted very far our or "in" as would be the case for close hauled, or somewhere in between?

I am wondering that if I leave the jib sheeted in, or at best just a little eased from the close hauled situation, that I dont have to turn that far downwind for the (let out) main to blanket the jib?? The thought of turning 150/160 scares me for an accidental jibe and I probably dont have time to rig a preventer. Such a jibe would probably take down the rig, let alone someone's head. In that tense situation, it is easy to make a mistake at the helm.

I think before I spent too much time on "recipes," I'd first take seriously the admonitions and troubleshooting tips in your furler manual. I don't know what brand of furler you have, but, e.g., if you have a Harken there is a detailed section of troubleshooting tips that addresses just this issue. They (again, Harken) are very clear that if you are having excessive difficulty furling this indicates a problem that should be addressed. I would eliminate these issues first, because *if* there is a problem then all the technique changes are not going to help.

To cite but one of several suggestions in the Harken manual: How tight is your jib halyard? If you have too much tension that can result in difficult furling. And that is just one of 17 different things they suggest you check.

You would be well served to have a rigger go over your installation and make sure it is all operating properly.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Good advice. ProFurl lets you use the winch, most others do not. But what you really have to do is go out and practice. I've sailed The Bay for 16 years on our current boat. I have found two things: practice, practice, practice & find wind holes. For example, I sail up to Sausalito from Oakland quite often. While it's windy at Hurricane Gulch, and further north in Richardson Bay, there is almost always a wind hole just off the Sausalito Yacht Club. There's also the wind hole behind Angel Island (east side). Keep your head out of the boat. Practice is fun, don't sweat the technique just yet, use all the good ideas and then go out and do it, like learning how to dock. Good luck.

 

[tartansailboat]

thanks for the warning. The Harken furler was installed by the PO and he left no manual but the rigger who installed it is closeby. I will check. I guess the manual is online, will check that too.

 

[kappykaplan]

tartansailboat, the genoa (or jib) is eased as you fall off, as you normally would. As you furl the headsail, you keep some tension on the sheet so the sail will furl neatly. In almost all cases with this procedure, there is very little draw on the headsail - it should "droop" very nicely and furling will be quite easy - assuming you've made sure the furler is working correctly, as others have recommended.

 

[tartansailboat]

Alan, I did find the Harken Unit 1 manual. It does not seem to address the problem of a "hard to furl in high winds" problem. There is plenty of troubleshooting advice if the furler does not furl having to do with snarled lines but in light to medium winds I have no problem so I dont think a snarled line is the problem. Also I dont see anything about the halyard tension being too tight nor anything about using a winch if you are sure that there are no other troubles. But maybe that winch business is only for larger boats.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Alan, I did find the Harken Unit 1 manual. It does not seem to address the problem of a "hard to furl in high winds" problem. There is plenty of troubleshooting advice if the furler does not furl having to do with snarled lines but in light to medium winds I have no problem so I dont think a snarled line is the problem. Also I dont see anything about the halyard tension being too tight nor anything about using a winch if you are sure that there are no other troubles. But maybe that winch business is only for larger boats.

Tartansailboat,
I quoted the reference to the use of a winch earlier in this thread; I cited this from the Harken Unit 4 manual that is available on their website. That quote gives advice on furling in high winds, states that if the sail will not furl then it indicates a problem with the system, and says that you *may* use a winch to make furling "easier" (not "possible") *IF* "you are certain that the system is operating properly." This notation is in my Unit 0 manual (p. 28) as well, so it was not just in the documentation for the larger boat models. I originally cited the Unit 4 manual because if a winch would be needed for anything it would be for the larger models.

As for the halyard tension issue, that was the third "probable cause" listed next to the problem "Sail will not furl or is difficult to furl." It reads simply, "Jib halyard is too tight," with the obvious solution, "Ease jib halyard." But I cited that one just as an example of the sorts of things they suggest you look at.

I'm not saying, by the way, that you *definitely* have a problem with your furler. I'm just suggesting that it would be prudent to eliminate that from consideration. Even with a properly working furler it is undeniably more difficult to furl a sail in higher winds, relatively speaking. But if you have additional friction in the system for some reason, then rectifying this may make the difference between your current experience and something more manageable.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Unit 1 Manual

I decided to look specifically at the Unit 1 manual (your model), just to see if there were any wording differences compared to the Unit 4 model I looked at. While the wording is fundamentally the same, it is more clear about the use of a winch for your model, if anything:

"The furling line should pull readily. The amount of force required is related to amount of wind,
but a Unit 1 should never require use of a winch to furl. If the sail will not furl, or if furling requires a great deal of effort, there is a problem with system. Consult the Troubleshooting
Guide on Page 33. Do not use a winch to force a system to turn. If you are certain that the system is operating properly, you may use a winch to make furling easier."

 

[tartansailboat]

Re: Unit 1 Manual

Seems that my Harken Unit 1 manual is much shorter, only 18 pages and deals mainly with installation issues, no mention of the instructions you are talking about. I will go online and see if I can find the same manual that you are referring to. Again, thanks,

 

[tartansailboat]

Alan. I got the online Harken unit manual and found the references to winches. I will check out the trouble shooting guides, thanks, let you all know how I make out,

 

[Alan Gomes]

Alan. I got the online Harken unit manual and found the references to winches. I will check out the trouble shooting guides, thanks, let you all know how I make out,

Great! I'm sure you will get it all sorted out.

 

[uncledom]

The fastest way to take pressure off the jib is to fall off to a broad reach. This leaves enough pressure on the main not to jibe and takes all the pressure off the jib so the furler can work with no flapping of the sails. My sail maker used to tell me "it's a dollar a luff". Ease both sheets as you fall off and there should be no drama at all. I have done this in more than one squall. I can do it single handed with the auto pilot. I have a 41AC and have only used the winch to tail the furling line, so I could tend another line quickly, not to use a winch handle for leverage. Never let the Jib sheet "go". It also needs to be controlled.

 

[tartansailboat]

falling off to a broad reach is what I did but I am afraid I let the jib sheet go and there was quite a bit of sail flopping, more than a few dollars worth. But in my "panic" I did not ease out the main and that with the flopping may have added to the strain on the jib so I could not manually furl it up. Next time I will make sure to ease the main and not let the jib sheet go but ease them out as well. Need some practice before the next high wind situation.

 

[bdegouw]

I sail singlehanded 90% of the time and find furling the genoa downwind much easier on the the rig.
Everyone seems real concerned about an accidental gybe but if that should occur its no big deal if your main is sheeted tight......just a little more time to get back on course.

 

[Davidasailor26]

falling off to a broad reach is what I did but I am afraid I let the jib sheet go and there was quite a bit of sail flopping, more than a few dollars worth. But in my "panic" I did not ease out the main and that with the flopping may have added to the strain on the jib so I could not manually furl it up. Next time I will make sure to ease the main and not let the jib sheet go but ease them out as well. Need some practice before the next high wind situation.

Definitely let the main sheet out as you turn downwind. Having the main perpendicular to the wind is what generates the shadow for the jib to hide behind. Also by having the main further out you reduce the chance of accidental jibe, since the wind needs to get all the way behind the main to pull it across. This way if you're sailing about 160 degrees off the wind, you won't jibe unless you accidentally turn about another 40 degrees. Also as you're turning downwind ease the jib sheet, but only to let the jib off the wind, not so much that it flaps forward of the head stay.

 

[bdegouw]

Letting the boom out and then having a gybe is pretty spooky when that boom comes flying across the cockpit.

 

[uncledom]

Letting the boom out and then having a gybe is pretty spooky when that boom comes flying across the cockpit.

Yes it is. You can actually break the boom right off the mast in the right conditions and/or kill some one in the process.

 

[tartansailboat]

Well, as I see from the responses, there is wide differences in opinion as to how to furl the jib in a high wind. Two opposite approaches seem to be favored, one, heading into the wind, and two heading down wind.

From a safety perspective, I sure prefer the up wind approach, no chance of an accidental jibe. But if that fails because there still may be too much force on the jib to furl the sail manually, then let me discuss the down wind option.

In the down wind option, you want the main to blanket or shadow the jib to take the pressure off the jib. The down wind option also has the advantage that down wind, the apparent wind is less than up wind. But now for the accidental jibe business. It is obvious that when turning down wind, the main needs to be let out to shadow the jib, and hence the possibility of an accidental jibe, either by a sudden wind shift (unlikely in the short time) or a mistake by the helmsman (the admiral in my case).

If I could let out the main sufficiently by JUST letting out the traveller and not let out the main sheet, then if an accidental jibe occurs, the boat would be in a "confused" state but the boom would not fly across the cockpit with all its negative consequences. But I am not sure that letting out the main using the traveller alone would blanket the jib.

If I let out the traveller AND the main sheet, the consequences of an accidental jibe are much more serious.

Will the mavens out there (and I see by the thoughtfullness of their responses, there are many) please comment.