In mast furling

[richk]

I'm looking at buying a newer boat. The ones under consideration have in mast furling. My current boat doesn't. I understand the convenience of in mast. I don't understand how the sail attaches to the roller mechanism. How hard is it to bend on a sail? Since sails of this type which I've seen are loose footed, what difference does that make with sailing/pointing...? Does a furled sail cost more than a nonfurled one of the same size?Rich

 

[Ernie]

just like your jib

Just imagine your jib furling gear running up the back of the mast. The luff rope goes up a groove like your roller furling jib does. At least mine does, and so do many others I've seen.I've never really noticed much of a difference when going to windward, although I've seen and heard comments from racers that you do sacrifice some efficiency.Not sure what to tell you about price.Hope that helps.

 

[newly anonymous]

loose foot

A loose-footed main is actually more responsive to shifts in wind velocity, which means you'll end up trimming the outhaul more often to optimize sail shape. The loose-foot gives you significant advantages in shaping the sail off the wind, but tends not to make a whole lot of difference beating to weather. It's easier to flatten a loose-footed main, thus enhancing pointing ability when the breeze picks up. The downside, with in-mast furling, is that you sacrifice the cunningham, thus making it more difficult to adjust luff tension.

 

[Neil McDonald]

New Boat

Rich,Like most owners, I assume you will need to sell your present boat to raise money for the new one. Judging by your picture, you may have trouble finding a buyer. I can also see why you don't presently have in mast furling. How does your current boat sail in comparison to Phill Herring's?

 

[richk]

the boat in the avatar...

I was part of the commissioning crew for the "boat" in the avatar. It was the USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3), the second by that name, both named after a terrible battle of WWI (web search will give details.)LHA-3 was sunk on 13 Jul '06 off of Hawaii (see link). Therefore, she's not doing a lot of sailing. When she was above the surface, her "freeboard" sail area was so significant that care had to be taken when bringing her alongside in San Diego or elsewhere.I was the "OA" division officer, or weather guesser. Our first experience with her was during some sea trials where we discovered that, if her stern faced a decent swell, we'd have 4-5 foot breakers in the well deck, meaning boat handlers needed jacklines inside LHA-3. We launched weather ballons off her deck. Unfortunately, the balloon inflation shelter was on the island and launching a balloon at night meant carefully running astern and knowing when to release and not make that long vertical step off her flight deck.Cheers from Annapolis,Rich