hey everyone, after a few outings I noticed I need a downhaul for my jib, now I know I need enough line to go from the top of the forestay and back to the cockpit, but how do I rig this???
jib downhaul
- Thread starter fred1diver
- Start date
The standard set up is.
1. Rig a light line to the hank cringle one below the top hank.
2. Run the line down the leach to a block at or near the base of the forestay.
3. Run the line back to where you can handle it from the cockpit.
4. Have some belaying lines tied to your life lines to contain the sail smartly when it is down.
Notes.
1, Some can get away with tying the downhaul around the forestay, but attaching to the sail itself puts the downhaul tension on the sail , not on a hank which can bind.
Some connect to the top hank or even the head cringle , but connecting to the second hank down allows you to disconnect from the top hank easily when the sail is on the deck and (it is said) lets the sail run down more smoothly.
2, You can easily experiment on the best location of the lower turning block. Clip to toerail? Tied to a pennant?
3, Again experimentation will show you the best route back to the cockpit.
4 I use belaying lines and tidy up line which are 1/4 bungee cord with a loop sewn in one end and a toggle in the other. They can be whipped onto the life line. Cheap, fast and easy.
gary
1. Rig a light line to the hank cringle one below the top hank.
2. Run the line down the leach to a block at or near the base of the forestay.
3. Run the line back to where you can handle it from the cockpit.
4. Have some belaying lines tied to your life lines to contain the sail smartly when it is down.
Notes.
1, Some can get away with tying the downhaul around the forestay, but attaching to the sail itself puts the downhaul tension on the sail , not on a hank which can bind.
Some connect to the top hank or even the head cringle , but connecting to the second hank down allows you to disconnect from the top hank easily when the sail is on the deck and (it is said) lets the sail run down more smoothly.
2, You can easily experiment on the best location of the lower turning block. Clip to toerail? Tied to a pennant?
3, Again experimentation will show you the best route back to the cockpit.
4 I use belaying lines and tidy up line which are 1/4 bungee cord with a loop sewn in one end and a toggle in the other. They can be whipped onto the life line. Cheap, fast and easy.
gary
On by previous boat (C25) I had hanked on sails due to sailing on a lake surouded by big mountains, winds would come up from the clear blue which nessesitated sometimes dropping the jib in a hurry. I rigged a jib/genoa down haul which consisted of a 1/4" line with a small shackle on one end. This line was the length of the forestay plus the length of the boat. It was run through a small block attached to an extra hole in the stem fitting and clipped into every 3rd hank. Any more than that and it caused too much friction. The tail was pased outside the 1st stanchion and inside the 2nd, outside the 3rd. I also ran the jib halyard back to the cockpit.
I would losly cleat the tail after hoisting to keep the tail back in the cockpit. To drop the jib, I would release the halyard and pull in on the downhaul without releasing the sheet. That would keep the sail stretched out along the side deck so that it did not blow around on deck.
Made lake sailing much easier. With main only, I still had control but was not over powered through the sqawls.
I would losly cleat the tail after hoisting to keep the tail back in the cockpit. To drop the jib, I would release the halyard and pull in on the downhaul without releasing the sheet. That would keep the sail stretched out along the side deck so that it did not blow around on deck.
Made lake sailing much easier. With main only, I still had control but was not over powered through the sqawls.
As others have mentioned, with a buntline hitch tie the downhaul line to the second hank from the top, to keep from folding the top corner over and causing the hank to bind on the forestay. In my case, I found it unnecessary to thread the downhaul line into any of the hanks. Simply not needed, plus it's faster and easier to hook up. I use 1/8" braided dacron line through a small block clipped to the stem, then back through a couple of stanchion mounted fairleads.... which can be used as guides for a roller furling line if that upgrade is ever made, to a small, simple, inexpensive vee cleat.
The beauty of this system is that you can literally drop the sail under control at any time. Up wind, I can stand in the cockpit, straddling the tiller steering with my knees, and drop the sail neatly on the fore deck with the halyard in one hand and the down haul in the other. Downwind, I can steer the boat so the jib is in the shadow of the mainsail and control the drop so that I can steer the boat directly under the sail at the appropriate time. Cleating the down haul line will also insure that the sail stays securely on the foredeck, until it is needed again.
If you single hand alot, the jib downhaul, along with a reliable tiller pilot is one of your most useful sailing tools. Have fun.
The beauty of this system is that you can literally drop the sail under control at any time. Up wind, I can stand in the cockpit, straddling the tiller steering with my knees, and drop the sail neatly on the fore deck with the halyard in one hand and the down haul in the other. Downwind, I can steer the boat so the jib is in the shadow of the mainsail and control the drop so that I can steer the boat directly under the sail at the appropriate time. Cleating the down haul line will also insure that the sail stays securely on the foredeck, until it is needed again.
If you single hand alot, the jib downhaul, along with a reliable tiller pilot is one of your most useful sailing tools. Have fun.
I've done this on several previous boats... here is a pic I made a few years back...
It is definitly worth doing. I have found that if you keep the leward jib sheet a little taught, release the jib halyard and pull hard on the down haul, the jib will "accordion" (flake) nicely along the gunwale and sit still while you deal with reefing the main. On the V22 I used to have, I had a storm jib that I could easily hank over the top of the the flaked main jib. Easy peasy and no flailing jib to knock you around while setting the storm jib. You can deal with the main jib later once back in port.
It is definitly worth doing. I have found that if you keep the leward jib sheet a little taught, release the jib halyard and pull hard on the down haul, the jib will "accordion" (flake) nicely along the gunwale and sit still while you deal with reefing the main. On the V22 I used to have, I had a storm jib that I could easily hank over the top of the the flaked main jib. Easy peasy and no flailing jib to knock you around while setting the storm jib. You can deal with the main jib later once back in port.
