I have a furling head sail and if the wind is strong will furl the sail in part way and boat and speed improve. My concern is am I doing damage to sail in any way? Am not seeing anything but have a concern. I have smaller head sail but it is a real ordeal to change them when at sea and conditions change. Thanks in advance.
Reefing / Furling Head sail
- Thread starter Scotian
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Yup!!
That's the problem with furled headsails. Rather than furling you would be better off with a dedicated smaller sail, however this means changing rather than rolling. Many people can't be bothered changing because it's a bit more work, but the benefit is a much better sail for the conditions. We can go through a set and peel in under 60 seconds because we do it regularly and as they say,...practice makes perfect.
That's the problem with furled headsails. Rather than furling you would be better off with a dedicated smaller sail, however this means changing rather than rolling. Many people can't be bothered changing because it's a bit more work, but the benefit is a much better sail for the conditions. We can go through a set and peel in under 60 seconds because we do it regularly and as they say,...practice makes perfect.
Will not normally hurt your sails
Furled head sails are meant to be furled for reefing. It would obviously be better to have a sail that is sized for the conditions, but as you said it is not always possible in changing winds. I have asked our sail maker and it is not going to hurt anything, but you always risk the furling line parting in heavy conditions and then you have alot of sail to deal with. Our furler jammed last season just about when I had the sail put away. It was blowing 35 knots, so if I would not been able to get it put away it would have been interesting to get it down.
Furled head sails are meant to be furled for reefing. It would obviously be better to have a sail that is sized for the conditions, but as you said it is not always possible in changing winds. I have asked our sail maker and it is not going to hurt anything, but you always risk the furling line parting in heavy conditions and then you have alot of sail to deal with. Our furler jammed last season just about when I had the sail put away. It was blowing 35 knots, so if I would not been able to get it put away it would have been interesting to get it down.
Depends on sail
Hello, I have a Furlex reefing / furling system, and a UK Passagemaker 150 genoa. The Furlex is designed for reefing a headsail. The UK sail has two reef marks on it so it's easy to see how much you are reefing the sail. Barry
Hello, I have a Furlex reefing / furling system, and a UK Passagemaker 150 genoa. The Furlex is designed for reefing a headsail. The UK sail has two reef marks on it so it's easy to see how much you are reefing the sail. Barry
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