Rolling furler question about foil

[zinahewitt]

Hi All,

Noob questions so bear with me.
I replaced my Jib sail to do maintenance on the one that was on the sailboat.
I have a furling jib,Harken.
The forestay has a luff foil on it.
The Luff foil has two tracks so I can feed the sail in either.

The first question, is which track do I use?

The second question is assuming there are two tracks in place so I can take one sail down and raise another at the same time.
How do I do this ?
If I lower the current sail, the swivel at the top will come down and prevent the other sail from going up.
Is it just so I can "prep" the other jib a bit, then lower one jib, switch the shackle from old jib to new jib, then quickly raise ?doesn't seem like it would save that much time.......


The third and final question.
Should I replace the shackle at the top swivel with a Twist Shackle ?


Thank you
Saar

 

[dlochner]

The first question, is which track do I use?

The second question is assuming there are two tracks in place so I can take one sail down and raise another at the same time.
How do I do this ?

It doesn't matter which track you use. Harken has a long history of providing competitive equipment. Their furlers are designed for both cruising and racing. When in racing mode, the drum can be removed and the sail is attached to a tack fitting at the stemhead. This allows for quick sail changes on the race course. Typically in a racing boat there are 2 jib halyards, so one sail can be raised while the other is still flying, this is faster than dropping the sail and hoisting a new one.

Unless you are racing at a very competitive level, just sail with the biggest jib you have and furl it if the wind pipes up.

Should I replace the shackle at the top swivel with a Twist Shackle ?

I wouldn't bother.

 

[kloudie1]

As dlochner says, typically the sail feeder is removed to allow the swivel to rest on top of the furling drum. Then Port track is used with port halyard and stbd with stbd.
EDIT: oh, the feeder is held on by one screw.. don't drop it ! ya might want to get a spare screw.. The feeder will be loose as well.. don't drop that either!

 

[zinahewitt]

It doesn't matter which track you use. Harken has a long history of providing competitive equipment. Their furlers are designed for both cruising and racing. When in racing mode, the drum can be removed and the sail is attached to a tack fitting at the stemhead. This allows for quick sail changes on the race course. Typically in a racing boat there are 2 jib halyards, so one sail can be raised while the other is still flying, this is faster than dropping the sail and hoisting a new one.

Unless you are racing at a very competitive level, just sail with the biggest jib you have and furl it if the wind pipes up.



I wouldn't bother.

Thanks again for an easy explanation.
Hope you have a great day.

 

[Joe]

You can use the open slot to rig twin headsails for sailing dead downwind. If you search around you will see it described in cruising oriented discussions. It might be possible to connect both sails to the swivel. You have to imagine how it would be managed, and you'd need a whisker pole for at least one of the sails. You might also simply lift a smaller sail, or raise the existing sail a bit with a pendant extension at its tack. Unless you are going to sail a serious distance, compatible weather consistent wind it would not be advantageous to set the twin sails up.... but you would know by experience when you can use it. I actually think this might be a good question for the Cruisers Forum, and perhaps an enquiry to Harken, They would be the authoritative answer to the question. There will be literature for your Harken RF unit somewhere online that would explain how to use the twin groove foil for racing, it might mention the twin headsail option too. Good luck.

 

[zinahewitt]

You can use the open slot to rig twin headsails for sailing dead downwind. If you search around you will see it described in cruising oriented discussions. It might be possible to connect both sails to the swivel. You have to imagine how it would be managed, and you'd need a whisker pole for at least one of the sails. You might also simply lift a smaller sail, or raise the existing sail a bit with a pendant extension at its tack. Unless you are going to sail a serious distance, compatible weather consistent wind it would not be advantageous to set the twin sails up.... but you would know by experience when you can use it. I actually think this might be a good question for the Cruisers Forum, and perhaps an enquiry to Harken, They would be the authoritative answer to the question. There will be literature for your Harken RF unit somewhere online that would explain how to use the twin groove foil for racing, it might mention the twin headsail option too. Good luck.

You mean something like this I guess.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[kloudie1]

Here is a good one showing the sail change. Note that he's removed the feeder and dropped the swivel below the feeder then re-installed the feeder. The halyard that had been on the swivel was previously removed and used to hoist the original sail in the stbd track. The swivel is out of play and roller furling is not possible. To go back to roller furling, the headsail is dropped, the feeder is removed, the swivel is raised above the feeder slot, then the feeder re-installed.. The halyard is moved back to the swivel and the sail hoisted.
Quantum Distance Racing How-To Series: Part 3 - Mastering Headsail Changes - YouTube
The guy in the video in the previous post is flying a wire luff sail on the starboard side .. it is not in the track.

 

[zinahewitt]

Here is a good one showing the sail change. Note that he's removed the feeder and dropped the swivel below the feeder then re-installed the feeder. The halyard that had been on the swivel was previously removed and used to hoist the original sail in the stbd track. The swivel is out of play and roller furling is not possible. To go back to roller furling, the headsail is dropped, the feeder is removed, the swivel is raised above the feeder slot, then the feeder re-installed.. The halyard is moved back to the swivel and the sail hoisted.
Quantum Distance Racing How-To Series: Part 3 - Mastering Headsail Changes - YouTube
The guy in the video in the previous post is flying a wire luff sail on the starboard side .. it is not in the track.

Nice video, thanks a lot.

 

[Joe]

Some quick research over at the Harken site makes me think the swivel can be lowered to the base of the foil and secured on the drum as part of the racing mode transition. That means if you want to fly twin headsails it's likely you'd just lower the sail, disconnect the sail and halyard from the swivel, re load the first sail into the luff groove and hoist it in the traditional way. Once the sail is up you can load and hoist the secondary sail...probably on the same tack inside the first sail.. The you can turn the boat down wind and pole out the sails.... Whew!!!!! I think I prefer the top down furling genniker method of downwind sailing.

 

[zinahewitt]

Well, to sum it up.

If you are in racing mode.
You turn the screw on the feeder like Claude said.
You remove the feeder and keep it safe.
You can then lower the Halyard Swivel all the way to the bottom.
You then put the feeder back on.

This allows you to hoist Jib2 while Jib1 is flying.
If your Jib 1 is on starboard foil and you are on port tack, you simply hoist Jib2 on port foil. Then lower Jib 1 and bag it.
If your jib 1 is on port foil and your are on port tack, you can tack, raise Jib2, tack back and lower jib 1 and bag it.


If you are in cruising mode heading downwind for a long time and don't want to raise a spinnaker.
You can raise two jibs.
One jib will fly , Jib1
The other jib Jib2 you will add a whisker pole to keep it to the other side of the Jib1.


Thanks!