Sail Folding
- Thread starter korchinskyp
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Yes! You need someone helping who will follow rather than lead.
One of you stands at the tack and another at the clew. The one at the tack is in control. That guy pulls the first flake, with a width of the diameter of the sail bag. And the clew person follows with a flake that matches. And so on.
Depending on the cut of the sail you want the flakes to be as far forward as possible. That is so when you raise the sail the slugs or bolt rope are aligned better with the forestay and the sail will raise more easily.
That's just my way.
One of you stands at the tack and another at the clew. The one at the tack is in control. That guy pulls the first flake, with a width of the diameter of the sail bag. And the clew person follows with a flake that matches. And so on.
Depending on the cut of the sail you want the flakes to be as far forward as possible. That is so when you raise the sail the slugs or bolt rope are aligned better with the forestay and the sail will raise more easily.
That's just my way.
What if you don't have anyone to help?....... How does the bowman on a 23-32 ft. boat pack the headsail after a change?
If it's hanked on, (of course, this can't be about rollers), I release the halyard completely to just go where it may, (generally to the top of the mast), which gets the sail on the deck. From there, just wad it up in a ball of sorts and stuff it through the forward hatch. From inside, repeating grasping technique earlier used on the deck, and when I have the whole wadded, wet, dirty mess in hand, and stuff it tightly into the most out of the way place in the forepeak, somewhere around the wife's clothes is best, and then walk away and ignore the entire mess like you do in the spare bedroom closet, and promise myself I'll do better next time. And the added benefit of some strange new spots on the sail that weren't there before, kind of like a tie-dyed shirt..
I leave it hanked on (with the luff in a continuous "S", like the luff/front of the main looks when down) and flake from the leach, starting at the foot, of course, and working forward as you go. Trying not to walk on the sail. Once it's flaked, pull from midpoint forward for first fold and continue until it fits in the jib bag. If my sheet are dry I stuff the in after coiling.
The procedure that shemandr outlines is the most common. It can be done solo but it is much more difficult particularly if there is a breeze blowing. It should be mentioned that this can be done while the sail is being dropped with a control of the halyard. In this manner the luff of the sail will be positioned correctly for the next hoist.
Alternatively the sail can be rolled without putting any creases in the sail cloth which greatly affect sail life. This requires a sausage style bag for storage. Relaunch of a rolled sail also requires that the tack not be attached till the sail is up but before the luff is properly tensioned.
Flaking a hanked on headsail can be a accomplished much more easily by one person. Flaking the sail properly at the headstay as the sail is dropped without regard for the rest of the sail shape. Then after the luff is down and working from the clew forward, flake the sail following the folds of the luff by pulling back on the leech as each fold is made. After the sail is flaked and rolled from clew to tack the hanks and tack are released.
This is the procedure that I use to flake my main without the need for lazy jacks or another person.
Alternatively the sail can be rolled without putting any creases in the sail cloth which greatly affect sail life. This requires a sausage style bag for storage. Relaunch of a rolled sail also requires that the tack not be attached till the sail is up but before the luff is properly tensioned.
Flaking a hanked on headsail can be a accomplished much more easily by one person. Flaking the sail properly at the headstay as the sail is dropped without regard for the rest of the sail shape. Then after the luff is down and working from the clew forward, flake the sail following the folds of the luff by pulling back on the leech as each fold is made. After the sail is flaked and rolled from clew to tack the hanks and tack are released.
This is the procedure that I use to flake my main without the need for lazy jacks or another person.
Shemandr is describing "Flaking" of a sail. If you use a hank on sail this way works just fine. If you have a Roller Furling headsail or "Luff Tape" on the sail it is best to use a slightly different approach. the person at the luff end starting at the tack makes about two foot folds. The trick is the person at the back makes a two foot fold followed by about a Six inch fold and then a one foot fold then all the rest will be two footers. The person at the luff needs to tug the sail towards them slightly to keep the luff stacking up on top of itself. The whole idea is to have the entire luff tape accordion folded directly below the feeder for the head foil unit. once the sail is "Flaked" in this fashion start at the tack rolling the sail over itself towards the clew. Tie a sail tie around it and throw it in your wife's cloths….
We roll our sails. This leads to no creasing and better sail shape. That being said, I sail on a Santana 20 and the sails are big but not huge. We are also a racing boat so this is more important than on a cruising vessel. Do what's best for you! As long as they fit in the sail bag, what the heck!
Ok...
Hanks assuming no need to hot-change (not racing)... and single handled.
Lower headsail, and resheet the genoa sheet tight (ish)...
Pull all the hanks low, secure halyard...
Starting at the genoa sheet, work your way UP the leech, folding in larger Folds in "S" shapes... You should be able to go forward and flop the folds between hanks, either port or starboard based upon your need, while the genoa sheet is still sheeted...
When you get to the top go aft, release the genoa sheet and roll the sail forward. When you are about 2 rolls from the stay (so you can kneel on it and still reach the stay).. kneel on the roll (this compresses and holds the sail as you unhank.... you should have the bag by now.... once all the hanks are undone, roll two more up (or whatever), and take the whole shebang and put it in the bag.
Things get trickier with tuff-luff, or laminate sails.
Hanks assuming no need to hot-change (not racing)... and single handled.
Lower headsail, and resheet the genoa sheet tight (ish)...
Pull all the hanks low, secure halyard...
Starting at the genoa sheet, work your way UP the leech, folding in larger Folds in "S" shapes... You should be able to go forward and flop the folds between hanks, either port or starboard based upon your need, while the genoa sheet is still sheeted...
When you get to the top go aft, release the genoa sheet and roll the sail forward. When you are about 2 rolls from the stay (so you can kneel on it and still reach the stay).. kneel on the roll (this compresses and holds the sail as you unhank.... you should have the bag by now.... once all the hanks are undone, roll two more up (or whatever), and take the whole shebang and put it in the bag.
Things get trickier with tuff-luff, or laminate sails.
With a Tuff luff, chances are you have a laminate sail... if you don't and have a tuff luff, with a dacron (I do)...
You have to keep the genoa sheeted, drop the whole sail, remove from tuff luff, and secure halyard.
now it gets messy especially under way, but here goes...
you have to scramble fore and aft folding the sail as you go up... when you get about halfway up, you can fold standing OVER the sail... it's a PITA... I've not found a better way though. Then roll it and stuff it.
Here's the one that eludes me the most... TUFF LUFF with laminate sails (requires rolling either from head to foot, or foot to head). There is generally not enough space to roll it ON deck of my boat, at least when I've tried it's crinkled and generally left me with a mess. I've tried to secure the foot, and the clew, and remove and secure halyard, and leave sheeted and rolled from head to foot, but about 1/3 the way in, the tootsie roll, collapses and makes it impossible to continue. The ONLY successful way to roll a laminate sail I've found is 2 people doing it as described while under way, or better 1 or 2 doing it once back at the dock and flat ground can be employed (it's also the only way I've found to get the package small enough to fit back into the original sail bag, that is long and slim, generally the length of the foot). I'd love to hear how racers handle that. Best I can tell if you have to change gears mid-race (with a dual-headfoil rig) the crew rolls it "roughly" and stows it below. The new headsail goes on and up, before the old one comes down. It helps to have soft shackles or individual sheets for each headsail to do "under way" sail changes like that though. Again, I'd like to hear what others do especially short handed.
You have to keep the genoa sheeted, drop the whole sail, remove from tuff luff, and secure halyard.
now it gets messy especially under way, but here goes...
you have to scramble fore and aft folding the sail as you go up... when you get about halfway up, you can fold standing OVER the sail... it's a PITA... I've not found a better way though. Then roll it and stuff it.
Here's the one that eludes me the most... TUFF LUFF with laminate sails (requires rolling either from head to foot, or foot to head). There is generally not enough space to roll it ON deck of my boat, at least when I've tried it's crinkled and generally left me with a mess. I've tried to secure the foot, and the clew, and remove and secure halyard, and leave sheeted and rolled from head to foot, but about 1/3 the way in, the tootsie roll, collapses and makes it impossible to continue. The ONLY successful way to roll a laminate sail I've found is 2 people doing it as described while under way, or better 1 or 2 doing it once back at the dock and flat ground can be employed (it's also the only way I've found to get the package small enough to fit back into the original sail bag, that is long and slim, generally the length of the foot). I'd love to hear how racers handle that. Best I can tell if you have to change gears mid-race (with a dual-headfoil rig) the crew rolls it "roughly" and stows it below. The new headsail goes on and up, before the old one comes down. It helps to have soft shackles or individual sheets for each headsail to do "under way" sail changes like that though. Again, I'd like to hear what others do especially short handed.
On the boat VERY hard to roll... just leave it against the stanchions and pulpit, secured with lots of sail ties. When you get to the dock. roll it around a 4 inch drainage pipe. You can leave the pipe in the in the bag. Keeps them from folding over.
Our 260 sails home for a winter sleep.
