Towing with the jib hanked on to the furler

[oldiesrocker2001]

While taking stock of my rigging/un-rigging times on my 21' boat, I noticed last year that I saved quite a bit of time when I left the jib hanked on to the furler when rigging for towing. Although the jib is new with a sunbrella cover built in, my sailmaker is quite emphatic about the wind damage that could be done to the sail at highway speeds in this manner. How many of you with headsail furlers tow with the sail hanked on? Of course, in the off season the sails are stored away, but my last trip required setting up and breaking down several times in a couple of weeks and a total of 3,000 miles driving round trip. In 100+deg weather, any time saved in the process of setting up/breaking down could be a lifesaver. What say you, my experienced trailor sailors? Is my sailmaker right, or could I be saving time and effort safely?

 

[Chuck]

Its your sail

but if you are worried about it, you could have your sail maker come up with a zippered sock to cover it while trailering.

 

[kendall]

Sock or sleeve

I agreee if the sail is furled tightly there should be no issues, But if it were my boat I'd be more comfortable using a sock to seal it up from the wind, If somehow the sail loosened up on the furler you'd have a 50mph wind tearing at it. For me a sail is a huge financial investment, so I tend to treat them like gold, and try taking very good care of them by reducing any chance of damage whenever possible.Ken.

 

[Steve O.]

not to mention...

...the bugs!

 

[Ross]

My rigger friends tell their clients that

moving a boat at highway speeds subjects it to hurricane force winds and everything should be as secure for towing as for a storm. Consider the turbulence that you encounter near a large truck at highway speeds. Making a sock for the furler is a childs project on mama,s sewing machine.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

Thanks for the Input,

Thanks for the Input on the furler, guys. My CDI furler, while pretty new, still takes a while to set up, and requires so much force(perhaps because it doesn't lay perfectly straight on the mast when trailering)to bend the sail into the track and pull the internal halyard that I started to use an old main haylard as a messenger rope. My rigger says there's nothing wrong with the system, even though a friend in FLA with a much larger boat observed the setup procedure and also felt the halyard tension was too great... It never occurred to me to think of a jib sock, although I leave the sheets attached to secure the jib cover tightly around the furler track. The jib furler(with or without the jib) and lines are secured about every 4 feet to the mast when travelling. By leaving the sail hanked on, I also save time rolling the furling line on the drum, and remembering how many turns-clockwise?counterclockwise? The sock on the drum is something I SHOULD have thought of though.