Two questions about roller furling jibs

ToddS

.
Sep 11, 2017
248
Beneteau 373 Cape Cod
I have been sailing for 20 years or so... but am almost entirely self-taught, and until last year, nearly all of my experience was on just one boat which I inherited suddenly from my father-in-law. I had sailed with him a handful of times before he died, and just assumed that that the things he did, (the only things I knew about sailing at that point) were what I should do as well.

Things I've done which I'm now questioning:
1) My old boat had a short length of line attached to the bottom of the forestay below the jib's roller-furling drum. Per my father-in-law's recommendation, whenever the done sailing for the day, he would tie off the drum to this fixed point, so that even if the furling line were to fail, chafe, or otherwise somehow let go, the jib would not come unfurled. For 20 years, I blindly did the same. My new boat didn't come with such a line in place, and now I've added one, but wonder if maybe that's overkill. Other boats I see generally don't do this. My (current) furling line passes through a clutch, then is cleated ahead of a tied coil while not in use. Slipping is quite unlikely, but unattended in a storm, it is not unimaginable that something on deck could find its way into a position that could chafe through it. Very few other lines anywhere on the boat would cause as much havoc if they failed in a storm (other than mooring pennants), and few are as small/weak, compounding the danger. The other super-dangerous-if-it-snapped stuff (mooring lines, stays) are WAY more chafe-resistant. Does anyone else tie off their furling drum preventing it from spinning open or does everyone else just trust that furling line?

2) How tight do you leave your jib/genoa sheets when furled? I think I generally leave mine tighter than nearly all other boats I see. I don't want the sheets chafing on shroud turnbuckles, etc... plus as a bonus they sometimes provide a nice hand-hold while going forward (not underway). I tend to keep them pretty "hand-tightened" around the winches, but obviously I'm not using a winch handle to tighten to the point of damaging things like my sails/forestay/etc. I see some boats with the sheets drooping down onto the deck well ahead of the shrouds and flopping around like crazy after each passing boat wake. Any rules of thumb on tightness there?... I realize it's hard explain tightness in this context with any quantitative measurement, but still... any harm in what I'm doing? (my shrouds are stainless cables). Advice?

I'm 20 years deep into sailing, so obviously what I'm doing can't be TERRIBLY wrong... just wondering if I'm taking placebo sugar pills thinking I'm curing something and not really accomplishing anything "real".
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
1) I don't tie off the drum, but its common here where we get a lot of wind to tie a line about where the sheets wrap the sail so it can't get free. The same effect
2) I try to furl the genoa as tight as I can when we are done with it to help keep out the rain. My sheets droop though. The line in 1) is my insurance
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I furl 'til the sheets are wrapped three times around the sail. Then we neaten them up on the primaries, but not tight.
 
  • Like
Likes: agprice22
Nov 6, 2006
9,885
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Many roller furlers have a locking hole where a bolt can be inserted.. I use a big carabiner to lock the drum to the housing so if the line fails, the sail will not deploy.. a line tied as you describe works as well.. I lock mine when stronger winds are forecast..
Having the furler and sheets tight is a good thing.. if they are loose, they can vibrate and chafe through more easily..
I think you are doing the correct stuff..
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If there is a big wind storm predicted I'll place a line or sail tie around the sail to back up the jib sheets. Otherwise I get about 3 wraps of the jib sheet around the sail.

More important than the tension on the sheets is what they are rubbing against. I had a jib sheet under tension chafe through because it ran right next to the swaged cap stay fitting. That sharp little edge eventually wore through the sheet.

The jib should be rolled tight enough so that the sail cloth is well protected from the sun, no candy stripes. It should be tight enough so that wind can not get in between the wraps and start to unroll it.

The sails you see that are tightly wrapped in a nice neat package are sails that need to be replaced. They are old and the cloth is probably very soft. New sails are stiff and don't furl very tightly until they are flogged a bit and the cloth softens up. Over time, they begin to roll up tighter.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
For predicted winds up to tropical I wrap the spinnaker halyard around the furled jib to keep it from unfurling. Tropical and up the jib comes down.
Jib sheets I like to have pretty tight. They are a decent hand holds but I never assume they are solid. In my time with a furling jib I found the tightness of the roll was more a matter of conditions and technique than sail age. But I never had a new jib to roll up.
 
Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
I cleat my furling line and sheets off in the cockpit fairly tight as well, for the reasons stated above.
A few years ago one of the boats in our mooring field had it's brand new 180 genoa unfurl in a storm. Took the boat and mooring for a ride about a mile up the lake, dismasting two other boats on the way. It didn't stop until the sail exploded. I've kept everything locked down tight ever since.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
There's always someone who says "I never had a problem" but then takes two masts down.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Todd, I would say your Father-in-Law was a careful sailor and made an effort to protect his boat.

As you can see the pennant he used on the furler is just one of many ways to assure while you are away from the boat the conditions won’t damage your boat.

When I am aboard and will be using the boat, and the forecasted weather does not raise concerns I do the 3 wraps and tie off the sheets in the cockpit trying to eliminate chafe issues and hung so the lines can dry. When not taking the jibe sheets off the sail and stored in the rope locker, I have coiled and hung them from the sides of the bow pulpit. If I am not going to be on the boat for a while, I will remove the head sail from the furler, fold and stow the in the cabin. This eliminates the possibility of unfurling and shredding in a blow. Last winter we saw a boat across the fairway have it’s sail unfurl and then bring the mast down in a winter storm. Securing a sail takes minutes and can save big bucks.

Over kill? no way!
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
I have used a similar line to secure the furler of my headsail when I'm off the boat and windy weather weather is expected. I've done other things as well; for example, remove the headsail altogether!! Usually, however, the sail is merely furled tight as folks above have described with the furler line stopped off to a cleat or winch, as likely most do as well. Nevertheless, I've seen genoas become partially "unfurled" at the dock in near gale winds even though the drum has not turned much, if at all. Apparently, the wind gets inside the wrap. If the sail is not wound tight enough it starts to slowly "unfurl." A surprising amount can come out, catch wind, and then flog itself into a damaged condition, etc. I've also seen boats with a sock over the length of the headsail. It is done so the sail does not need sun protection fabric at the leech. So, it's lighter and easier to manage. I see this on racing boats where the furling headsail is often left up. The sock keeps wind from getting into the wrap when the headsail is furled, etc.
 
Last edited:
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Looks like the little buggers have done a job on the deck. Yeah those sheets need to come down. I used to have double swept back spreaders (B&R), which was a wonderful perch for birds that had just filled up on berries. What a mess. At least the swallows eat insects. Still a mess, but I couldn't look at a bowl of berries for a couple of years after selling that boat.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Looks like the little buggers have done a job on the deck
Oh yes they do! Perhaps the only benefit to the flooding on Lake Ontario is the bottom of the fingers on my dock are below water so the swallows couldn't nest there. When the lake is at normal levels the swallows nest under the finger and sit on my lifelines. :(
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Sitting on the life lines would appear better for the little bug eating helpers.
At least half the time the should be making a mess in the water... Unfortunately the other half of the time would be over the deck, unless they miss or all line up in the same direction.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Sitting on the life lines would appear better for the little bug eating helpers.
At least half the time the should be making a mess in the water... Unfortunately the other half of the time would be over the deck, unless they miss or all line up in the same direction.
Unfortunately their little butts don't reach past the toe rail. :mad:
 
  • Like
Likes: jssailem
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
We always had them under our dock fingers - not floating. Thank God they didn't hang on our lifelines.
 
  • Like
Likes: jssailem