Working jib or genoa

Bubblehead · Oct 15, 2011

Is it a roller furler or Hank on? If it is roller, I would go with a larger genoa and sail with the option of reefing down. If it is a Hank, and I could only buy 1 sail I would probably go with a 100 or 110.

As a side note, I would weigh heavily what material and durability of sails within my pricerange, and I would choose the best out of all 3 criteria. Buy a cheap sail and you may only get a few seasons out of it, not to mention size doesn't always get you the speed you desire.

Look in the owners manual to see what they came stock with. The engineers that designed it probably had a standard sail or two they recommended.

Warren Milberg · Oct 15, 2011

If you have a roller furler/reefer, I'd buy a 135 genoa. If you need hank-on sails, you can also buy the same size sail that may also be reefed. Reefing a hank-on sail (designed for it) can be a chore, particularly if sailing solo, but such a sail will give you greater flexibililty to sail in a variety of conditions.

I agree that you generally get what you pay for in sails: buy the best quality you can afford. You may also want to try some of the used sail brokerages/lofts (i.e., Bacons, Minney's, Atlantic, etc.) as you sometimes can get a good quality sail at half the price or better than a new one. If you go this route, make absolutely sure of your measurements and make sure you can return the sail if for any reason it does not set correctly on your boat.

Rick D · Oct 15, 2011

It depends a lot on where you are sailing. For Long Beach, if you mean California, I'd stick with a 110 or even a 100 since 20 knot winds are common. If you are thinking elsewhere and want a tad more area, think a 130.

BTW, don't forget to check with Minney's Marine Surplus in Newport. They sometimes have new or near-new sails that might fit at a large savings.

kenn · Oct 15, 2011

therishel said:
My question is, should I buy a working jib (90 %) or a genoa (150%)?

If you absolutely can't both right now, I am going to recommend getting a GOOD 90 to 100% working jib first:
- it's cheaper than the genny,
- easier to handle, especially if you are still learning
- a 150% genoa can be used from 0 to maybe 15kt max, depending on point of sail; the working jib will work from 0 to 20+ kt

You can defer the genoa purchase to when you want to get the last kt of speed on a light-air day.

John Nantz · Oct 15, 2011

What's another recommendation?

Here's my two cents:

It's been mentioned to consider going with a used sail for the jib and I'd second that. Most used sails are going to be for roller furlers so finding a GOOD used hanked-on one will be a little tough. Narrowing it down to the dimensions you need will make it a tad more difficult but there is probably something out there you can use. Check the sail for draft, too.

A larger used sail could be cut down but this runs up the cost. A hanked on sail will like a sail bag for storage.

Reasons for going used: first is cost. Second is you'll really want to get a roller furler at some point. Maybe a third one is to save some money to get the one you really want.

Make a scale drawing of your rig which includes the deck and the genoa track to see how the sheeting angle will be.

Size: My preference for starters is for something in the 110 range as this provides a bit of overlap. As the sail starts getting smaller it will loose some of the performance. Be sure to put some telltails on it. Talk to other locals with a masthead or fractional rig like yours and see what they have to say about what percentage to use.

For a new working jib sail I'd suggest seeing where the sailmakers proposed sailcloth fits in the measurement size range and if it's on the low end then consider going with the next heavier weight cloth. Cost-wise it won't be much more but it'll last a lot longer before getting blown out.

Joe · Oct 16, 2011

Get a 110% headsail, medium weight dacron cross cut, say 4.5-5.5 oz.. Dacron, cross cut Mainsail, loose foot, with full roach, top two battens full length and two reef points.

Rig a downhaul for the jib so you can control the drop from the cockpit.

The full roach main will give you a little extra power to compensate for the smaller headsail. Two reef points allow you to depower without messing with a headsail change.

inarathree · Oct 16, 2011

On a small boat like yours, build yourself a PVC furler, and get a hank-on 135 or a 150. The po of my H22 had both a jib and a 150 genny. I took the hanks off the 150, and built a PVC furler... Cost ~$50.

Freedom77 · Oct 16, 2011

Great choice on the Balboa 20. Most boats out of the factory come stock with a standard jib. You might think about checking some of the big sailmakers like Hood or North. They have good used sails at decent prices. Also check Balboa owners site. sometimes you might find a deal. Good Luck, Fair Winds and Full Sails....

mklein@iowatelecom.net · Oct 16, 2011

OK, for those of us who have hank on sails, how do we build a furler for $ 50.00?

inarathree · Oct 16, 2011

The o'day and compac forums here on SBO are full of posting and articles on how to build one, as well as many sites if you google. Sorry, but I can't search for some of the postings right now from where I am at.

I can also dig out some of the pics of how I built mine... But basically it's sections of 3/4 or 1" PVC glued together in sections that match the length between eyelets on your sail. The sail is attached to the PVC couplers. At the bottom you build a drum for the furling line. The forstay is passed down through the PVC and reattached as normal. Pull the jib sheets to let out the sail, and the drum picks up the drum winding line. To furl it back up, pull the furling line.

inarathree · Oct 16, 2011

http://www.sailhavasu.com/GOB_Entry_11.html

inarathree · Oct 17, 2011

I have use it about a year, although in FL we don't sail too much June to August (too hot). Even though my H22 is a trailerable boat, the po didn't have the trailer, so my boat sits in a slip year round. My genny doesn't have a sacrificial strip, my wife made a sock for it.

Doug L · Oct 29, 2011

If you look on youtube there are a lot of videos about making a furler.
If you keep your boat in the water, a furler is great. A furler and a 150 Genoa would be the way to go. However, if you trailer your boat, and raise and lower the mast each time you use it, the added weight of the furler with sail may be the difference between raising the mast using just brute force and ignorance, and having to use a gin pole setup. Take note the guy in the Good Old Boat article is using a gin pole.
For a boat that has to go off, and back on the trailer each time you use it, my choice would be to stay with the hanked on sail, to make raising and lowering the mast as quick and easy as possible. And if I were to go with a single jib, it would be the working jib.
When I went from a Venture 222 with hanked on jib, to a Mac 25 with furler, I was unpleasantly suprised how much harder it was to raise and lower the mast.

Big Windy · Oct 30, 2011

If you are not going to race and have a roller, get the 150. On light air day you can use it all, on heavier air days, you roll it up to what ever works.