Conference unifix::sailing

My cruising experience (Maine, Nova Scotia, and Bermuda) with our 32'
cutter suggests to me that a cutter rig is ideal for shorthanded, long
distance sailing. We have found that a combination of Yankee jib (100%),
staysail (70%), and mainsail (three reefs) works well from 10 knots 'til
storm sail time. We very rarely change headsails, usually from 130%
genoa to Yankee or visa versa. We haven't yet needed our storm jib or
trysail. I would not choose a sloop (or a ketch or a yawl) for long
distance sailing. 

While all of our headsails are hanked on, I might consider roller
furling for the headstay were we to get a 40' or larger cutter. Note,
roller furling, not reefing. And I would use one of the (very expensive) 
models that worked well in the BOC race. A sailmaker from Doyle, when 
pushed, agreed that hanked on headsails are probably better than roller 
reefing/furling for shorthanded, offshore sailing. With a sloop, you 
will sooner or later have to change a headsail. My impression is that 
there is a limit to how much you can roller furl a headsail successfully 
(say a 130% genoa to 100%). For winds over say 30 knots, a 100% jib is 
likely to be too large. Handling even a hanked on 100% jib in 30 knots 
winds and rough seas by yourself is difficult. 

My view (not shared by others I'm sure!) is that roller reefing/furling
is acceptable for coastal sailing where there is little probability of
being caught in weather bad enough that headsail changing becomes a
major problem. My one personal experience with roller reefing some years 
ago (a Hood system with a Hood sail) is that yes indeed, the sail cannot 
be kept flat enough for good performance. 

Alan

    See note 334 for a discussion on roller furling.

    
    Walt
    
    BTW:  I like it. Four seasons, no problems.  It doesnt permit proper
    shape when "reefed", but the extent of that changes from sail
    to sail and sometimes furler to furler.  North has an interesting
    concept, anyone tried one yet ?

    The North system sounds like another gimmick/hype to me.  Most
    sailmakers have panned it, saying it does'nt do any good once the
    first 6 inches of sail are rolled in anyway..  Its kind of the same
    idea Harken had with the double swivel, trying to get the belly
    of the sail to roll up first, then the ends.
    
    I have had good luck with roller reefing for the last two years.
    Prior to that I had a headfoil two and used to haul genoas and jibs
    out on the foredeck in the middle of Buzzards bay with the boat
    bounding and leaping. 
    
    The most important thing to me is the sail, not the system.  The
    sail has to be cut to allow roller reefing.  You can't take ordinary
    sails and reef them down, they will bag out, lose shape,and wear
    much more quickly.    Newer designs allow for things like bi-radial
    construction and foam luffs that allow for flatter sails and better
    shape when reefed.   You still can't take a 130 down to an 80 and
    expect it to keep its shape, I've found about 100% is the lowest
    I'll take it with decent shape.   I also carry an 80% bi-radial
    that can be reefed nicely down to almost storm jib size.  In both
    cases the boat points nicely to windward, and has decent sail shape
    on both tacks (roller reefed sails sometimes bag up more when you
    are on the tack opposite the way the sail rolls up).
        
    I wouldn't go back, the advantages to me are in convenience, safety
    (I sail mostly with my wife) and the need for less sails. Often
    times you just need to take the "bite" out of a 25 knotter by taking
    in just a little.  I'd rather not change sails in that situation.
    
    Rick
                                                                     

    I went to a Harkin Furling system this year.  I had a 130 converted
    with a luff pad and an 80 converted without the pad.  I've yet to
    use the 80.  I've found that the sail shapes better when reefed
    if I tighten the backstay.  This flattens the sail out quite a bit.
    

    re .4
    
    Interesting, John.
    
    Tightening the backstay should also tend to flatten the main and
    reduce it's power. Sort of a demi-reef.
    
    Ed

Tightening the backstay is fine if you can do it easily, but once your
boat gets much over 30', an expensive hydraulic tensioner becomes
necessary (yes, there are some mechanical tensioners, but they are slow
and inconvenient). 

I guess whether you choose roller furling or not depends on how much
cost and complication you are willing to accept to make sailing easier. 

    I wouldn't want to give up my backstay adjuster.  As Ed pointed
    out, it is useful for flattening the main.  In many cases the use
    of the backstay and or traveler eliminates the need to reef or change
    sales.
    
    I would rather have a backstay adjuster than a stereo or oven. 
    But those are my trade-offs.
    
                      John
    

    
    Thanks for the pointers on roller jibs , I must admit that I hadn't
    appreciated that the sails were primarily roller furling with a
    limited built in reefing ability . Maybe a solution is to have 
    twin forestays and have a roller furler on one stay for up to 25
    knots or so , then hank on a number 2/3/4 on to the other stay 
    for winds stronger than that . Has anyone tried such an arrangement
    ??? IS it practical ???
    
    Be pleased to hear your opinions 
    
    DAve

    RE: -.1
    
    Very common on long range cruisers, either as a cutter rig, or in
    some cases resembling a sloop (stays within a foot of each other
    or side by side).  I think it fits the cutter especially well.
    
    Walt

By twin forestays I assume that you are referring to side-by-side
headstays. I've no personal experience with such a rig, and have never
talked to anyone who has. However, as I recall, Hal Roth tried them and
stopped using them -- too many problems. There have been other published
reports of less than satisfactory performance. Roth strongly recommends
a cutter rig (see 'After 50 000 Miles'). So do I. 

One problem with what you suggest is that double or side-by-side 
headstays will only have half the tension of a single headstay. This 
will result in substantially greater headstay sag under load and will 
make it virtually impossible to get enough headstay tension for proper
headsail shape. Unless perhaps you have a separate hydraulic tensioner
for each headstay and only tension the headstay that is in use. Navtec
would be delighted to take much of your money for this custom engineered
installation. There is still the problem of the headsail chafing on the
headstay not in use, particularly down wind. 

Oh so rare is the good idea that doesn't have some less than ideal side 
effects!

Alan

    Should you still be unconvinced that roller reefing is a dream,
    then give me a buzz next time you are Geneva bound, order up some
    of our local "Bise" (F7-8) & we can then go & try out roller-reefing
    together. Rgds, Nick

    Last year I sailed the Ionian Sea (Greece) for 2 weeks and with
    winds that went from force zero up to 8 and back down to 1 or 2
    within a period of a couple of hours, I became TOTALLY convinced
    that serious cruising requires the use of roller reefing.
    
    Racing .... now, that's a different story ....
    
    Brian