Conference unifix::sailing

    
    
    	You didn't say how big the boat was, or the J measurement, but I
    recall, years ago, the sailmaker telling me that rolling the jib was
    the best treatment for it. As the sail was small (22' boat) this was a
    piece o' cake.
    
    	Now that my J is 12', I try to fold them at the dock, where
    possible. The chances of recruiting help is also better! When it's
    windy, break out a 6-pack and call some of the porch-potatoes out for
    distributed mass...
    
    	Roller jibs _are_ mighty nice, albeit expensive- plus the old sails
    will have to be modified with luff tape- worth it in the long run tho!
    
    	Scott

re .0:

Be glad you have a sloop and not a cutter -- I/we have to fold at least 
two headsails after a sail. 

Basically, folding the headsails is not much fun, especially if there is
any wind to blow the sail around. Our foredeck crew (usually just Julie)
brings the headsail down and ties it to the lifelines so that it is out
of the way until we're moored or anchored (trying to fold while underway
is both more difficult and much more risky if you're singlehanding). 

I assume you leave the sail hanked to the headstay? We do, and the hanks
define the accordian folds. Once the accordian folding is done, we just 
fold/roll the sail from the clew toward the stay, shove the rolled sail
into a deck bag (larger mouth than a sailbag), and then unhank it if
we're going to stow it below. Otherwise, we just zip the deck bag around
the stay. Our working headsail is about 315 sq feet (J is 15') and our
staysail about 170 sq feet. With her years of practice, Julie can fold
and bag both in about the same time it takes me to fold, tie, and cover
the mainsail. Folding our 420 sq ft genoa is very bothersome for one
person, so I don't use it when singlehanding. 

Since you mention three headsails, I assume you change sails while 
sailing. Doing so will be much, much harder if you go to roller furling 
since once the sail is down it will be almost completely unattached to 
the boat. With hanked on sails, even if the sail washes over the side, 
it won't be lost or get tangled in the rudder/propeller/keel. Thoughts 
of sail changing underway with a crew of only one or two is one rather 
major reason we opted for hanks when we replaced our sails last year. 
(The other major reason was cost -- a Profurl plus additional cost options 
on the sails would have been another $2000 or so. The sailmaker's bill 
was quite large enough as it was, thank you.)

Alan

    Maybe this is a stupid question, but why fold a head sail anyways?
    Sure it's neat, but I have never heard a reason given.
    
    Paul

re .3:

Well, minimizing the creases and wrinkles helps the sail maintain its 
shape and last longer. More importantly, perhaps, in our case, our 
headsails are made from very heavy and stiff cloth. It would be exceedingly 
difficult to simply stuff them into a sail bag, and the volume they would 
occupy would be significantly greater than if they were folded 
reasonably neatly. Indeed, I doubt I could get them into the sail bags 
if I just stuffed 'em in.

    I can not add much more than what Alan suggested. I take a sail tie
    forward, when underway, and tie down the forward part of the sail after
    it is folded and before releasing the hanks. Another idea is to put a
    sail tie around the rolled up sail before you put it into the bag.

    
    
    	More detail, other angles: a lot of the new cloths are more
    resinated, keeps the air from sneaking thru the cloth. Take resinating
    to the limit and you have clear mylar.
    
    	Now, fold that mylar back and forth a few times, and HocusPocus you
    have a small crack. Lots of small cracks build up and kapow, mylar
    confetti.
    
    	I put my plastic sails into a sausage, about 12 or so foot long.
    this way, the folds are at least limited to one direction. The sails
    also are easier to raise straight from the bag; quicker sail changes.
    
    	BTW sausage = a long skinny bag, zipper along the length. They LOVE
    to dominate the cabin.
    
    	Anyway, stuffing any sail will `soften' it up more quickly than
    folding, and will give you that beautiful bedsheet shape that is so
    good offwind and so hard to point with...
    
    	Scott_who_wants_an_aluminum_jib

re .last:

>>>    	Scott_who_wants_an_aluminum_jib

General Motors built aluminum jibs many years ago -- the durability 
wasn't very good. Iron is much to be preferred.

    
    My J is 13'. Boat is a Tartan 30 sloop... 
    
    Hmmm, Ive always un-hank the sail so maybe thats the first thing I
    should try. Leave it hanked on (unless its a sail used earlier in the
    day in which case it will have been "stuff" in the V-berth.. Alan, are
    you saying that Julie can fold your headsails by herself while you tend
    to cleaning up the main? I suppose left hanked on this IS possible.
    I'll give it a try!
    
    Yep, good and bad with roller furling. With a sloop however I think the
    advantages outweigh the downside.. Last time I was out alone and the
    wind came up I realized I had too much genny out. The idea of having
    to crawl up to the fordeck (I don't have downhauls on my headsails....)
    didn't really appeal to me. Cockpit was nice and comfy! With RF I can
    at least stay in the safety of the cockpit and shorten sail. Yes, I
    still have to go to the mast to reef the main but I feel MUCH more
    comfy at the mast in sloppy sea's rather than the pointy end.
    
    Thanks for the idea's!
    
    Paul

re .8:

Yup, as long as there isn't enough wind to blow the sails around the 
deck, Julie folds the headsails by herself.

    When I am leaving the jib down but hanked on while under way, I tie the
    bundle down to the foot of the pulpit about 1/2 way back. I also run a
    line around the headstay above the top hank and tie it down to the 
    top of the pulpit. Then, unexpected winds cannot blow the hanks back
    up the headstay. Once I had a squall raise my jib without the benefit
    of a halyard. This prevents that.
    
    Bill