temporary 2nd forestay for jib

[DaveC426913]

I was talking to a buddy who suggested there is a way to have genny versus jib options even with a furler.

Currently, I can only ever use my genny because the furler is on the forestay. There's no way to take down the furler without taking down the mast, or at least setting up a second forestay while I pull down the furler etc. etc. I'm not really sure how the rest of you switch sails, if you do.

Anyway, here's an idea:
- genny stays on furler, on forestay permanently
- I add a 2nd forestay, normally unused, clipped to the mast
- when I want to switch sails, I
- - furl the genny,
- - unclip the 2nd forestay from the mast and clip it to a padeye installed just aft the the main forestay
- - hank on my jib
And I'm away!

The one thing I'm not sure of is how the halyard on the 2ndary stay works. To unhook it from the bow and hook it on the mast when not in use, it will be about 4 feet shorter, which means I need a halyard. Does the wire stay go over a block to a rope halyard? Or what?

What do you think? How do you switch sails?

[kadet]

What you have described is a pretty common rig these days called a solent rig. Very effective for cruising and ease of sail handling.
I am doing a similar thing but I am swapping my Genny out for an oversized RF jib and putting my gennaker on a fly sail furler. As the area I sail tends to have light wind in the mornings with strong afternoon sea breezes.

http://theriggingco.com/2013/05/30/the- ... -own-stay/

If you are using a hank on yes you will need a second halyard with all the blocks and cleats to go with it. Another option though more expensive is to use a flying sail furler and just rig the 2nd sail as needed.

[DaveC426913]

Well, lemme back up a sec and profess my ignorance.

Don't assume my idea is what I actually want. What is the preferred way of rigging a jib sail when one has a furling genny? How do most people do it? What's easiest?

That rig you've demonstrated looks like it requires putting a hole in the mast for the halyard to run down inside. That's outside my comfort zone as far as mods go.

[kadet]

Doesn't require running dow the inside of the mast, that is on a keel boat with permanent mast, rig as you like.

What is the preferred way of rigging a jib sail when one has a furling genny?

That's like asking what is the preferred boat to sail around the world on, open to many opinions and interpretations. For a mac my personal preference is to have two furlers so you don't need to go up the bow when you need to change sails and it can be done quickly and easily. If you already have a RF Genoa and wish to add a heavy weather sail I would recommend a removable flying sail furler, but that is just me as the $400+ price tag does not worry me at the moment.

Another alternative is an ATN gale sail arrangement http://www.atninc.com/atn-gale-sail-sai ... ment.shtml

Do you already have a hank on jib you want to reuse? Then I would look at rigging a removable dyneema or spectra stay with a 2:1 purchase to rig it under load and temporarily hank on the sail with a second halyard installed for that purpose.

No matter what you choose you are going to have to rig blocks, cleats etc.. to the mast to achieve what you want. My arrangement requires pad eyes and a cheek block for the 2:1 halyard for the flying sail.

[Azzarac]

Maybe I'm missing the point of the subject here, but it all seems over complicated to me. If your is equipped with the standard CDI furler, you should have an internal halyard built right in. Whenever we want to swap out the 150 genny with a working jib we simply go forward and drop the foresail similar to how you would drop the main if you use a bolt rope. Then feed the jib into the furler luff and raise it with the internal halyard. All set to go!

[DaveC426913]

Maybe I'm missing the point of the subject here, but it all seems over complicated to me. If your is equipped with the standard CDI furler, you should have an internal halyard built right in. Whenever we want to swap out the 150 genny with a working jib we simply go forward and drop the foresail similar to how you would drop the main if you use a bolt rope. Then feed the jib into the furler luff and raise it with the internal halyard. All set to go!

Really? Huh. It never occurred to me that I could take the sail down without bringing the furler down. (Wish I'd known that last week, when I needed to take my genny in for repairs.)

I will look into that. Thanks!

[Catigale]

You will need a messenger line of about 30 feet in length to follow the furler halyard up so that you can pull it back down later...

[mastreb]

And if anyone has figured out how to get the last two inches of hoist out of the internal jib halyard, let me know. My new genny is baggy at the bottom because I can't get enough tension on it.

[kadet]

I know my situation is different because I am using a Jib and Gennaker so cannot reuse the Mac Furler anyway, but I thought the point was to save going forward and wrestle sails on the foredeck in dubious weather i.e. ease of use and safety.

[DaveC426913]

You will need a messenger line of about 30 feet in length to follow the furler halyard up so that you can pull it back down later...

I am just beginning to get an inkling about how this works. My genny is lashed to a line at top and bottom, but I had not realized until I took a good look at it, that that line runs freely inside the furler. I did not know that the sail would slide on its boltrope out of the furler while the furler is up.

If I were to untie it at the bottom and tie a line to it, I could bring down the sail! And if I had a jib with the same boltrope, I could change them in a jiffy! It's .. it's almost like they planned it this way!

[kadet]

You will need a messenger line of about 30 feet in length to follow the furler halyard up so that you can pull it back down later...

I am just beginning to get an inkling about how this works. My genny is lashed to a line at top and bottom, but I had not realized until I took a good look at it, that that line runs freely inside the furler. I did not know that the sail would slide on its boltrope out of the furler while the furler is up.

If I were to untie it at the bottom and tie a line to it, I could bring down the sail! And if I had a jib with the same boltrope, I could change them in a jiffy! It's .. it's almost like they planned it this way!

Yes they did plan it that way because on a non-trailer sailor you don't have the option to drop the mast just to change a sail
Glad you now have your solution

[Catigale]

Warning - changing the sail on the CDI furler is not easy. On anchor or at dock, its doable. I think it would be very tough at sea.

It is tough to get that genny all the way with the furler line - its hard pulling and thin line.

[Azzarac]

How old is your furler Cat? I had to replace my luff this year since it cracked when I tried to straighten a severe curve near the drum. The carrier was extremely difficult to move up and down the luff. In fact I had to persuade it with a hammer at certain points.



The new luff however is quite easy to raise and lower.

[mastreb]

And if anyone has figured out how to get the last two inches of hoist out of the internal jib halyard, let me know. My new genny is baggy at the bottom because I can't get enough tension on it.

By the way, JudyB read this post and called me while on my trip to give me some ideas for how to tighten up the jib halyard. She recommended using a halyard bend instead of the double-bowline I'd used, which shortened the knot at the top enough to take up all the slack and eliminate the bagging at the bottom. Thanks Judy!

[jimbo]

What you have described is a pretty common rig these days called a solent rig. Very effective for cruising and ease of sail handling.
I am doing a similar thing but I am swapping my Genny out for an oversized RF jib and putting my gennaker on a fly sail furler. As the area I sail tends to have light wind in the mornings with strong afternoon sea breezes.

http://theriggingco.com/2013/05/30/the- ... -own-stay/

If you are using a hank on yes you will need a second halyard with all the blocks and cleats to go with it. Another option though more expensive is to use a flying sail furler and just rig the 2nd sail as needed.

I am getting geometrically challenged thinking about this.

With the inner stay in place - how to tack the outer sail? The only way I can see to do it is to furl it then pull through to the other tack?

Have I missed something?