Considering going to roller furling - comments/pointers?

[Highlander]

My Boat too furl or unfurl


watch this vid & u will see my boat with 4 furlers

Ah to furl or reef or both

J

[Stickinthemud57]

Good stuff guys, and thanks!

I decided to go with a 4-oz Rolly Tasker hank-on 150% genoa for the following reasons:

-Desire to sail at peak efficiency/speed. Just because.
-Sunk costs in (used) 75% and (new) 100% jibs.
-The fact that I actually enjoy messing with the sails.

When I started down the "hank-on" road, I figured that eventually I would go to roller furling. I have decided for now to stay active on the foredeck, especially since the lakes that I sail are not subject to the high seas of coastal areas. I call my boat my "floating gymnasium", so since I enjoy the activity (and need it!), it will be hank-on and changing sails for the foreseeable future.

Thanks again for the comments and insights!

A 150% genoa for your Mac should have a cloth weight of 5 oz. There is no such thing as 4 oz. It is actually 3.8 oz. and that belongs on a much smaller boat. Would love to know who is recommending this as they are doing you no favor.

You say it should be 5 oz, but don't say why. Perhaps you would like to share your reason?

I made this call on my own based on three factors: 1 - Basic cost. 2 - Ease of handling. 3- Limited use.

I am sure one day I will go to a furler. Now is just not that time. I enjoy futzing with the boat. It is a form of exercise and meditation. I didn't need a sail that would last ten years or stand a big blow, I needed one that could be stowed in a deck bag. I don't expect to use this sail except in winds below about 15 MPH. I can pick and choose my sailing days, so the Genoa is a "Plan B" sail for me.

Thanks for your comments.

[NiceAft]

I have had a roller furler since day one in 2004.

I am now on my third 150 Genoa. Up until this one, I have never had a problem; I have one now.

I don’t remember what weight the fabric is but it is so heavy that I can’t raise the mast.

The weight of the sail is so great, it creates a sag in the forestay. Enough of a sag, that the forestay is 4 inches short of being able to be secured.

Having a roller furler just makes sailing even more pleasurable. At least when I get everything rectified. I can’t mention anything about what weight is too heavy; just that a roller furler is worth having.

[dlandersson]

Ok, when I raise or lower my mast, Geneoa is not on?

[NiceAft]

Ok, when I raise or lower my mast, Geneoa is not on?

My Genny has never left the furler. This is a new experience for me.

[Stickinthemud57]

Ok, when I raise or lower my mast, Geneoa is not on?

My Genny has never left the furler. This is a new experience for me.

This brings up something I perhaps should have injected into the conversation early on.

Something we like to do is take the boat to other lakes. I'm thinking the process of un-stepping the mast and securing a Genoa furled on a foil would be a complicating factor. Not un-doable mind you, just more complicated. Right?

[Russ]

My Genny has never left the furler. This is a new experience for me.

Same.

I used to take it off in the winter. It's hard to attach/detach so now I leave it on all winter. I just make sure to strap it to the mast and support the furler so it doesn't bend.

[NiceAft]

My Genny has never left the furler. This is a new experience for me.

Same.

I used to take it off in the winter. It's hard to attach/detach so now I leave it on all winter. I just make sure to strap it to the mast and support the furler so it doesn't bend.

As I have done for 16 years, but the new Genny is heavier, and causing enough slack in the forestay, well I have already explained…

I discovered that I never had a halyard for the Genny. I am having a Dickens of a time figuring out how to run a halyard.

[Stickinthemud57]

Had an interesting experience this weekend on a "Fun Sail". Loose start, one-way course mostly downwind, meet at the bar on the other side of the lake for drinks and dinner.

I was a bit surprised to see the spinnakers coming out from the get-go. Guess it's not fun unless you are winning? To my surprise, I was able to keep pace with them on anything short of a downwind leg, and was declared the winner since I was only flying a150% Genoa and mainsail. Light winds.

Some contend that the 26S is not a "performance" boat. To paraphrase Forest Gump, "Performance is as performance does", and if I am keeping up and almost passing boats flying spinnakers, then I think that's pretty good performance.

Now, I am sure if pitted against J-boats or "performance" boats that I would be trounced. To me, that's not the point. Few of us can afford to have one boat for racing and one for cruising, so we make compromises. The furling jib is one. A ballast boat that trailers easily and sleeps five is another. It's all about fun, and don't feel at all conflicted trying to get the best performance out of my boat.

I suppose there is a silly aspect to it, like souping up the family mini-van, but it's still fun.

[Jimmyt]

Nothing silly about it. Your boat, your rules. I applaud your efforts and celebrate your win!

Of course, you might want to take that with a grain of salt. I'm the silly guy that's been rebuilding his galley for over a year.

[Stickinthemud57]

Nothing silly about it. Your boat, your rules. I applaud your efforts and celebrate your win!

Of course, you might want to take that with a grain of salt. I'm the silly guy that's been rebuilding his galley for over a year.

Hey, everything in its time. I often say it will be a sad day indeed when there is nothing left for me to improve on my boat!

My sailing, for me, is a lot like my drumming. While I doubt I could make it as a pro, I get unsolicited compliments when I play and I enjoy the hull out of it!

[OverEasy]

I REALLY REALLY wanted to give my nephew a set of drums back when he was 13 for Christmas.
The ADMIRAL (yes she used her full rank that time) unequivocally nixed the idea in any way shape or form. Her perspective was my Brother-in-Law would never speak to me again.. …. I tried to tell her that THAT was the point.. … She still said “NOPE! NADA! NO!”

To this day I still wonder how it would have turned out…. The nephew really could have amounted to something in at least a garage rock band …. Instead of an office career…. He could have been a contender!

The rub is that I still have to listen occasionally to the Brother-in-Law from time to time ….

[Stickinthemud57]

I returned to drumming after a 3-decade hiatus, but did so in stealth mode. Started off with a cheap electronic kit, then upgraded to a good one, and as soon as we moved into a house with a dedicated music room, I switched over to regular acoustic drums. It created a little friction, but at that point I was getting old enough not to give a sh*t!

[NiceAft]

Stickinthemud said:

It's all about fun, and don't feel at all conflicted trying to get the best performance out of my boat.

Ahh, grasshopper, you are now ready to venture into world. You are awakened, or as Maslow would have said, you have attained self actualization.

Our Mac’s are for us to enjoy in whichever way we choose. Our Mac’s make us Zen masters. We are sailors; it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey along the way.

[OverEasy]