Should I add the stormsail?

[michael201]

Weyalan,

That is what the builder said they were going to be doing.

thanks

[Weyalan]

The generally perceived wisdom is that you should keep sheets (over size) permanently attached to the clews of your storm sails (i.e. trisail and storm jib). In the sorts of conditions where you are going to be putting up storm sails, you really don't want to be hanging around tying knots at the clew(s) and massively flogging sails is a great way to untie bowlines if they are in the least bit loose or poorly tied

It is also a good idea to have eyelets on your storm jib so that you can, if necessary, use lengths of cord (or even shackles) to attach the storm jib to the forestay or inner forestay or babystay... so that if you get a really bad blow and physically rip the bolt rope out of the track on your foil(s), you would still be able to fly a storm jib.

[GordMay]

The International Sailing Federation Offshore Regulations concerning Storm & heavy Weather Sails - Section 4.26 (pages 45 & 46) recommend:
c) a storm trysail
e) a storm jib
f) a heavy-weather jib
http://www.sailing.org/offshore/2006...ete_161205.pdf

[swagman]

Hands up who has flown a trisail in anger - ie where, what conditions, and for how long?
Cheers
JOHN

[GordMay]

I’ve sailed in gales, for periods up to about 12 hours, without the use of a storm Trysail, and with only an overpowered Heavy-Weather Jib. These circumstances occurred in Lake Superior & The Bahamas (“coastal”, semi-protected waters).

On each occasion, I wished I had a Tri & a proper storm jib - and certainly wouldn’t head offshore (transoceanic) without them.


Storm Sails - Heavy weather sailing ~ by George Day (Blue Water Sailing)
”... The main objective when shortening down in heavy weather is to keep the boat balanced and making reasonable and safe headway. To balance the rig, you need to reduce the size of the sails fore and aft in roughly equal increments. The reason is twofold. First, a balanced rig will be the most efficient rig. Sailing with a headsail alone, as some sailors do, will give the boat a heavy lee helm that will make steering tiresome and will slow your headway. And, secondly, the sails themselves, even when reefed down, provide a shock absorbing affect for the rig. As the boat pounds through the waves, or falls off the face of the waves, the jarring to the rig can cause swages and turnbuckles to fail ...”
Goto: boats.com - Feature: Storm Sails

Some definitions:

Storm Trysail: A short triangular sail that is attached to back of the mast, and is sheeted to the deck. The area of the storm trysail cannot be more than 0.175(PxE). The ORC states, “It shall be sheeted independently of the boom and shall have neither a headboard nor battens and be of suitable strength for the purpose.” If you ever plan to set a storm trysail, it is best to have a separate track on the mast for the sail. In a gale, the last thing you want to do is remove the mainsail from the mast to bend on the storm trysail.

Storm Jib: Its area is limited to five percent of the height of the foretriangle squared. The rule states that the luff of the storm jib must be shorter than 65 percent of the height of the foretriangle.

Heavy Weather Jib: Its area is limited to 13.5 percent of the height of the foretriangle squared. The ORC rules state that this sail cannot have reef points.

The ORC recommended maximum storm sail sizes are:
Storm jib = Height of foretriangle (I) squared *.05
Storm trysail = .175* P*E
Many authorities recommend 20% smaller areas

If either the storm jib or heavy weather jib are made to fit a luff-groove device, the sail must have an alternative means of being attached to the stay. The most common alternative method is to have grommets along the luff so that you can tie the sail to the stay.

The sheet leads must be a absolutely fair, otherwise chafe will destroy the sheets in a matter of hours.

The rules recommend storm sails be made in orange or other bright colour.

See also Storm Jib FAQ ~ from Bacon Associates

[dana-tenacity]

Several times, as above wouldn't go offshore without it.

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by swagman

Hands up who has flown a trisail in anger - ie where, what conditions, and for how long?
Cheers
JOHN

Next time you're in a situation where you need the storm jib, go forward and look up the mast!!! You'll wish you had a tri sail handy because the thing will be going crazy. Apart from balance the tri sail supports the mast aft, particularly important with fractional rig and/or mid boom sheeting.
On the same note, I'm considering having a spectra or wire luff sewn into my storm jib and hoisting it on a spectra halyard insted of using a forestay. Is this workable and if so (I have fractional rig) should I use the spinnaker pole topping lift or the spare genoa halyard? The deck point is about a foot back from the forestay.

[camaraderie]

michael...let me just put in a "vote" for a non-removable inner stay and a staysail on a roller furler on that stay. In heavy but not storm conditions we got a lot of use out of the staysail and it was easy to handle in all conditions on the furler from the cockpit.
We had an ATN gale sale which we could hank on over the staysail but never needed it so I can only suggest that approach...but i can tell you that we appreciated having a full time staysail on a roller and a quick release hank-on system would have been both a pain and more dangerous since it requires deck work in bad conditions. Something to think about as you make your plans for shorthanded passagemaking.

[cooper]

Its like the proverbial tool box, chances are if you have the tool you wont need it....and in the case of storm sails that sounds pretty good to me !! Get them.

[Boracay]

I think storm sails are like those wooden bungs that "everyone" says you should have.

I've never heard of them being used. There are many other things that you can carry that would be better.(Like underwater setting epoxy, self amalgmating rubber, extra hose clamps even a piece of cloth set up to slide over any hole.)

I'll second the series drogue. If you need a storm sail it's really time to be putting out the drogue. Have the mounting points installed now.

You could also make sure that your normal reefing works down to a very small sail size.

I should imagine that by the time you realise it's time for the storm sail it would be more dangerous to put it on than to continue without.