Hank on jib furler? DIY preferably....

[silviris]

So I'm buying a SeaRunner 34 in a couple of months and the price is pretty much clearing out my budget. Over the next few months, I'd like to make some minor improvements like adding EZ-Jacks and roller furling for both headsails (it's cutter rigged). The only problem is that the headsails are hank on. I really don't want to (nor have the money to) spend $6000+ for two roller furling systems plus sails.

Has anyone come up with or heard of a reliable do-it-yourself roller furling system for hank on sails on larger boats? I've seen a solution for smaller boats where they cut holes in a PVC pipe so the hanks could still attach to the wire for load bearing and the PVC pipe just rolls up the sail, but that seems a bit flimsy for a 34' boat. Anything stronger seems out of my ability to work with.

So, any experienced suggestions? I know this is a bit ridiculous, but when you're working on a small budget, you look for any ideas you can get!

[model 10]

Don't spend a dime on lazy jacks if you are on a tight budget. Do you really need 2 reefing furlers?

[silviris]

The EZ-Jacks are pretty inexpensive and will allow me to easily douse the mainsail without having to worry about it flapping about and will also allow me to focus on other things. Then I can go back and tidy up the flakes later when I'm done for the day. I'm on a tight budget, not a "can't spend anything budget".

Do I NEED two furling sails....no. Do I WANT two furling sails....yes. With these being the original, lighter hank on sails, it won't be for reefing purposes...only for convenient storage. The benefit would be that I can switch between the genoa and jib by rolling one in and rolling the other out....much quicker and safer than hopping up to the bow and yanking one down and putting another up.

At any rate, even if I did just go with one roller furler, I'd still like to have one that uses the mostly new hank on genoa that's coming with the boat rather than buying an unreasonably priced new furler and the obligatory sail that goes with it.

So my original question remains: hank on jib furlers?

[roverhi]

The beauty of the cutter rig is it doesn't need a bunch of sail changes to cover a wide range of wind condtions. We sailed many thousands of miles with a cutter rig with just one change of headsail required from ghosting to survival condtions. We had a reacher/drifter for light air sailing. It came down between 10k and 15k of wind depending on point of sail. Carried the Yankee and staysail for most of our passages. When winds got too strong, the yankee was pulled down with a downhaul and left hanked on lashed to the lifelines. Carried on under staysail. Never ran into those winds that make for a great story but the staysail had a reef point that could be easily tied in for survival conditions. In short, you don't need roller furling with the cutter rig like you do with a sloop rig.

Staysail was loose footed. Trashed the self tending boom as a life threatening apparatus that made for a crappy setting sail.

[Andrew Troup]

On a boat that size I'd set up the yankee or genoa with reef points and a downhaul, so it can be raised, lowered and reefed from the cockpit, at a tiny fraction of the cost of furlers, better reliability, and would give you significantly better windward performance as a fringe benefit.

Roverhi's points, I agree with entirely, for what it's worth.

If you're interested, I could dig out a couple of posts relating to this option.

[silviris]

Yeah, my primary plan was/is using jib downhauls....just hoping for something a little more convenient for storage. Packing sails into a bag isn't much fun and they take up a lot of room below. Can't blame a lazy guy for looking for alternatives! :P

[delmarrey]

They do make sail bags that stay right on the forestays.


.

[Whaubner]

Sail it like she is rigged for a season and see what you like and don't like.

You may actually find a couple things you like about the current setup.

After you have some experience withe the current, talk to a rigger and a sail maker and get their advice. They may have some simpler suggestions than what your proposing.

[roverhi]

The only sail we bagged off the stay was the reacher drifter. The staysail and yankee stayed hanked on with bags like delmarrey pictures. You can pick them up fairly cheaply on eBay if you are not picky about color and even if you are picky if you are patient.

[jeremiason]

I have never seen a furler with a hank on sail... I would think it would chafe the sail and wouldn't furl very well either.

I have meet a number of Cutter Cruisers over the last three years... Many said that having furlers for them made it easier to use the cutter rig. There thought was that having hanked on sails made them lazy and they wouldn't use the cutter rig.

Other Cutter sailors said they like having hanked on sails and stored them rigged and in deck bags.

I guess hanked on sails vs roller furlers fails just below, "Which Anchor" :-)

I think the advice from Whaubner makes sense, sail it as rigged for a couple of months. Then you will have a better idea what you might want.

If you are still interested in a furling system, you should be able to find some used ones.

[charliehows]

yeah, two different beasts, never the twain shall meet. Your best setup would be a roller up front for the big light air sail and hanks on the stay behind for hard weather sails - hanks and a heavy stay allow for a lot of pressure on a heavy weather sail. But if you're watching the dollars, you need a bit of cheap nylon rope for lazyjacks and - no furlers. I reckon furlers are great if you've got them but even if money was no object i wouldnt bother fitting them, fixing seams on sails or new sails etc - i like hanked on sails. I've even thought about getting rid of my furler...but its too much mucking around going that way too.

[Viking Sailor]

Here is the instruction manual for a no longer available product that does what you want:

http://www.longpassages.org/Document...20Brochure.pdf

I hope it is of some help.

[Andrew Troup]

That's interesting, Viking sailor, thanks for posting that.

It seems like a cunning plan for furling, but I have some doubts about how well the shape would hold if it was used for reefing ...

I say that because of the way the turning force is applied to the luff from the ends; there's nothing trying to turn the luff per se.

This is effectively the opposite approach from double-swivel headfoil furling systems, which were developed to prevent excessive draft developing as the sail is reefed, by rolling the midsection of the luff one whole turn before head and tack start to roll...

Also, I have to wonder how the cloth near the luff would handle being tightly wrapped around the hanks. Apart from the lumpy shape, I'd be concerned at the possibility of the repeated 'panting' of the sail potentially chafing the cloth right through.

Again, this would apply only if sailing reefed: I can see it working well for furling (particularly with a wire-luffed headsail, which are a real pain otherwise)

I also feel a bit queasy about transmitting the reefing torque through a spiral wire, although rationally I think given that the sail loads are trying to tighten the lay, it's probably fine. I'd feel happier if it was rod, of generous diameter...

And I emphasise that I have no experience of such a sail, having never seen one, let alone sailed with it, so my comments are highly speculative, and could be completely wide of the mark.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who's put some miles on such a device.

[Jim Cate]

Andrew, IIRC those furlers were not marketed as reefing systems, but only a way to set and strike sails. I agree that the shape and the strength issues would preclude using such a furler as a reefer.

Cheers,

Jim

[Andrew Troup]

Jim, the linked file from Mariner refers to the gear as suitable for 'furling and some reefing'

- I think that's probably stretching it, (pun not intentional), as you clearly do.