Staysail Rigging

[dmksails]

I have a Tashiba-31. The previous owner removed the staysail and I'm been sailing it without the staysail, which was coiled up under the vberth along with the associated shrouds.

I want to re-install the staysail. The sail itself looks to be in excellent shape. What should I do to check out the furler?

[nuku34]

Get the furler's documentation, read it from cover to cover and do the suggested maintenance program; make sure the furling line is in good condition, the proper length, and led properly back to the cockpit.

Check out the sheeting leads, etc. Its all the same stuff as you would do for a jib furler.

[dmksails]

Thanks for the info. The furler I have doesn't show any identifying markings.

[nuku34]

OK, I've never seen this brand of furler, but my guess is its quite old. Strange there's no brand name on it.

Now I understand why you said the sail was "coiled" up.
This type of furler obviously doesn't have a solid grooved luff-spar and relies on the sail itself having a 1X19 wire in its luff. That wire should have a swivel at the head; the halyard connects to that. When the wire is twisted by the drum, the sail rolls up around the wire.

The tack end of the luff wire will be shackled to the drum which will be mounted on the deck.
From your photo, my guess is that this an an "endless line" type of furler, i.e. the line is wrapped around the drum a couple of times and both ends of the line go back to the cockpit and around a block. The 2 ends are spliced together to create an endless loop. Pulling on one side furls the sail, pulling on the other side of the loop unfurls the sail.
This system is really old stuff, very inefficient, and because there is no luff spar, there will be a lot of sag in the staysail luff unless you have running backstays and crank them on hard.

The advantage of this system is that there is no staysail stay so the yacht is essentially a sloop until you deploy the staysail. With no staysail stay in the way, tacking the jib is easy.

There are several advantages to having a cutter rig. Most important is that when the wind increases and the jib is overpowered, you simply either furl it (or if hanked on, on drop it), and deploy the staysail.

Good luck!

[Bowdrie]

Your furling unit appears to be a rendition of one of the first furling units to find wide usage, "Wykeham-Martin".
They are still being produced.