Stowing Hanked on Headsail ?

[OldFrog75]

Does anyone flake and fold their headsails or does everyone just stuff them in bags?

[boatman61]

If your talking a change at sea... I tie the one just dropped to the guard rail... then hoist the next..
If you mean when on the hook or in the marina I'll do the same after covering it for protection..
That's on boats I've had without furlers..

[fgd3]

Flake it down on deck, then roll it forward. Now you can slip a sail bag (made of Sunbrella, not nylon) over it. Tie the bag, then hoist it up a little, swing it forward, and rest it in the bow rail. It's protected from the weather, still hanked on the forestay, and can be deployed quickly. It's not quite a neat as folding but it's better than just stuffing it into a bag.

Fabbian

[Hydra]

Generally, I flake my headsails and I roll them as tightly and cleanly as possible, starting at the clew while the hanks are still on the forestay, then I undo the hanks and tie the roll with a sail tie before carrying it back to the cockpit. I keep the sail there for some time, for the water to drip out of it.

On my boat, this works at least up to sea state 4 (moderate) and Beaufort 6, going to windward. Of course, it will be different on a smaller boat (livelier motions) or a bigger one (larger sails).

Alain

[JPA Cate]

We used to flake and deck stow. I made sunbrella deck "sausage" bags that we hanked onto the toe rail. The seams by the toe rail had openings for permanently rigged sail ties. Procedure was drop the sail, leaving it on the wire, flake it by pulling against the hanks. Then tie the forewardmost tie (by the forward end of the sausage, un-hank, and pull the fwd end of the sail astern (it's now folded in half); tie the rest of the ties, zip the sausage closed. We had one each side.

[Viking Sailor]

I guess great minds think alike! I have double sausage bags port and starboard. Thus, allowing me to have four sails bagged and ready to be hank-on on the foredeck. I think my bags maybe a bit longer then yours with two sewn in gaskets per bag. Currently I have a 150% genie, a 135% genie, the working jib, and a storm jib ready to go. They really do work great.

Paul