Roller furling staysail- valie and purpose

[advocate777]

I am looking at a sloop on a 30 foot sailboat on which the owner has added a 'roller furling staysail'

Question: under which conditions would this staysail be useful. And is it the same as a storm trysail? I imagine it would helpful in a blow beating to windward and is another sail option but I don't want to assume that so I would like some feedback from more experienced sailors as to its use and benefit and value on a 30 foot sloop.
Lastly, what do you think he paid (I know....I could just ask him but the boat is being sold by a broker) to have that sail rig added?

[roverhi]

It would be a storm jib not trisail. The trisail is used in place of the mainsail.

Depending on the size, the staysail could have a number of uses. On a reach, a decent sized staysail in concert with a Yankee Jib, is a very good sail combination. You can get the drive of a single overlapping headsail from a smaller jib and staysail largely because of the venturi effect of the slot between the two sails. On a sloop rig, the staysail would most commonly be used as a storm sail, however. The 'J' dimensions are usually too small for enough separation between the headstay and the staysail for optimum performance. If the boat was an IOR design, the 'J' may be sufficient. Since this one is on a furler, would expect the owner was using it as double headsail rig with the option of furling the sail and using it as a storm sail.

Most owners will install a staysail stay that can be removed and use an overlapping headsail on a furler as their working sail combination. The staysail stay seriously hampers tacking with an overlapping headsail which is why it's usually stowable.

[Adventurebound]

Talking about roller furling, can an ordinary jib be attached to a roller furling system as made for trailer sailers. [the sail coils around the forestay]

[caradow]

I have a roller furling staysail (Profurl) on my 50 ft. ketch and it has served me well through the years when the wind goes above 30-35
I simply deploy it with the mizzen without main or jib and the boat is easily controlled while maintaining a fast rate of speed.
Therefore I guess you could call it a storm sail but do not see any other use for it. However that alone is enough for me to justify its existence and find it comforting to have it available offshore.
I do not think I would go to the expense to have a similar rig on a 30 footer. Instead I would simply rig a detachable baby stay if I thought a staysail would be beneficial for that particular rig. On the other hand just using a smaller jib hanked to the forestay may accomplish the same thing or just go under main alone if conditions warrant.