Hank On vs Roller Furling

[cookwithgas]

If you think I'm going to counter after you offer me $90K for my $169K boat, you must have Dane Bramage!

[charliehows]

when i got my boat it had a furling genoa, i put another forestay inside it to use a hanked jib and stormy, i like both. In harbour i mostly use the furler. At sea i mostly use the jibs. Performance? let me see, half an hour fiddling about gets me from a slow walk to a slightly less slow walk - who gives a s#$t.

[roverhi]

I grew up with hank on sails and have 5 figures with them. Most recent boat has roller furling. I'll never go back. Roller sail is just too convenient. In concert with lazy jacks, striking the sails is a two minute job. Have a foam luff in the 135 and it reefs fine to a 100%. Haven't used it where I needed to reef it to a smaller sail but think it will work okay especially since I'm not going to weather in conditions like that.

If you are dead set on going with hank-ons, a double headsail rig is a necessity to me. Our W32 sailed to SoPac and back with only 4 sails. One sail change at less than 20K and just dropped sails and/or reefed after that. With a down haul, only had to go forward to change from the Reacher/Drifter to the Yankee or reef the staysail and only had one sail to lug and store. On my current sloop would be going forward constantly as winds went over 10K, strike the light air sail and replace with a #2 genoa, then #3, then storm sail, and then remove all canvas. Each iteration would require hauling a bagged sail forward and another bagged sail aft. Not only exercise but a lot of sails to find storage for.

Have run all my mainsail control lines back to the cockpit so can reef both the main and staysail and never leave the cockpit.

[barnakiel]

IMHO no sacrifice in smaller sails that can be cut flattish. Foam luff of varied width.

From my experience on a good number of various boats I learned that this setup works for me best:
- small (say max 110%), flat jib on the inner furler, plus
- big light furling sail(s) on the outer furler (Code 0, gennaker, chute, etc..),

preferably not to large fore triangle (bigger main, smaller jib).

But it is all very personal - each boat and each skipper will be different.

b.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by charliehows

when i got my boat it had a furling genoa, i put another forestay inside it to use a hanked jib and stormy, i like both. In harbour i mostly use the furler. At sea i mostly use the jibs. Performance? let me see, half an hour fiddling about gets me from a slow walk to a slightly less slow walk - who gives a s#$t.

A good point, but you have to consider worst-case scenarios...a fuel clog killing the engine as you drift toward a lee shore...I want every degree of working to windward as I can get, and a small hank on in 40 knots is going to give me that more effectively than my 135 unfurled to a one-third size "hanky".

So perhaps the answer is "both"...which accounts for the continuing popularity of the cutter rig, despite the extra deck gear and sail required over a single furling headsail.

[europaflyer]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

You have to weigh your options. On a full keel steel boat aimed at the trades, for instance, my internal water tanks are part of the ballasting system. If I can predict that I will be on one tack for 10 days (historically likely according to my pilots), it makes sense to pump to the "high-side" tank with a cross-transfer pump to stiffen the boat and make all water usage "downhill". Fifteen minutes pumping for a week's better sailing is worth it to me.

Or even better, just open the crossfeed valve a few minutes before tacking and let gravity do the work.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

A good point, but you have to consider worst-case scenarios...a fuel clog killing the engine as you drift toward a lee shore...I want every degree of working to windward as I can get, and a small hank on in 40 knots is going to give me that more effectively than my 135 unfurled to a one-third size "hanky".

A far more likely scenario is that your fuel line clogs and you drift toward a lee shore...and you hit it before you can get your hank on jib deployed. Your roller furled jib can be deployed and drawing in less than 30 seconds.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by europaflyer

Or even better, just open the crossfeed valve a few minutes before tacking and let gravity do the work.

What? And spill my drink?

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

A far more likely scenario is that your fuel line clogs and you drift toward a lee shore...and you hit it before you can get your hank on jib deployed. Your roller furled jib can be deployed and drawing in less than 30 seconds.

I keep my staysail bagged on deck on passage, much like a trysail would be. I can have it up and drawing pretty rapidly. Anyway, to each his own. I'm a bit obsessive about sail shape.

[Jmbueller]

To each his own I guess. Personally, I like going forward to change sails and don't really like roller furlers. Hanks seem simple and elegant to me where as roller furlers seem complex and prone to difficulty in high winds, relatively speaking. I like having a furled sail down on deck and not having all the extra weight or windage of the rolled up sail and sheets up high. I just removed the roller furler that came with our Dana 24. To me the fact that it is a cutter rig made the decision to go with hanks even easier, since dropping the drifter, genoa, or jib and raising the staysail is quick and easy, especially with a downhaul on the foresail. (Those little furling line blocks on the stanchions work great for routing a downhaul. (- This is our fourth sailboat and the second one from which I've removed a roller furler. They've all been relatively small boats, 28 and 30 foot sloops and a 32 foot ketch before the Dana.

The main advantages to the furler to me were the less obscured view when comparing motoring with a rolled up sail vs a bagged sail and maybe perceived resale value.

I should also point out that I've never owned a new roller furler, and the ones I've removed were poorly maintained and past their prime.

[builder dan]

one advantage to furlers is you can always have the right size headsail up and your cabin is not stuffed with wet bagged sails a big plus in a small boat

[parito]

I'm sure guys you read this article, and it does make a lot of sense:

A Different View—Hank-On sails

Roller furler on our boat we bought couple of years ago was poorly (if anything) maintained as well.. The choice is replacing to a new roller or move on to hank ons.. for the size of our boat hank ons won.. It could be different for a bigger boat where managing headsails could be a problem..

main points of the article where..

- reduced windage
- Weight Aloft
- reefing shape
- efficiency of sails (material, shape, size)
- cheaper headsails
- simplicity

Yes, we can see lot's of advantages of roller furling, but as with everything you pay for it one way or another..

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by builder dan

one advantage to furlers is you can always have the right size headsail up and your cabin is not stuffed with wet bagged sails a big plus in a small boat

Or, you usually have the wrong size headsail up, with poor sailshape.

That said, I have roller furling for both the 120% genoa, and for the staysail. This works well for me.