Too many sails on too small a boat

[Adelie]

Welcome.

I would have the Yankee live on the furler.
C40J’s idea of a bag that covers the staysail on its is what I did for my jib. I got a kit from SailRite and sewed it myself. Not sure if there would be problems getting it shipped to Spain.

The point of a Yankee is that it is used with the staysail.
In normal sailing you start with the Yankee and staysail.
Wind increase and drop the staysail leaving it on the stay.
More wind and Yankee is roller-reefed.
More still and the Yankee is furled and staysail goes back up.

The Genoa is only used in light air. If it is light enough to be using the Genoa I would store the Yankee along the lifelines on one side ready to go back up.
A. Net the lifelines all around which isn’t a bad idea anyway and have bungees or strops to keep the sail secured.
OR
B. Sausage bag clipped to stanchions big enough for Genoa. Yankee and Genoa trade places as appropriate and it lives on deck most of the time. If you anchor, Yankee needs to be up and Genoa in bag on deck. If you are sailing and you reef the Yankee or drop the staysail then the sausage bag goes below, well before it might become difficult to do so, even if the forecast is for wind to lighten in 5min.

With the sausage 4 sails live on deck mostly and only 2 smaller ones are stored below all the time.

The chute being nylon probably doesn’t use much storage volume for it’s square footage compared to the Genoa. The storm staysail would also be a small sail to store compared to the Genoa.

Personally I would sell off the chute and Genoa and use the money to buy a drifter, basically a very large nylon Genoa that can be set flying on its own luff. It would pack into the same volume as the chute.

Upwind it will draw in less wind than the Genoa.
Downwind I would set it sheeted to the end of the boom and pile the Yankee to windward.

[JPA Cate]

sepharad,

What Don C L was talking about was what in the States, we used to call "bricking" the sails, and it means flaking them down and making them as small and tidy rectangular package as possible. How we used to to this on the boat, was first bring the sail bag and a sail tie (called a gasket) forward and tie them to the lifeline, then as you ease the halyard of the sail, flake the luff down in same size folds, with the hanks on the wire. Take the halyard off, and secure it by snapping it to the lifeline. Move to the clew, and pull the sail aft along the side deck; then flake the leach in equal width flakes between your feet, one on the toe rail, the other against the cabin, keeping the sail tight against the hanks. It will be lying pretty flat, and the luff stays in line Remove the sheets from the clew, tie them so they can't get blown. Now, fold the clew towards the tack, in about 2 foot (~.5 meter) sections, till you get to the stay. You'll soon work out the optimum size.) Then, carefully remove the hanks, fold the sail one more time tie with the sail tie, and bag it. When you want the sail again, it is organized so that it is controllable, and ready for you to hank on the hanks, tack to head of the sail. You can leave the bag on till you're ready to untie the tie, and stretch out the foot of the sail and put on the sheets. It helps to form the habit of securing anything that a breeze could blow into the water.

Obviously, it is harder with a furler, and it helps to do it with a partner. I bet you can find a You tube of people bricking sails, to watch. We used to fold our sails on the dock, and the process is similar, but usually the luff of the sale eases back, so it is not quite all in line. You and whoever helps you try together to keep the flakes even and the tension on the sail so that it stays flat. You will likely find that with the genoa, the foot is curved and your first flake will show that. Someone in your area will probably be glad to help.

Enjoy. It's going to be fun. And you made the choice of a boat you really could circumnavigate in, for your first boat. That in itself is a bit of an accomplishment. You done good.

Ann

PS, on Edit

I want to add that Jim and I made "sausage bags" for on deck sail stowage, and if you decide to sail to the Azores or some such, where you're going offshore for a while, I'd suggest you consider them as Adelie wrote. If made from Sunbrella, they will protect the sail from UV when not in use, and they're not taking up space below. Jim had a 30 foot S&S design boat that we sailed to Hawaii, from San Francisco and the sails took up 1/2 the forepeak, and we used the rest for food storage. We did take a storm headsail with us, and our fastest days run was with that storm sail.

Ann

[hpeer]

My assumption: you are doing daysailing for now, returning to a dock or mooring each day.
You have some landside storage space available.

My opinion:
Main
Staysail
Yankee

Play with these until you find the boats and your limits. Then try out the genoa and test its limits.

The Main and staysail are really no brainers. The storm staysail is only for extended passages where you may have heavy weather. Chute for extended passages with little wind.

Genoa or yankee is your only real question. Start with the smaller Yankee, make smaller mistakes.

[thunderhoof]

Much good advice above. If there is a sail that you borderline think you may want learn to "brick" the sail. This means folding it as tight and small as possible to conserve storage space. Too many cruisers just stuff the sails into bags, using 2 -3 times the necessary volume.

[bumpman]

I second TrentePieds. Start simple, get used to the basic sails, then after you've mastered the basic sail plan start learning and experimenting with other sails in their appropriate conditions, both lighter winds and stronger winds and larger seas. As you gain confidence with the boat, you'll actually have fun trying on more sail area, bit-by-bit, until one day you'll want on as much canvas as safely possible for every cruising condition.

[Greg K]

Your boat, like mine, was designed to be sailed as a proper cutter. That means Yankee and staysail flying together in average conditions up to beam reach. Learn to sail her as a cutter. Leave the genoa at home. It will only cause you trouble if your staysail stay is not removable as the genoa will constantly get stuck on the inner stay when tacking.

You will be pleasantly surprised how well a proper cutter sails, and how easy she is to handle especially when the wind picks up.

[hpeer]

Here ya go. They look happy.

[guyrj33]

yep like others have said start with the genoa and main. Leave everything else at home until you have the desire to try new sail combinations.

[thomm225]

I have a 27' sailboat also.

It's a bit smaller than years though with only an 8' beam as compared to your 8.67'

For the last 11 years, I have used the main and 120% or so jib on a furler.

I have one set of reefing points for the main.

Have been in winds to 35 knots with this setup. (jib was totally furled that day)

I have the PO's 80% storm jib onboard also. (never used) It takes up very little space and stays in the V Berth. I sometimes use it as a pillow.

On a normal reef day, I'll use my one set of reef points in the main and furl in the jib as needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iViRCw8KB2Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRzpei2hZf8

[drdoyle]

What did that guy in the "Jaws" movie say - "I think we need a bigger boat".

[davb]

I would keep onboard:
Main
Genoa on furler
Staysail (which is presumably not on a furler?)

Take the others ashore.

Your boat will probably sail best with the staysail flying, in combination with the main and a Yankee jib (or partially furled Genoa). In light winds, main and Genoa with no staysail. In heavy winds (in case you get caught out) main (reefed as necessary) and staysail. In even heavier winds, staysail only. Good luck and experiment - and just have fun with it all.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

On a 27-footer, the storm sail should be relatively small.
Are you sure you can’t put it somewhere (on the boat) out of the way but accessible if you need it?

Take the sails you use infrequently on shore and flake them carefully and tightly. You will be amazed at how small they get. If your sails are old maybe consider the conditions and retire the dodgy ones.

A yankee does not go to weather as well as a proper jib. Also, it’s area is high causing greater heel. We just replaced our 135 yankee with a 98% jib. The area 69 meter dropped to 62 but the center of effort is lower. It also sheets closer to center. We picked up about 3-5 pointing, reduced heel, reduced helm.

Good advice regarding matching sails to the expectations of wind.

[Pat_D]

I cruised 3 winters with 6 sails on a 26' sloop. The 4 spares stored under the forepeak with a bunch of other stuff. I'd say go ahead and leave the specialty sails on shore until you expand your sailing, but also consider or practice boat Tetris: packing things well and efficiently.

[R Hutcheson]

I don't know what kind of winds you would normally expect in Spain. But if the boat sails well and you like to sail her, and the winds are light, then Main, Genoa, and Cruising Chute. If you are expecting winds up to 25kts then trade the Cruising Chute for the Yankee. Again staysails stay home. Higher winds Main, Yankee, and staysail, leave the chute, Genoa and storm staysail at home. Just initial thoughts, you may also want to consider leaving a trusted friend with access to the stored sails. If you find you're not happy with your choice after you leave you can ask them to ship you the sail you want, and ship them the sails you've found you don't want.

[sepharad]

Originally Posted by cal40john

I'm assuming the inner stay for the staysail does not have a furler. Get a sail bag that allows you to leave the staysail hanked on while in its bag.
Put the genoa on the headstay then when the wind comes up furl the genoa and hoist the staysail. This also gets the staysail out of the cabin while stowed.

This was a great idea, keeps the staysail available but also out of my cabin.

Thank you!