Do I really want a roller furling jib?

Back to the roller furler.....

I like the furler only because when I sail up to the beach, land, hop off the boat, yank the furler and the jib wraps up, then do a Capt Morgan pose on the bow I look really cool.

If you try your main will probably smack the living daylights out of you, possibly tear and most likely end up in the drink.... (or fly away to oz if it gets airborne)

I second the comment. You are most wise Andrew. Caught in a gale means you point into the wind and hold that position, furl the jib and pray that nothing cleats itself and you stay upright. You have enough to do fighting the tiller.

Best is not to put yourself in a position to experience that.

PS: Racing sometimes forces me to be out on the water when I otherwise would think twice. I'm rethinking the whole racing thing. (Plus it also ruins the good days with skippers meetings etc).

I cannot imagine even attempting to lower the main!

Sail a boat w/a roller jib, see if you like it.

I love it... fast, easy.

I made a sock for it, use the main halyard to pull the sock up... when boat's on the beach, the jib is protected...takes about 1 minute to remove the sock... about 1 minute to put it on... beats putting the jib on and off the boat all the time.

andrew is right! he furled his jib, eased his travelor a bit, and crashed his boat into an island at warp speed! thats what i'm telling you, any main sail catching any wind at 40+kts will send you careening off like a rodeo bull. this is not theory. last month when i was racing in 40+winds and was the only boat to finish after the squall hit, i watched around 14 or so boats flip, rip, and snap all because they tried to sail with the main. when you point up tight, almost pinching, this puts you into the wind and waves, where you want to be. the boom hangs loosly over the lee rudder and stands like a flag in the wind. the battons keep the sail from flapping too bad and as long as you pay attention and stay headed up with wind shifts, the boom is a non factor. tighten the jib only to stop luffing and you will sail at about 4-5kts safely into the wind. you still have to keep you hands on the jib sheet because when a 50+ gust hits, the jib can still flip you. we didn't like the idea of flipping because the lightning bolts were all around us. bottm line is we beat a lot of boats who didn't know how to sail in heavy weather. for you recreational sailors, with the wife and /or kid on the boat, this might keep them from being too freaked out after a storm to go sailing again with you. look...you don't have to believe me, but if your caught in a storm and can't make it to shore, just remember this post if you want to slow it down out there.

andrew is right! he furled his jib, eased his travelor a bit, and crashed his boat into an island at warp speed! thats what i'm telling you, any main sail catching any wind at 40+kts will send you careening off like a rodeo bul

Since i have never tried, seen or even heard of this method before i wont say (imho) if its good or bad .. maybe one day i will try it

BUT i did not go careening off in like a bull... I had been planning on turning into the wind just prior to running aground, so i had my windward rudder already up, my lee rudder hit sea-grass and popped up about 30' ahead of where i planned. .my cat continued straight (into the island)..

This was not a 40+mph squall. this was thunderstorms all around (lightning everywhere) and all the winds that are around storms. It was probably gusts to 30. I was in hurry, get to the shore mode, not depower to survive

where this was

edited by: andrewscott, Aug 11, 2010 - 09:22 PM

Guys you know 40 mph winds are not very common.

golfdad75 wrote: Guys you know 40 mph winds are not very common.

it only takes 1 time

the scary part is that your not as worried about the wind as much as the fat lightning...the life jackets didn't offer much protection from that...as far as roller furl, its a want more than a need for me, we launch and land on big wide sandy beaches exclusively and the boat goes from trailor to sailing back to trailor. i don't have the luxury of a mast up spot right now, even if i did, it still cost me 30$ in gas round trip to the coast so i just drag the boat to and fro and spend my would be yacht club dues on cheesy poofs and such. that also has a lot to do with sticking with my p-16, its so light and easy to deal with. convience still drives my needs as well as solo sailing. i can load and unload and step mast all solo. i'll hold off on the big boat til i find some motivated crew who wants to sail as much as me.

i just drag the boat to and fro

I have never sailed at Fro... ,how are the conditions? 🙂

yeah, slip to ship was frightening....
busted my comptip... etc, etc... lightening everywhere, thunder, waves... picking up new(old) parts boat tonight... hey, 28th is a bouys (Katrina Anniversary Party) at OSYC... see you there ?

katrina anniversary party! make it authentic and shut the power off, listen to wwl out of new orleans, get liqured up and play gin rummy all night! i love hurricane partys/anniversaries, i'll bring the coleman stove and we'll fry all the de-thawing seafood out of the freezer!...well, mayby keep the power on, for the ladies...oh yeah andrew, to is nice, fro is rough!

edited by: coastrat, Aug 12, 2010 - 07:48 PM

Andrew I admire your wit, it is lst on most of us

After just about a week of using a roller furling jib, I love it. It makes handling the boat a lot easier.

mma600psi wrote: After just about a week of using a roller furling jib, I love it. It makes handling the boat a lot easier.

Why? What is easier?

I find mine makes beaching easier, furl as you are coming in and you have less things to worry about and less power. When things get hairy I furl the jib and just go uni. When i go to tack I have the option to unfurl and point higher and do an easier tack bafore going back to the reach. Lastly it is really nice when I am taking friends out who don't know anything about sailing (most of the time these days). I can furl up the jib and I don't have to worry if they sit on the blocks or get tangled in teh sheet. It also speeds up my rigging because I can leave the jib up all the time.

All and all it is just a convenience item, but quite a nice one. I pieced mine together for about $150 including all the bits and new forestay mostly used. You can probably do it for that or less if you are patient and wait for people to sell things here or on ebay.

Regards,
Dave

golfdad75 wrote: [quote=mma600psi]After just about a week of using a roller furling jib, I love it. It makes handling the boat a lot easier.

Why? What is easier?

Depowering the boat, coming into shore/ the marina after the last tack/jibe I furl the jib and start preparing the boat for landing.