How tight should a forestay be?
If you want tight forestay for weather work, reef the main and keep it tight. There is no backstay and the raked shrouds can only do so much. A loose main sheet with a lot of twist just about insures a loose forestay. Another option is to reef the jib more, to reduce the pressure on the forestay.
Can you reef a furling genoa?
With a furler, the genoa can be reefed or stowed from the safety of the cockpit without the physical effort of dragging sails onto the foredeck, so a small crew can sail a large boat, or a moderate size boat can be single- handed.
What does a backstay adjuster do?
On a masthead rig, a backstay adjuster allows you to increase headstay tension when sailing, and to release tension when it’s not needed. It will improve furling-system performance, and allows you to bend the mast aft if you have a fractional rig.
What is Headstay sag?
Headstay sag on a sailboat is the distance between the midpoint of the headstay if it were perfectly straight and the actual midpoint while sailing.
Can you reef a headsail?
Roller furling headsails have the distinct advantage of limitless reefing. If you feel that your headsail is a bit over-canvased, simply pull in on the furling line to reduce the amount of sail area exposed.
How do you maintain a Furler roller?
Clean regularly. It’s important your furler remains clean and salt free. When giving your boat its regular wash down, clean your furling drum with soap and fresh water while you’re at it. In addition, it’s a good idea to give your furler a more thorough cleaning twice a year.
What is a furler foil?
Furlers – Code Zero, Gennaker, Genoa and Mainsail Furlers A headfoil is installed by sliding over the current headstay. The purpose of the headsail foil is to provide a low friction track for the head sail luff rope to hoist on.
When should I tension my backstay?
It’s usual to ease backstay downwind and put on backstay tension when going upwind. If one over tensions the backstay, it can have a significant effect on the boat, depowering the mainsail. This may well negate the need for a reef.
Do you need a backstay?
No matter what the rig type or stiffness the tensioning the backstay keeps the headstay from sagging. Headstay sag equals extra power in the headsail, so when you don’t want the power (heeling too much) use the backstay. On boats with rigs that bend, the backstay helps depower the mainsail.
What’s the best way to furl a Genoa?
The person on the loaded jib sheet can go ahead, fill up the drum, take that line over the feeder through the jaws, put a winch handle in and start cranking down, looking at the tail sails to make sure that you get good sail trim on the genoa. There’s a couple of different approaches to furling your genoa.
Where is the forestay on a genoa sail?
You always want to pull that line in by hand. The reason is that right underneath the furler extrusion, which is the tube that the genoa is on, is our forestay. That is the cable that holds up the front of the mast.
Can a rigger install a Furler over a forestay?
Parts of a furler: (see the diagram at the end of this article) We suggest that you let our riggers install your furler. Whether we need to remove the existing forestay or simply install the furler over what you have, we do it quickly, and we do it right.
Can a reefing staysail be used on a forestay?
There’s a lot of prejudice against a reefing inner forestay, particularly when the staysail is used as the heavy-weather headsail. Conventional wisdom states that a heavy-weather headsail should hank onto the forestay, since it could rip out of the foil of a furler. There’s also fear about the reliability of furling systems.