Harken: Jib Reefing and Furling

furling
living with roller furling

total
control

Marty Rieck was Harken's Sales manager for many years. Both professionally and personally, boats were his life and his knowledge of sailboat hardware and systems continuously amazed those who worked with him. A prolific writer, Marty wrote the following article on the benefits of furling for Sailing World Magazine.

The Alerion 38 is a fast, responsive yacht that doesn't require a large or experienced crew.

Photo: Billy Black

sail larger boats with small crews
Because furlers allow the genoa to be reefed or stowed from the safety of the cockpit without the physical effort of dragging sails onto the foredeck, they allow a small crew to sail a large boat. There are plenty of corollaries to that, too. If a small crew can sail a large boat, then your regular crew can sail a larger boat, or your current boat can be sailed by a smaller crew.

One logical extension is that a moderate size boat can be sailed singlehanded. Even if the Vendee Globe Challenge isn't your idea of a vacation, consider that when a couple goes cruising they spend a lot of time taking turns singlehanding.

Larger Headsails
Without the ability to reef easily, some sailors choose a relatively small headsail as their primary genoa. A tender boat might be fitted with a 125% number one genoa because the difficulty of changing down from a 155% genoa at 12 knots doesn't justify the enhanced light air performance. With an efficient reefing system, a primary genoa can be chosen to allow the boat to sail efficiently in light air.

Obviously, the genoa must be chosen with the prevailing conditions in mind. It will be heavier and smaller if your home port is San Francisco than if you sail on western Long Island Sound, but the sail can be designed for the lighter end of the wind range because reefing is easy. The design philosophy is similar to that used for mainsails: Make it full-sized for light air because you can always reduce it when the wind comes up.

Larger Cabins
There are few cruising boats that offer convenient storage for unbagged sails. Headsail changes involve filling a cabin with a sea of wet cloth that cannot be properly stowed until the boat is back in the harbor, where the sail can be dried and folded. With a reefing system, the genoa is changed and removed by rolling it on the headstay; there is nothing to stuff down the hatch to fill the cabin.

Flexibility
All-purpose reefing genoas cover the middle of the wind range very well, but there are times that specialty sails are required for enhanced performance. Spinnakers and Gennakers are easy to set with a furling system. After they are flying, the genoa is rolled out of the way, ready to reset before the spinnaker is struck. Every boat needs a heavy air jib for extreme conditions. Most boats, particularly coastal cruisers, will reef the all-purpose genoa when the wind strengthens, but the heavy air genoa is necessary because it offers efficiency in the upper end of the wind range that an all-purpose genoa cannot. Usually it will be set before the boat leaves the mooring. When the wind is already very high, start with the heavy air jib and reef it if conditions deteriorate further.

Better Visibility
Harken: Furling By their very nature, efficient genoas are cut close to the deck and obscure visibility ahead and to leeward. Since most sailing takes place within a few miles of a harbor, visibility can be important for safety and peace of mind. Resist the temptation to permanently reduce your sail area by cutting the clew high to gain visibility. By reefing the genoa a couple of turns when you're near a harbor, sailing at night or approaching an area with navigational hazards, you'll gain visibility.

Sail More Often
When did you ever hear someone describe their last cruise and not say, 'we motored more than we sailed.' A furling system can't guarantee that you'll always have wind, but it can make it easy to take advantage of what wind there is. The first few times the breeze starts to fill, the crew is happy to run the genoa up, but after the third or fourth time that it dies, it becomes difficult to muster enthusiasm for abandoning the bunk, the sun or a good book to raise sail. With a furling system, there's no big investment of labor involved in setting the genoa - the helmsman usually can set the sail without bothering the crew.

Improved Boat-Handling Skills
Most sailors buy sailboats because they enjoy sailing and the skills that sailing demands. Unfortunately, most crucial maneuvers like docking, mooring and anchoring tend to take place under power. A furling system acts like an automatic transmission to make slowing down and stopping much easier and allows you to practice your boat handling skills under sail.

Anchoring and mooring take place upwind and the main can be allowed to luff as the boat is secured, or it can then be forced out to one side to stop the boat or start it drifting downwind to set an anchor. Reefing the genoa slows the boat to keep it under control.

Sailing off a mooring or anchor is simple with a furling genoa. After you're free, a small portion of the genoa can be released and held aback to force the boat off on the desired tack. A reefed genoa allows the boat to be sailed slowly, but under control, while the anchor is stowed. You may not moor or anchor under sail as standard practice, but a furling genoa makes it much easier and you should develop these skills for the day the engine fails.

Sailing to a dock is more difficult because the final approach is not always upwind and the main cannot always be left to luff, but a furling system simplifies the maneuver. The main can be struck earlier and control maintained with the genoa.

Slowing Down
The ability to reef the genoa means that you can slow a boat easily, but retain the ability to accelerate instantly when conditions change. Two good examples of times to slow down are sailing through congested harbor entrances and making night approaches to strange harbors.

Reefing the genoa slows a boat and increases visibility. The rolled genoa is ready to deploy as you clear the harbor or channel.

There are those wonderful nights when the wind blows true and threatens to deliver you to a strange anchorage before dawn. Reefing allows you to tailor your ETA for a landfall after sunrise. Taking a knot or two off the speed throughout the night is more pleasant than parking in a seaway for a couple of hours waiting for daylight.

Don't let the name jib reefing system limit your imagination. Inventive sailors are sure to find new ways to use them that future generations will take for granted as good seamanship.

Links:
Article: Q & A-Sails and Furling
Article: Harken Cruising Furler
Article: Harken MK IV Furling