# Hank on Sails w/ Roller Furling



## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

When a boat has roller furling, is it possible to use hank on sails or are you pretty much stuck with the roller furling ? I've never used roller furling before so I know nothing about it - can it be removed easily ? Can it be removed in an emergency ? Once removed, can you use hank on sails ?


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

wind_magic said:


> When a boat has roller furling, is it possible to use hank on sails or are you pretty much stuck with the roller furling ? I've never used roller furling before so I know nothing about it - can it be removed easily ? Can it be removed in an emergency ? Once removed, can you use hank on sails ?


Hanked sails cannot be used with roller furling.
The drums on most furlers can be removed easily but not the headfoils. I believe on my Furlex system, I need to disconnect the forestay to remove the headfoil, leaving you with the traditional headstay. some systems may have an integral headstay.

Why all the questions?? Roller fulring systems are wonderful and worth all the money wise boat owner spend to have the pleasure of their use. If you buy a boat with one, use it...if you buy a boat without a system, buy a furler should high on your list. They present little risk, on most designs your fallback should be a hanked stormjib set on a removeable inner forestay.

If you want to race, just dump the furler drum and use the headfoil. It won't be long before you only see hanks in a maritime museum.


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## RandyonR3 (Oct 2, 2005)

if you've never used a furler, you're in for a treat as once you understand the workings, it will amaze you as to the ease of it.
It is possible to change sails, as most furlers have a track, or two that the sail slides up inside the unit.. Even while racing, the change of a sail by sliding one up while the other is comming down is common. 
To take the furler off completely is another story as most furlers are intergrated into the forstay but as I said, the sails can be removed easily.


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks for the response sailingfool.



sailingfool said:


> Why all the questions?? Roller fulring systems are wonderful and worth all the money wise boat owner spend to have the pleasure of their use. If you buy a boat with one, use it...if you buy a boat without a system, buy a furler should high on your list. They present little risk, on most designs your fallback should be a hanked stormjib set on a removeable inner forestay.


Well that was my concern, was how can I use storm sails with the roller furling, because I've seen the furling sails on the boat and they aren't tough enough for the evil stuff, they'd just get blown out. Could you point me to some information I could read about a removable inner forestay ? How would you rig that up ?

Randy thanks to you as well!


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## EO32 (Jan 7, 2008)

I've got a hanked on Drifter sail. It looks like an asymmetrical spinnaker, big and light.

I also have a roller furling genny. I'm planning to get or make some beaded rings that will roll over the furled genny and allow me to hank on the drifter and raise it while the genny is furled.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

wind_magic said:


> Thanks for the response sailingfool.
> ..... Could you point me to some information I could read about a removable inner forestay ? How would you rig that up ?
> 
> Randy thanks to you as well!


As with most any question, type "removeable inner forestay" into a Google search and you will have it all, including Sailing Magazine


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

sailingfool said:


> As with most any question, type "removeable inner forestay" into a Google search and you will have it all, including Sailing Magazine


Obviously.

I really meant any link that is the way YOU would rig it up.


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## jjablonowski (Aug 13, 2007)

*Consider a Gale Sail*



wind_magic said:


> how can I use storm sails with the roller furling?


I cannot vouch for it personally, but here's one solution: YouTube - Gale Sail from ATN at CLR Marine


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## NOLAsailing (Sep 10, 2006)

You can use your existing sails with a furler installed. There's no need to install a forestay if that's all you're trying to accomplish. 

Have a local sailmaker remove the hanks and sew on a luff tape. The luff tape fits in the groove on the furling unit's foil and is hoisted that way. 

This is common for racer/cruiser types that have a racing set of sails but also like the convenience of the furler when they're not racing.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

I have 2 grooves in my foil. I have a second sail that goes in the groove. I think this is for double headsail downwind sailing. I haven't pulled it out to try. I can't use it alone as the genoa is wrapped around the foil covering it.


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## NOLAsailing (Sep 10, 2006)

Almost all foils have two grooves. This is more likely for sail changes than double headsails, I would guess.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

You can change your headsail with a furler just as you can with a hank on. 
Pull the genny down from the foil and hoist your roller furling storm sail!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The Gale Sail from ATN is one alternative. Or you can setup a solent stay, which, unlike a normal inner forestay, generally doesn't require the use of running backstays. 

BTW, converting a hanked on sail may or may not be worthwhile, as some hanked on sails are cut wrong to fit a furling unit and will have poor shape because of that.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

NOLAsailing said:


> Have a local sailmaker remove the hanks and sew on a luff tape. The luff tape fits in the groove on the furling unit's foil and is hoisted that way.


The problem that I have with this is that by the time you decide or know that you need to hoist storm sails, you probably already have three reefs in the main and 50% of the genoa furled away.

In order to hoist the storm jib on the furler, you first have to take the genoa down which means you have to completely unfurl it into a blasting wind, in a non-too-friendly sea, fold it or at best, open the forehatch with seawater swirling (read breaking) over the deck to stuff the sail down below . . . . you get the picture? 

Not for me thanks - I'll go with the inner forestay. The main advantage of this is that you can have the storm sail on deck in a launching bag, hanked on, sheets connected, ready to deploy at any time. Dump the main, furl away the genoa, hoist the storm jib and in 60 seconds you're ready for anything.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Andre..I agree...I will be rigging just like you describe... no way would I have wanted my furling drums line to part yesterday or voluntarily unfurled it to yank it down..mine also has two luff grooves also but I just figured it was for as mentioned above twin Genoas running wing on wing or an extra one incase one groove got messed up somehow.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

NOLAsailing said:


> Almost all foils have two grooves. This is more likely for sail changes than double headsails, I would guess.


Sail changes on a cruising boat don't need two grooves. Take one down, put the other up. Yes you can hoist before dropping but why would you? It's not as if you're against the clock. The most rushed choices you will make cruising is "Should we tack? Nah, let's tack tomorrow" 

No, I reckon the second groove is more about twin headsails than sail changes. If you're seriously racing and need to do sail changes, you're probably using a racing foil and not a furler anyway.

There are some sailors who have two identical sails cut that are on the furler together, using both tracks. When sailing on the wind, one lies inside the other. When running downwind, gull them. When furling, furl them together. Sounds like a decent choice.


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

I have a yankee cut jib on a Profurl, and a hanked-on staysail, and an assy. spinnaker I rig to a tack downhaul off the bowsprit.

I am going to get a lighter, larger genoa for the furler (because I need a light air alternative and the assy. isn't always the best choice), and the hanked-on staysail will be replaced with something bigger, but with reef points.

I like the furling foresail, but I am quite conscious of losing some pointing ability not only with it, but with the cutter rig in general. I like the cutter rig for its flexibility and options in a blow (I've run under staysail alone, and it was quite interesting to see something the size of a 33 footer's No. 3 driving 15 tons at seven knots...).

But everything has its price, and mine means more tacks to get to a point in the eye of the wind.


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## mikehoyt (Nov 27, 2000)

If you are down to a triple reefed main and still have a 150 on your furler half rolled or not then you have made some bad decisions.

When it is obvious there is bad weather closing in haul he genoa down and then put up a smaller headsail. It can be furling or not.

Twin foils are useful when changing sails because you can hoist one inside the other and then haul down the second sail. Is a common technique in racing and the twin foil simply equips a boat that way in the event it ever decides to do a sail change in this manner.

Our boat has a roller furl dacron #1 as well as a full inventory of racing sails. It has two genoa halyards and twin foil.

Mike


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

When hoisting the smaller sail on the second foil with the genoa already up, how do you rig your sheets?


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## NOLAsailing (Sep 10, 2006)

xort said:


> When hoisting the smaller sail on the second foil with the genoa already up, how do you rig your sheets?


Ideally, you'll have a changing line and you can attach that to the sail that's being hoisted. Alternatively, you can use the lazy sheet of the hoisted sail and, when the first sail is down, remove the other sheet and attach that as the new sail's lazy sheet.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

mikehoyt said:


> If you are down to a triple reefed main and still have a 150 on your furler half rolled or not then you have made some bad decisions.
> 
> When it is obvious there is bad weather closing in haul the genoa down and then put up a smaller headsail. It can be furling or not.


How much smaller? A storm jib? If not, at what point do you take the smaller sail down for the storm jib? And is it any easier the second time to change sails? Or do you enjoy sailing in 30 knots with a storm jib up? Sorry for all the questions but the reason I have a furler is to be able to regulate the size of the sail relative to the wind. Sail changes were never a part of that strategy for me. I guess we're all different.



mikehoyt said:


> Twin foils are useful when changing sails because you can hoist one inside the other and then haul down the second sail. Is a common technique in racing and the twin foil simply equips a boat that way in the event it ever decides to do a sail change in this manner.


Yep, if I was racing I'd agree with that completely. 



mikehoyt said:


> Our boat has a roller furl dacron #1 as well as a full inventory of racing sails. It has two genoa halyards and twin foil.


You either have a whole lot of storage for sails or you're not into cruising. I wouldn't waste my storage space on a wardrobe of racing sails. Then again, different strokes . . .


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

NOLAsailing said:


> Ideally, you'll have a changing line and you can attach that to the sail that's being hoisted. Alternatively, you can use the lazy sheet of the hoisted sail and, when the first sail is down, remove the other sheet and attach that as the new sail's lazy sheet.


How do you run that sheet? Extra winches? I only have one outside the cockpit on each side for the jibsheet. All I can envision is having to run the new sheet through the same lead and onto the same winch. I suspect I'm missing something.


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## mikehoyt (Nov 27, 2000)

A #3 and a #1 is a prudent set of headsails. If it is expected to be windy why would you go out with a #1 on your furler? Chnage down to #3 before you go out and maybe even put it on for months of Sept and Oct. 

A #3 does not take up much room and having one aboard makes sense. The boat will handle better, be flatter and be safer. A half olled headsail just does not offer the same comfort or performance.

I think EVERY cruising boat should know how to change headsails on the fly and be practiced at it. If you are under crewed then a prudent boat would have on the #3 anyway and still have a storm jib below if going out for any cruise, etc...

... and the answer is YES - it is far easier to take down a #3 to switch to a storm sail than it would be to take down a #1 to do the same.

Mike


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