Aug 5, 2004 · Telltales Headsail trim is important to the cruising sailor. Have your sailmaker add telltales to the luff of each headsail. Using those as a reference, you can adjust your sheet-lead position so that all the telltales along the luff of the sail lift at the same time. If the top telltales lift first, move the sheet lead forward.

May 13, 2014 · Put the headsail on a furler. I lose some ability to point with my 150 genoa partially furled, but otherwise find it to be an adequate way to reduce the amount of sail especially if just out for a pleasure sail on a particularly breezy afternoon.

May 27, 2002 · Hoist the appropriate headsail for the conditions, head upwind, sheet in, and get everyone in their racing positions. The first setting for the trimmers to confirm is halyard tension. Generally, the luff of the headsail wants to be tight enough so that it just takes the wrinkles out of the sail along the luff tape.

May 19, 2008 · Here are some pictures of the headsail bags on my 23' cutter Chiquita. These are the third set I have made for this boat over the last 30+ years. I made the first set from kits from Sailrite. The second and third sets were made from scratch. I bought the materials from Sailrite; they are also available on ebay.

Apr 13, 2009 · The general theory is that for a racing boat that has a fixed max headsail dimension, a "Light" No. 1 would have a fuller draft and lighter material than the "Heavy" No. 1. The "Light" No. 1 would be a more powerful sail, fuller draft, yet not as high a pointing sail, enabling you to build speed and power through the chop that would slow a boat ...

Jan 30, 2003 · Headsail Options The choice of which jib or genoa to use will obviously depend on what's available in your boat's sail inventory. If you have only one jib, as in some class of boats (J/105s, Melges 24s, and Folkboats, etc.) then the choice is simple on the water, but perhaps more complex on the dock, particularly if you use a roller-furling ...

Aug 24, 2010 · - Directly into the wind may work, but for a big headsail, the flogging actually can really put a lot of pressure on the furler and make it more difficult than downwind. Sometimes in a heavy blow, you need to just get someone to pull on the furling line right at the drum to get it started and help it.

Jun 8, 2016 · People tend to attend to halyard tension with their mains but less with their jibs when cruising. Found before using the roller furler a bit more tension on halyard helps. Once headsail is even partially furled adding tension is more difficult. Guess the sail itself when even a little furled adds friction.

Jun 27, 2009 · This works very well, even with a large headsail (including my 180% drifter!). Often, you would see two headsails furled along the port and starboard lifelines. Very simple system to use: just drop the sail, pull the clew aft pretty tightly, then furl the rest of the sail along the upper lifeline.

Jun 17, 2014 · But when I make a headsail change underway (or at anchor) it can be quite a challenge to fold it on deck of my little ~30 ft boat. Note: I have a harken roller reefing furler which should/could limit the amount of sail changes I'd have to make. In practice I rarely choose to sail with a furled headsail, I just don't like the shape.