Furling Jib

[geoffr]

Hi all:

The Investigator Technical Report #4 (available elsewhere on this site) details a method of rigging and running a dual forestay system, as illustrated in the Figs 1 & 2.

I would be keen to hear of anyone using this technique, and its advantages over a single forestay and wire luff jib that is simply hauled tight between the furler drum and a swivel at the head of the sail.

The attached drawing and pictures from the Careel site show a similar setup.

Many thanks.

[kevwr400]

Hi Geoff, im no expert but looks it would allow you reef the head sail, although rapping your sail around all of those pulleys and standing rigging and not being able to lower may cause chaffing even fully furled in winds. On my last boat I modified bow sprit to accommodate furler and forestay and separated them with a piece of Teflon cutting board, to stop binding.

[geoffr]

Hi

Yep, I'm no expert either, but on my previous boat I also went to great lengths to keep the forestay and the wire edge luff of my jib separate, for the reasons you outlined.

I think the rig in the picture here is for using/swapping different sized jibs that are not wire-luff (i.e. clip-ons), so that you can attach and furl them too.

But I'm only guessing at this stage.

Cheers,

[Yara50]

There are those who love the neatness of the furled jib, and those like me who have had a tangled mass of flapping sail and sheets in a strong wind and decided never to touch a furler again. There is a big difference between a furler and a roller reefer. The latter has a torque tube to the top of the jib, and will roll up reasonably uniformly. The furler only twirls at the bottom, and you hope that the top turns with it.
The only furlers that I think might be worth having, is the design where you have a completely separate forestay, and the top jib swivel is hoisted by a normal jib halyard, set below the forestay and away from it. That is yet another pulley in addition to the miriad you see in your sketch. However, if all else fails, you can drop the whole flapping tangle to the deck.

Me- I like the jib downhaul- pulls the head of the jib to the deck, very simple and reliable, just not as neat.

[kevwr400]

The system you show in the pictures makes me wonder if it would put more strain on the furler if you had an adjustable back stay and where bowing the mast. I think if you furled that system in half way and locked the sheet of it would act like a reefing furler, because the front standing rigging has no choice but to lock the sail, had similar thought with just 2 cables on furler front one cover in plastic tube to stop chaffing but still running a separate forestay.
I cruise and single hand my boat, had no trouble with my furling system once I fitted separators and it gave me the control to dock under sail.
Thanks for putting up that picture Geoff it are great to see other people’s ideas and to keep an open mind.

[Yara50]

Actually, to be fair, the system shown in Geoff's post has the advantage that the two outer wires are separated, and therefore as they turn they can apply a torque to the top swivel. It is not as positive as a torque tube, but it would improve the furling. Just to clarify- the standard Investigator and Careel furler is around the forestay, and not separate from it.

Tha standard Investigator 563 mast is a heavy section and does not bow very much under the back-stay tension. The versions without the backstay have a lighter mast, the opposite to what you might expect.

[geoffr]

Thanks again for the replies so far.

The jib/furler rig that came fitted on my Investigator has a dedicated forestay from a hound almost at the top of mast, then from a second hound below that is attached the jib halyard -- with mine having the swivel at the top, into which (presumably) I would attach directly the head of my wire-luff jib, while the tack would attach to the furler below.

When hauled tight, the jib luff wire would actually be tighter than the forestay. There would also be about 10-15cm parallel gap between the forestay and the wire luff, allowing the jib to furl fairly neatly around its own luff wire. This is the same configuration I operated on my previous boat, and it seemed to work OK.

I'll let you know though once I actually try it.

Cheers,

[rosss]

Hi all Wagtail has a roller furling jib , not to be confused with a roller reefing system it is either all out or all in.
i have a sepearate foestay for standing the mast which approx 2" forward of the roller drum. And it connects to the gooseneck about 4" above the normal jib halyard pully. the jib has a wire luff which is connected to the bottom of the top swivel and the wire halyard is connected to the top of the same swivel. The swivel has a standoff which hooks over the forestay to stop it from spinning. The halyard is tensioned via a highfeild lever at the base of the mast, just enough tension is taken on the jib halyard as to be more than the forestay tension. the jib can be removed either foiled up like a sausage or unfurled and removed at the deck enableing a different headsail to be put on the forestay. this all sounds complicated but is really quite simple we used to have the system mentioned but the top never furled properly under tension. i will post pictures when i get a chance to take them this week. going to the lakes.
regards
Ross and Rita

[Mark]

Hi all, the past week I repaired and rejigged the furler on my Investigator. It works a treat. I like to kep tings simple and am now happy with the result. I'll post pics when I get a chance later in the week, Cheers, Mark

[Yara50]

Looks like there are more boats with the separate forestay rig than previously estimated. I wonder if this was an option, or owners have made the change.
The Careel 18 has most boats with the furling around the forestay, but that design has an inner forestay, so maybe that is why. My bad experience with furlers was on a Careel. Yara, Investigator #50 was rigged originally with the Careel system, and I changed to a conventional jib halliard, led back to the cockpit, and a downhaul cord.