[alberg30] Re: Furling

[Robert E Johns]

From: Robert E Johns <bobjns at nais.com>

Peter,

We have the so-called "Schaefer system"  where the furling jib is behind
the forestay. I don't know what the brand is. I couldn't find a name on it.
We cruise, not race, so regard these comments with that in mind. We've made
15 or 16 trips to Maine from Long Island Sound, averaging 900 to 1000 nm
per cruise, usually with just the two of us. On 11 of the trips we sailed
offshore from Provincetown to either Monhegon Island or Matinicus Rock.

Our sail complement is main, furling jib, hank-on working jib and
spinnaker. The disadvantages of this furling jib setup are that you do have
to head up to furl it, and it is *not* suitable for reefing. If you try to
furl it downwind the forestay tends to wrap up  in the sail. Sailing with
the sail partially furled results in a baggy shape that is just what you
don't want when you have too much wind. The big advantage to me is that
when it is time to change to a working jib, the furled jib drops at my feet
in a docile bundle that just lies there until I have time to secure it to
the bow pulpit. We normally kept the working jib in the sail locker until
we needed it the first time on a cruise. After hanking it on the first
time, it stayed there for the whole cruise, hanked on the forestay with its
bag flipped forward over the pulpit and sheets attached. We switch the
two-part jib halyard between the two jibs.

As far as sag in the furling jib, we had the jib made with a luff wire the
same size as the forestay. With the two-part halyard and the halyard winch
it is no problem tightening the jib luff tighter than the forestay. In
fact, if you tighten it too much, the slack forestay tends to foul the
furling process. For years I used to argue that if the jib luff is as tight
as the forestay, then the sag should be no more than with a hanked-on jib
and that therefore the furling jib should be as good as the hanked-on jib.
I  finally had someone (a racer) refute the argument by pointing out that
with a hanked-on jib you can adjust the luff tension without increasing the
sag. This seems valid to me, but as a cruiser, the convenience of the
furling jib outweighs the adjustment advantage.

Some sailmakers say that their furling jibs can be reefed, but these all
seem to require extrusions on the forestay. If you do have to change sails,
the sail has to come out of the extrusion, and then it is secured only by
the halyard and sheets. And the time you have to do this is when it is
*really* blowing. The extrusion is easily damaged when unstepping the mast.
Several of us step and unstep our masts each year using the club's
drysailing hoist. When we do the one with the extrusion, we have one man do
nothing but handle the extrusion.

There are advantages and disadvantages to every system. The important thing
is to learn as much as you can about whatever system you do use.

Regards,
	Bob Johns, Wind Call #397


>From: "Peter/Michael Hay" <phay at netcom.ca>
>
>As some of you may recall I purchased #384 last October.  Since then I have
>been wondering about the furling.  All of the Alberg 30's I have seen either
>have no furling or have the original forestay and a separate furler (sail
>mounted on wire) that can be raised or lowered.  I was told that this system
>is not suitable for partial furling and I began to have doubts.  In
>retrospect however it would seem that having a furler that can easily be
>doused makes sense if you want to hank on a #1 or #2 or jib (my furler has a
>#3 on it).
>I have not seen this system on any other boats (my experience is limited).
>Is this something unqiue to the Alberg and does anyone know who made the
>furling mechanism?
>Unfortunately I have had only one chance to use the boat since I bought it,
>so I don't know much about how it will utimately handle.
>
>Peter Hay
>London, ON Canada
>#384 Rubicon
>"on the hard"



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