[Public-List] Consider a Roller Furling Working Jib

Sat Nov 26 05:37:46 PST 2022

As a singlehanded Alberg 30 live aboard sailor, switching from a roller furling overlapping genoa to a roller furling working jib has been one of my most enjoyable sailing improvements. The slight sacrifice in light wind boat speed is more than compensated for by the ability to sail more easily and comfortably in moderate to strong wind conditions. These comments are intended for singlehanded and shorthanded sailors and not for those who are racing or who routinely have an energetic and experienced crew.

    Back in the days of hank-on sails I generally carried two headsails, an overlapping genoa for light to moderate winds (approximately 3 to 14 knots) and a working jib for moderate to strong winds (approximately 15 to 27 knots). It was reasonably easy to hank-on the appropriate headsail for the different wind conditions. 

    Since implementation of the furling headsail, with its difficult to feed narrow foil slot and luff tape, I carry only one “all-purpose” headsail. I am suggesting that carrying the larger headsail for light winds, with the intent that it can be reduced by furling for heavier conditions, is not necessarily the best option.

    When I bought my Alberg 30 it came with a 155% roller furling genoa, the seemingly ubiquitous furling headsail in this area. It has taken me a number of years and a progression of three headsails to go from that 155% genoa down to a 100% working jib. The reason it took so long is because I was afraid to make the change. A sloop rigged keel boat with a working jib is such a rare sight I assumed there must be some great fault with the smaller sail plan. 

    I have found the large overlapping genoa is nice in light to moderate winds, but above about 14 knots the resulting weather helm increases rapidly to the point that it becomes bothersome and unsuitable by about 18 knots. The solution should be to partially furl the overlapping genoa as the wind increases. In fact, my furler owners manual calls the furler a “Jib Reefing & Furling System.”  My experience is that the system and the sail do not live up to this optimistic description. It is excellent for furling but not ideal for reefing. 

    Another solution might be to maintain the large genoa and reef the mainsail (a nicely reefed mainsail is a rare sight indeed). However, in winds above about 18 knots the large genoa by itself is so overpowering that reefing the mainsail becomes futile. Even lowering the mainsail entirely makes little difference. For me, on my boat, the large genoa without a mainsail is not a balanced sailing configuration. And even if it were, in winds above 15 knots the large genoa by itself still becomes a beast of a sail to manage.

    I consider these are advantages of the working jib: 

·       The working jib does not overlap the mast or the shrouds so tacking is fast and easy and every tack no longer requires breaking out the winch handle. With a working jib I can short tack my boat singlehanded even in strong winds. 

·       The working jib can be trimmed in closer than the genoa because it doesn’t contact the spreaders or cap shroud. 

·       The working jib is much easier to see under or around without calisthenics. 

·       Without the large genoa my boat is slower in light winds, but the ability to obtain and maintain steerageway and the sailing characteristics are not noticeably different or deficient. 

·       With the working jib and a full mainsail, on a close reach I have fingertip tiller control (tiller almost centered with only a very slight weather helm) in winds up to about 15 knots. A single reefed mainsail and the working jib maintains helm balance and fingertip control up to about 20 knots, and double reefing the mainsail allows continued, comfortable, balanced sailing in strong wind conditions up to about 27 knots. (Above 27 knots I generally furl the jib and hove-to with the double reefed mainsail trimmed tight to the center line and the tiller lashed to leeward (my favored hove-to configuration for all wind conditions) – or give up sailing and motor back to my slip.)

·       By allowing comfortable sailing in higher winds this change has encouraged me to greatly improve my mainsail reefing system and skills.

·       Perhaps the best benefit of switching from an overlapping genoa to a working jib is that the helm is now so balanced under all points of sail that I can fully implement sheet-to-tiller steering. As a singlehanded sailor I now use sheet-to-tiller steering more than 70% of the time. Not being a slave to the tiller has greatly improved my sailing enjoyment and the length of time that I can enjoyably stay out on the open water.

    If you are not satisfied sailing with a partially furled genoa, or if you are sometimes overwhelmed by your genoa, or if you often find your boat is too overpowered in moderate winds to hoist the mainsail, or that strong wind conditions are too uncomfortable for daysailing, then consider a working jib. You might find that the advantage of sailing well and comfortably in relatively higher winds outweighs the advantage of sailing relatively faster in light winds. 

(Note: We are very fortunate that our boats came with a jib sheet track in addition to the genoa track. Without this jib sheet track,  the jib sheets will not properly trim between the lower forward shroud and the cap shroud.)

Daniel Swords

Solitude - Hull # 525

Mandeville, Louisiana 

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