Quote:
Originally Posted by C22Reflections
The headsail we're carrying on the 320 is reasonably small and factory fitted (I think a high cut 130). There is some reluctance by the owner to roll in the sail to reef, as it may stretch the sail and affect sail shape, so it seems to be either all out or all in. Furling is done by sailing just off the wind so the sail has some tension on it, rather than have it flog while rolling in. Any views on rolling in to reef? Is it bad for the sail?
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The owner is right about reefing affecting sail sail shape, but not because it is stretched, but because the genoa has a built in 'belly' that gets extra baggy around the middle of the sail and affects shape when reefed. On my previous C320 and my current Nauticat I have a 'luff pad' to help with the shape issue down to about 100%. I had a Foam Luff Padd added to the C320 and my current North Sails genoa uses rope to pad part of the luff just because that's the way North does it.
The key to furling the genoa is tension on the furling line and genoa sheet (depending on which way you are going - in or out) whether it's for a partial or full furl. I do most of the sail handling myself so it's one hand on the sheet, the other hand on the furling line, with Auto steering the boat. While as with most things it's easier with 2 people, but when I'm doing it myself I know exactly how much tension to put on the furling line to fight the pulling out of the sheet when un-furling and the opposite when furling....... instead of yelling .... slack.... tension...(I easily overpower her so I have to be careful) over and over again to my wife
