[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by jbarros

Hi,

I was talking with a friend about the usefulness of a roller furling headsail for singlehanding. The ease of "dropping" it, the potential to "reef" it, etc, and I was told a story about a pin breaking off inside the furler, and someone being stuck with their jib up. They managed to get it down and were fine, but it got me wondering, how often does this happen? Is it preventable with routine maintenance, seasonal rebuilds or something like that? I noticed that the boats I've been on with roller furling headsails, I've not noticed a jib halyard, and I'm a little curious about how one deals with or avoids something like this?

Thanks.

-- James

James,

Boats equipped with roller furling headsails, can raise and lower those sails just a like a boat that lacks the furling gear. Absolutely, yes, there is a halyard. You probably didn't notice it because the jib/genoa halyard rarely gets used except when changing headsails. Normally the sail remains at full hoist and gets stowed around the headstay, so there's no need to use the halyard.

I'm not sure exactly what mechanical failure your friend was describing. Yes, furlers like any equipment (winches, blocks, engines, etc) can malfunction, but when properly sized, installed, and maintained they are very reliable.

The worst case, very rare, scenario is if the furler somehow jams when the sail is neither fully furled not fully deployed. In that case, it wouldn't be possible to douse the sail in the usual fashion. But there are still options to get the sail under control. It's certainly not enough of a concern to nix the furler.