Unstayed/flying storm jib

PaulinVictoria · #1 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

I have a small jib that the PO told me was a storm jib that has a wire luff and no hanks, with a wire tack strap to keep it up off the deck. The only way I can see to fly it is to hoist it using the jib halyard and get it as tight as I can. Is this a normal kind of thing? Seems like it should be attached to the forestay.

genieskip · #2 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

It should. There is tremendous pressure on a storm jib and trying to deal with it without a stay is very difficult. Hoisting and dousing would be nightmares and I can see it easily sagging off so much as to be useless on points other than a run. Also it couldn't be prepared ahead of time. Bad idea all around.

PaulinVictoria · #3 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

That's what I thought, but figured there must be some good reason for the sail to be on the boat. I might see if my local sail loft can add hanks to it.

Faster · #4 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

We had a wire luff staysail that was meant to be flown with a spinnaker and tacked mid-foredeck on one of our previous boats... perhaps it's one of those.

If this sail isn't very heavy cloth it's unlikely to be a real storm sail... and I agree it likely won't set/behave well in real storm conditions flying free...

paulk · #5 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

Faster & Genie beat me to it. Imagine putting this "storm jib" up on deck to hoist it. The wind will catch it, pull it down to leeward, and fill it as you try to hoist it. If you trim it in to keep it from flapping all over the place and beating the mast man with the flogging sheets, it will be next to impossible to hoist. It definitely sounds like a spinnaker staysail, especially if it's made of anything less than 6 oz cloth. Ours is pretty much as you describe, and of fairly light material, since it's only used on reaches or downwind. A storm jib should be made out of stuff about as heavy as your mainsail. If it is that tough, then hanks would be the right direction to go in. Otherwise, enjoy your staysail the way it is when the chute is up.

HenryMonsun · #6 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

Could this be a trysail?

mitiempo · #7 (**permalink**) 11-26-2011

A trysail uses a track on the mast, either the mainsail track or its own dedicated track ideally and is usually roped all around. I don't think it would have a wire luff.

HenryMonsun · #8 (**permalink**) 11-27-2011

How about this:
Storm Trysail: For Boats 30' to 34'

mitiempo · #9 (**permalink**) 11-27-2011

Looks good but you would need a storm jib as well - with just a trysail you couldn't point worth a damn.

And getting back to a storm jib, it should be on its own stay as free flying you have no control raising or lowering it.

HenryMonsun · #10 (**permalink**) 11-27-2011

Yes, I was just wondering if what Paul has is such a try sail. And I was wondering if the try sail shown on that web page would work given it has not hanks. I agree that it would be terribly difficult to hoist a storm jib without out hanks latched into a stay. I do not agree that you need the stay to keep the luff straight and firm.

But it seems that the trysail on that web page is meant to be hoisted freely (instead of the main), and I wonder how that would work in practice.