staysail arrangement

[jubliado61]

Our 1988 PSC 31 does have a removeable inner stay with a hank on staysail. We leave it in place most of the time and tacking our 130% genoa is not too much of an issue, but sometimes a helping hand is necessary to pass the genoa between the stays.

We rarely use the staysail. I often sail single-handed and find that the roller-furling genoa works just fine. Sometimes if the wind is up I'll just sail with the genoa and no main. I find that the 31 sails well under genoa only and isn't terrible if it is reefed (rolled-up) a bit to accomodate the wind velocity.

In addition, I have a large line-controlled Forespar brand whisker pole and it does a decent job keeping the genoa full when the main is up.

Hope this information sharing helps.

[unomio]

We're currently in New Zealand (from Seattle via Panama/Galapagos/Marquesas/Tahiti/Tonga). We have a roller furling staysail and headsail because we don't want to leave the cockpit (there are just the two of us and usually only one is awake/on watch on a passage). We roll up the genoa about halfway if we need to tack, execute the tack, and reset on the other side. If the staysail is deployed there's no problem tacking the genoa. We also find the boat heaves to in heavy wind/seas beautifully with the staysail fully open or even partially furled (in this case the genny is completely furled) and our stack pack alone. That said, we discovered a problem on our PCS 40 with a roller furling staysail: the lazy sheet for the genoa, when the genny is fully deployed and the staysail is not, slides across the furled staysail. This has caused _serious_ chafe in the sacrificial Sunbrella around the edge of the luff and the foot of the staysail. We've had it replaced with more chafe-resistant material but it still only lasts about 6 months to a year. Would love to hear from anyone who has found a solution for this problem. Has anyone rigged a self-tending staysail on a PSC cutter?

[DaveMancini]

On our PSC 34, we ease the lazy sheet enough so that it does not bear on the staysail at all.

Dave Mancini
PSC 34 #305 "Swan"

[orientalnc2010]

Thanks to all that responded to my post. I am working on my decision and am now heavily leaning towards the removable inner forestay. Now the fun starts with how to store it back at the mast. The johnson turnbuckle w/ handles and 2 quick pins looks like a good choice for deploying the stay. I could take the turnbuckle off the stay via quick pin to store below and just have the stay with an eye to stow at the mast. The TB takes up aprox 20".
What seems to work well for most?

[niftynickers]

Just a thought on your staysail-I have seen and thought about using a aramid rope for the staysail stay with a sprocket type furler and a continuous furling line.With a shackle at the deck. This would allow one to lower the stay and bag the stay and sail when not being used.
I've seen this arrangement on some large catamarans and thought it was very clever.

Good luck,
Dianne and Chuck Burke S/V NiftyNickers C37 #139

[teejayevans]

I have a ABI quick release, I just lift the handle, pull a pin and it's free. I then attach it to the base of the mast (I have a base plate with holes in it) with a short piece of line, and use a bungee cord to tow rail to prevent the stay from flopping around and out of the way. Since I'm only river sailing there isn't much boat movement and it stays put.
Tom

[orientalnc2010]

ABI is out of business. I read some comments from Brian Toss about the h -field lever.
IMHO the Johnson turnbuckle allows the stay to be adjusted easily. You hold one handle and rotate the other to tension, fold the handles and it is locked. I personally like the ability to tweak the tension of the stay without tools. I intend to mark turnbuckle with the "ideal" tension as a quick way to set it. Quick pins make it simple to remove. In my case I plan secure the stay off of the rig, I don't like the idea of things letting loose at the wrong time. I'm working on a few ideas. I post them when I get closer to a solution. BTW,
I have encountered some severe weather on the river and plan to be prepared for the inevitable encounter again.

The staysail on its own furler with hi tech line in the luff sounds good and I had thought about it. The problem I see it that the staysail needs to be a fairly heavy dacon for high wind. I can imagine coiling that tightly wound heavy duty sail into a bag would be tough. Then you have the task of rigging a 2-1 halyard to tension the luff properly. The furlers for this type of sail consume a lot of boat bucks.

[brokesailor]

Here is a link of one option I plan to use this season to stow my inner forestay when not in use.

Johnson Marine Hardware Online Virtual Catalog: Page 35

[dacap06]

Originally Posted by brokesailor

Here is a link of one option I plan to use this season to stow my inner forestay when not in use.

Johnson Marine Hardware Online Virtual Catalog: Page 35

This is an interesting idea -- let us know how it works out, would you?