Dual track furler / foil?
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I think the better question is does anyone ever use both tracks for sail changes? I race quite a bit and we have never used both tracks simultaneously. Sometimes we will prep the new sail and have a few inches in the second slot but we never raise one while lowering the otehr because there are too many ways to mess it up..
Another question should be how many times do folks change a head sail while racing? I find it to be a very, very rare occurrence in the summer winds we race in..
Another question should be how many times do folks change a head sail while racing? I find it to be a very, very rare occurrence in the summer winds we race in..
Thanks! And these are good questions, I was wondering how often this is needed. I have a dual track foil now, and was just thinking that I hate to lose a capability. But bringing the 155 up and down every sailing day is a pain...
Does the furler interfere with air flow over the head sail? Seems like it would be ... slow?
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Some sail makers make head sails with twin luff tapes, for improved flow. They don't seem to make that much of a difference in the real world. YMMV.
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Doing so also requires two jib halyards, and a lot of smaller boats don't have two jib halyards. 
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When I used to do PHRF racing we did lots of sail changes while racing... especially in light winds in the morning getting heavier later going from the #1 to the #2. In Fall racing sail changes happened even more frequently. The nice thing about the Harken Mk IV (which I have) is that you can remove the drum when racing leaving just the dual track.
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Even when we were cruising our twin-foil (non furler) boat we routinely raised the first before dropping the second. We'd raise the "new" sail on the inside groove, then tack, sheet in the new, and drop the "old" sail to the deck as it was now the "inside" sail - very controlled, contained and no significant loss of speed. The beauty of this method is that the sail coming down is easy to contain, it slides down the trimmed sail to the deck. Dropping a luff-rope jib by itself can easily get away from you in a breeze or a seaway, and once part of it goes over the side things can get worse in a hurry.
No reason not to do the same with a twin foil furler.. though I suspect MS is right than not many bother.. but as long as you have two jib halyards this is a good setup to get used to.
No reason not to do the same with a twin foil furler.. though I suspect MS is right than not many bother.. but as long as you have two jib halyards this is a good setup to get used to.
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Changing head sails.
Maine Sail, we do change out headsails on the fly quite a lot during distance races. Short buoy races not so much. Last year we did 18 sail changes in a 4 hour shift during the BYC MAC on a 38 footer. That's with a 4 man watch. Needless to say I am still tired. Shifting to a larger headsail is not that hard. Swapping out the heavy # 1 for a #3 when the boat is heeling thirty degrees and thrashing through waves is another story. You need 2 jib halyards and a good bowman to keep it sorted out. Peeling the inside sail is usually easier since you don't have to bring it under the new sail. Long sausage sail bags help a lot since you can kind of flake the sail into the bag and be ready for the next change. Most serious boats also use 2 spin halyards for peels also.
Maine Sail, we do change out headsails on the fly quite a lot during distance races. Short buoy races not so much. Last year we did 18 sail changes in a 4 hour shift during the BYC MAC on a 38 footer. That's with a 4 man watch. Needless to say I am still tired. Shifting to a larger headsail is not that hard. Swapping out the heavy # 1 for a #3 when the boat is heeling thirty degrees and thrashing through waves is another story. You need 2 jib halyards and a good bowman to keep it sorted out. Peeling the inside sail is usually easier since you don't have to bring it under the new sail. Long sausage sail bags help a lot since you can kind of flake the sail into the bag and be ready for the next change. Most serious boats also use 2 spin halyards for peels also.
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The Harken MK-III was a closeout at West Marine recently; you might look for a good deal on one. They also had dual-groove foils; depending on the model (I know because my MK-III has dual-grooves).
Hm... I am going to have the mast down in a few days... Maybe now is the time if I can find a deal
Okay dumb question...
I assume when the head sail is rolled up, the halyard does not twist? How is this prevented?
Will a Harkin foil furler work with any head sail with a luff line (not sure if that is the correct term - I meant as opposed to hanks)?
I assume when the head sail is rolled up, the halyard does not twist? How is this prevented?
Will a Harkin foil furler work with any head sail with a luff line (not sure if that is the correct term - I meant as opposed to hanks)?
Hm, I see West Marine lists the Harkin MKIV Unit 0 for $1,234 and this is for boats up to 30 feet LOL and head stays from 38'7" (11.77m) to 45'7" (13.9m).
SailboatData.com estimates my headstay at 38.84.
I thought these would be much more expensive...
This is quite tempting...
MUST RESIST...
EDIT: Corrected the typo - up to 30 feet LOL
SailboatData.com estimates my headstay at 38.84.
I thought these would be much more expensive...
This is quite tempting...
MUST RESIST...
EDIT: Corrected the typo - up to 30 feet LOL
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Some furlers will have a fairlead or a preventer that is mounted on the mast to lead the halyard away from the furler at a sharp enough angle that it isn't likely to wrap. Others use an internal halyard, which eliminates the risk completely.
The foil has a specific wire luff size it requires, so the sail must have a matching wire luff or have the existing luff updated to the proper one.
The foil has a specific wire luff size it requires, so the sail must have a matching wire luff or have the existing luff updated to the proper one.
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There are varying sizes of luff tape for different foil sizes. Far and away the most common is #6 luff tape which corresponds to 3/16". Some boats have a geometry problem with the halyard angle. They sell an optional halyard restrainer to deal with it.
A couple of other issues. Spin halyards can be a problem in some installations. Simple solution is to lead spin halyard behind spreaders when not in use. Most common problem I see with owners who get a new RF system is the luff length of the sail. Make sure luff length is long enough to get upper swivel within 10" of exit point of jib halyard, otherwise you could have a wrap problem. If your luff is too short, a pennant on the head of the sail will allow you to get to the proper length.
A couple of other issues. Spin halyards can be a problem in some installations. Simple solution is to lead spin halyard behind spreaders when not in use. Most common problem I see with owners who get a new RF system is the luff length of the sail. Make sure luff length is long enough to get upper swivel within 10" of exit point of jib halyard, otherwise you could have a wrap problem. If your luff is too short, a pennant on the head of the sail will allow you to get to the proper length.
As others said yes. When we used to race the Frers 36 we did lots of sail changes using both tracks and of course multiple halyards.
One the the others did not say is you need to drop the swivel below the feeder to use both tracks. You can not use both tracks in a furling mode as you need to lower the swivel to lower the sail. Also taking the drum off when racing makes sail changes much cleaner.
A helpful guy at West Marine explained what all this means. Bottom line, I can't unfurl a sail, then make a sail change, then furl the new sail. I need to convert the furler from roller mode to racing mode by dropping the sail, removing the drum and the swivel, and so on.
As I already have a dual track foil, I am going to rethink this. If I have to drop the sail before the races, and rehoist it, I'll probably just stick to keeping it below deck until it's needed, unless I am missing something.
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