[Alex W]

Why does changing the sail on your furler take an hour?

I spent a lot of time considering solent stay options. I may still go down that route, but what I did in the meantime is working really well for me. I have a Pearson 28-2, which is very slightly bigger than your boat.

I moved my jib halyard to the mast (instead of leading back to the cockpit). I also installed a pre-feeder under the furler. Now I can do a headsail change in a couple of minutes, it doesn't take any longer than doing it on a hank-on boat. It takes more time to put the other sail away then to change sails on the furler. The jib halyard being on the mast allows me to lead the halyard forward to the foredeck, so even when I'm solo I can easily help feed the sail and manage the halyard.

Now I have a large genoa and a smaller working jib. The working jib is heavily built and can be rolled down to a storm jib if necessary. I also have an actual storm jib, but haven't used it yet.

I still wouldn't mind having a solent stay, but it doesn't seem very pressing.

 

[Alex W]

If there is going to be a 20 knot day I typically know about it beforehand and do the sail change in my slip.

The prefeeder makes doing sail changes in the slip a lot easier. I can mostly concentrate on the halyard, and stand near the luff foil just in case I need to help it along.

Keeping the luff slot clean and lubed helps as well.

 

[Alex W]

If there is going to be a 20 knot day I typically know about it beforehand and do the sail change in my slip.

The prefeeder makes doing sail changes in the slip a lot easier. I can mostly concentrate on the halyard, and stand near the luff foil just in case I need to help it along.

Keeping the luff slot clean and lubed helps as well.