| Ah yes, you bought her in October. That means you haven't done
the dog days of August when 10 knots of wind is a blessing.
I'm sure the racers will provide much grist regarding the double-
groved foil on your headstay. Being a simple coastal cruiser,
I have two headsails: 1. A 110% genoa that I fly in the spring
and fall and 2. a 150% genoa for mid summer. It's a royal
pain in the (insert your favorate portion of the anatiomy)
to change headsails with roller furling, so I leave one or the
other up and reel it in when the wind picks up. Inevitably,
I'm stuck with the wrong sail for the wrong conditions, but it
works out okay most of the time.
My sailmaker tells me that it's becoming in vogue to only have
self furling headsail, a 135% bi-radial genoa that you can reef down
to 110% without losing shape, augmented by a drifter (genniker,
etc.) for light air. Not a good solution for distance cruisers
or racers, but probably adequate for us coast huggers.
Encore
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| while I'm on the head sail and roller furling, let me also ask some
questions concerning the roller furling.
I have only sailed this boat three times before putting it up for
the winter.
I left the furling setup on the mast when the mast was pulled and
placed on tripods on the deck. I taped the extrusion to the mast
so that it would not bend or take a set.
Come spring, what do I do with it? Just have it hooked up when the
mast is stepped? Is there any recommended maintenance?
I'm not even sure that I remember how everything was hooked up.
With my luck, when I go out for the first sail this coming season,
when I pull on the furling line, the jib will roll up around the
back stay.
Paul
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re -.1
that depends on your rig and on which roller furling system you
have, but it should be very simple. it's usually just a matter
of reconnecting the forestay. Hood recommends that the roller
furling drum be flushed with water frequently... in fact, it
voids the warranty if you don't. If you don't have the
documentation for yours (what kind is it?), I'd recommend
getting it. it's not unlikely that it was installed by a/the
previous owner and you should get the manuals just to check
that the installation was done properly.
Jim (Irish Mist)
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