I have a sloop rig which is all standard factory issue. I am considering running my main halyard and reefing lines back to the cockpit. Has anyone blazed this trail? If so, I'd really appreciate some advice and if possible, some photos. Cheers.
I might get a lot of negative feed back from this but here goes. I had a Catalina with lines to the cockpit before the Pearson and actually hated it. First disclaimer: I do not sail in rough ocean waters much. I actually missed going to the mast to raise the sail, it is part of sailing, as much as I like roller furling headsails I miss raising them. You have to go up to connect the halyard anyway and you have to go tie in the reef points so whats the big deal. All the extra deck blocks and extra line cluttered the cabin top and made walking a hassle. I can see where it would be great on smaller less stable boats but our Pearsons are such stable boats going forward for me is not an issue.
Happy Sailing
Bill Wismar
Bill, I can't disagree with anything you said and I too enjoy going to the mast to raise the sails. I am mainly concerned about reefing in heavy weather. I do reef EARLY, but it would be nice to be able to do it from the cockpit.
I'm with Bill on this one. I also believe that becoming comfortable on deck is a necessity. Sooner or latter you will have to go forward, and I'll bet it is when something goes wrong and the weather is against you. The older I get the more I make it a point to wander the deck. Sea legs are a good thing.
I also agree with Bill on roller furling, but I will take it one step further. The selection of which headsail to set was also very important and that has been eliminated by the furler. I have heard the argument by the sailmakers marketing that you can roll your headsail to any size you want... bull. The only time that a roller headsail is correct is when it is completely unrolled. At any other point the shape sucks. It becomes too full as it begins to roll, just what you don't want when the wind pipes up. Sail cloth is designed and oriented in a sail to be loaded only across the bias. When the sail is rolled under pressure, that loading is distorted and the cloth begins to suffer. You have all seen roller headsails that have been sailed rolled and when fully exposed that shape is gone.
The selection of the proper size headsail to match the given conditions went with the roller headsail. It is accepted today to sail a boat unbalanced and overpowered because the headsail is to large. My second big boat was a Sabre 28 that came with five bags of hank on jibs. At first I left 3 of the 5 home, but soon discovered to optimally and comfortably drive the boat, they all had a place aboard. The #1 on that boat even had a reef point which I used often.
I know I got a little off track as usual, but think it over. Some times progress comes at a price that is not worth the investment. Oh oh, I am sounding like my father!
Dale
Dale,I'M surprised to see you post today.I thought you and Ray would be on your way south to rescue the wounded transmission.Allen
Long range wifi.
I'm with Dale on this one. I've been on the fence about the roller furler since I already have it but then after I got my roller jib repaired, I noticed that it is several inches too long for the grooved headstay. That pushed me over the edge. I am installing a normal headstay and I am having the furling jib converted to piston hanks. For $1500 I have found used sails to fill out my inventory - way less than it would have cost to replace the furling jib.
I've read too many articles and posts about the shortcomings of roller furling to be comfortable with going offshore with it. When the wind really starts to blow, I don't want the weight and windage of the furling jib hanging out there on the headstay. A roller furling jib rolled up to storm jib size is a really poor choice. It is too baggy to go to windward in heavy conditions and most likely the cloth is too light to stand up to heavy air. Having that rolled up sail on the headstay makes is really hard to put up a proper storm jib. I want a proper heavy weather sail with hanks when that time comes.
In the mean time, I have never felt like changing a jib was all that much work - especially if I change early and reef early (as we all should).