Jib Furling Knowledge

         Published in Southwinds Magazine winter of 2019                                                        

I’ve found that it is far better to have the lesson before the test, but unfortunately in sailing a lot of us get the test first.  I’ve gotten a lot of my sailing knowledge by having the test first.  I’m still at it after 50 years, and still learning.  Here are a few lessons that might help before the next test comes your way.

When it comes to a furling jib I have learned these three things.  Put extra wraps on the furling drum, have brake or stopper on the furling line, not a cleat, and watch for chafe on the furling line when you have it reefed.

You need about 6 extra wraps of the furling line on the drum when you furl your sail at the dock.  You need these extra wraps because when you get into a blow and furl the sail all the way it will furl so tightly that you will need extra wraps to bring it in all the way.  On a windy day have you ever seen a boat coming back to the marina with a few feet of their jib still out?  These are the folks that didn’t have a few extra wraps.

Image this, the wind has picked up and you’ve furled in the jib 30% and cleated the line off.  Now the wind begins gusting even more and you need to reef further, or put the sail away.  The last thing you want to do is flog the sail in 35 knots of wind.  But if you take the line off the cleat you will find that you can’t hold it.  The sail will then run out all the way and begin flogging violently.  This is why I suggest that you need a brake or line stopper on the furling line. 

The same goes if you have the fuling line lead to a jib winch.  If you need to use that winch, when you go to take the line off of the winch you will not be able to hold it. 

Another solution is a rolling hitch tied to the furling line to take the presser while you move the line to or from a winch.  A rolling hitch can grab and hold a line while you move the slack end.  This is not as fast or easy as a brake but certainly works.   

Most days when you sail with the jib out all the way there is no pressure on the furlng line.  However, when you reef the sail in a blow there is just about as much pressure on the furling line as the jib sheet.  The issue is now chafe of the furling line.  There may well be four or eight points where the furling line makes contact with something hard.  The most obvious is the edge of the furling drum itself.  Check out your set up before the next time you need to reef the jib. 

When your jib is reefed be sure to constantly check it for chafe.  I not only do this, but I ease the line out an inch every so often to change the pressure points.  Sometimes this can expose a chafe spot on the line I didn’t notice. 

Do these three things and you’ll not have any tests before the lessons.