Favorite Mods: Furling Mizzen
From Dave Zeiger
One of our faves is a mod to a sprit-boomed leg-o-mutton mizzen (aka driver... the kind at the extreme aft end as found in yawl rigs).
These sails mostly induce weather helm while sailing and are often left standing at anchor as a riding sail. Being small, they’re seldom reefed (although they can be brailed to the mast). There are times to strike and furl them, though.
Our mod is to skip the halyard in favor of permanent luff mounts (usually lacing). Instead, we attach a furling line of 1/4in nylon (stretchy) to the masthead that leads down to a cleat low on or near the mast, with extra tail (about 1/2 of luff height).
To furl:
Undo the snotter and stand the boom vertically against the mast, aft end up.
Roll the resulting bunt of sail vertically alongside mast and boom.
Spiral wrap the furling line around bunt and boom tightly to the mast (whip the first wrap as high as possible).
Make fast the furling line.
It’s quick, neat and resists very high winds. As a bonus, it reduces the halyard windage by half, eliminates a block and takes less line. We have our arms around the mast for most of the operation for a very secure feel. •SCA•
On my little Piccup Pram, I added a small mizzen. To this I added an uphaul/downhaul halyard which allows me to drop or re-raise the mizzen on the water even though it sets aft of the transom. It works somewhat like a jib downhaul, giving me absolute control of whether the mizzen is set or struck.
I've had this for a decade or more on my Dias Harrier. I simplified it a bit more by using a sock sleeve with a gap for the snotter. Sail is only about 11 sq ft and uses a carbon arrow shaft for the sprit .