Managing the headsail on a small boat can become challenging as the wind speed increases. The simplest and lowest-cost solution is to rig the jib with a downhaul that’s operated from the cockpit. But you’d still be forced to venture out on the foredeck to change it or possibly to eliminate windage from a thrashing sail. A more complicated setup consists of a jib tack line run out to a small block on the bow—with the headsail rigged on its own luff rope instead of the forestay. The advantage of this arrangement is that you can remove or bend on a smaller sail from the safety of the cockpit (and even tighten the luff sag, and/or adjust the jib sheet fairlead angles); but Phil Bolger (in 100 Small Boat Rigs) warns that this setup “would have notable snarl potentiality,” which I can personally attest to occurring. A neater but much pricier alternative to either of these approaches is to reef or to completely furl up the sail on its luff.
Previously I pointed out the differences between “reefing” furlers, which utilize an extrusion to support the sail’s luff and to provide the torque needed to wind up the sail on the forestay, and “all-or-nothing” (AON) furlers that dispense with the extrusion and are typically used to furl sails “set flying” without being able to reef them. While a small reefing furler might be found on a trailersailer, the cost and complications (and potential problems) may argue against adding one if the boat does not already have it. A Harken or Barton AON furler to douse a jib or genoa is a lot simpler, and they cost a lot less—that might be all you need. And if one is handy with tools, there are several furler and sail hacks that can save more than a few boat bucks.
DIY Furlers
As usual, the internet has plenty of useful information for constructing both AON and reefing furlers from readily found and low-cost components. Probably the best place to start is Joel Bergen’s blog where he clearly outlines the issues and shows several DIY furler designs; and he describes the AON furler that he built for his Welsford “Navigator’s” jib. As you can see in the photo, the sail has a wire luff that he conveniently shackles right onto the furler.
Homebrew Furler (photos from “Joel’s Navigator” blog)
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