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Keep Furled Sail on During Winter?

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CateP
Navigator

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USA
108 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/03/2012 : 07:23:09

I have a Sunbrella covered head sail on a furler that I'm thinking of keeping on during the winter. What do you guys think of that idea? Good? Bad?

Boat is on the hard on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, NH.

Edited by - CateP on 11/03/2012 07:24:50

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 07:42:38

Bad. Think ice between the wraps, with wind buffeting it.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 07:46:06

Bad. The sunbrella covering deteriorates from exposure to the sun. When it gets ragged, it will be very expensive to replace. The sails should be removed each winter and bent on each spring. It isn't that difficult on a small boat. Those of us who had hanked-on sails removed, folded and bagged our headsails every time we sailed the boat. On 40' racing boats, we still remove, fold and bag the headsails and sometimes the mainsail every time we race. It gets easier with practice.

Edited by - Steve Milby on 11/03/2012 07:50:01

Ape-X
Admiral

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USA
662 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 07:55:22

...AND it gives you opportunity to inspect and clean the sails. Preventive maintenance is always better/less expensive than reactive maintenance.

Take the sail off, clean and inspect. It really is an easy chore

Edited by - on

panhead1948
Captain

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345 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 10:41:17

Bad idea. I've seen to many torn sail in the spring. A little wind and it gets loose and strarts to flog and soon it history.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 13:59:43

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by CateP
 I have a Sunbrella covered head sail on a furler that I'm thinking of keeping on during the winter. What do you guys think of that idea? Good? Bad?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Bad.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5378 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2012 : 16:08:21

I saw a nice boat with a furled sail that was a victim of the wind today. Pity, it was otherwise a good looking boat.

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pfduffy
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2012 : 19:19:28

My brother's boat sailed around his marina yard a couple of years ago when flooding and high winds struck during a freak storm. The jib unfurled and the boat just took off - unattended, with the trailer strapped to her arse! Put me in the "bad" camp.

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3467 Posts

Response Posted - 11/05/2012 : 04:49:09

I wasn't going to respond to this posting because like many responses, one answer does not fit all cases. Based on your specific question and the extra info at the bottom of your post that indicates your boat is "on the hard" this winter, yes - I agree with the others - remove the furling sail.

There are some, like myself, that do not remove the furling sail. Keep it up all year. But this needs an explanation. During the sailing season, obviously, all keep their furling rig sails on. For the same reason, those that sail in the winter would also keep their furling rig on. But there are storms in the summer (and winter) that can damage a furling rig sail if the sail was not secured properly and/or regularly inspected/attended. In fact, there are 2-3 sailboats at my marina that all had damage to their furling rig sails over the summer months. I can tell you that one of the boats, I definitely noticed that the furling sail was regularly not fully rolled up with a flap sticking out. In fact, he has part of his main sail sticking out from the main sail cover with the halyard still attached, I guess for quick undocking.

So, my thought is that in all seasons that the furling rig is left on, the best thing to do is to ensure that the furling rig is rolled up all the way. If the last sail there were light winds, then chances are the furling rig was rolled up with light tension. In that instance, I would as rolling it up and especially when approaching fully rolled up, exert some tension on the sheets to get the furled sail to roll up tighter than it would normally when winds are light. Also, the furled line should be set up so that it allows when the furled sail is rolled up, that you can keep pulling on the furled line to get at least 4-5 wraps of the sheets around the rolled up furled sail. Even if the furled line is secured and you can get the sheets wrapped 4 times, it is best to get in the habit of using ties to tie around the furled sail to ensure it does not somehow unravel. Even better, recommend use two bungee cords, one below and one way above the sheet wraps. Once in the habit of doing these precautions, they become insignificant in carrying out but help significantly to minimize the risk of damage to the furled sail during windy days in and off season.

The grey area - When boat is "on the hard". If you take the above small steps and are one that is always visiting your boat daily/weekly to work on projects, etc well then maybe okay to leave the furled sail on during your off season as long as you are giving the boat/sails the once over each time you visit. The only benefit of leaving the sails on during the off season is not having to go thru the labor of removing the furled sail. But it is not really that big a deal. As a precaution for the hurricane, I took off both my sails the Saturday before the hurricane and this weekend put them both back on again (and went out sailing Sunday).

Comparing the pro/con regarding keeping the sails on while boat is "on the hard" favors overwhelmingly to take them off. Only benefit - Not going thru the labor for removal and reinstalling. After all, you cannot go sailing while "on the hard". The negative if sails left on, there is risk of damage to the furled sail which would not exist at all if sail removed. You also incur months of addl UV/contaminant exposure to the exposed sail or UV cover.

Edited by - on

CateP
Navigator

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USA
108 Posts

Response Posted - 11/05/2012 : 07:44:46

Okay- I had a feeling these would be the responses...and thank you to LarryR for your detailed response about when it might be okay to leave the furled sail on. I'm going to take my head sail off as soon as we get a calm day and I'm not working.

Thanks again everybody.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 11/05/2012 : 19:44:13

Larry is spot on with his advice.

Another thing to consider, if you remove the sails while on the hard you are reducing windage and thereby reducing the chance the boat could blow off the stands.

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capted
1st Mate

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39 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2012 : 18:50:10

I would agree that removing the sail for the winter is best. I take the opportunity to clean the sail and get any repairs made. I was pleased to see that tying the sail down does have a benefit. I went down before Sandy and removed the main, but just used a spare line to wrap around the furling jib, then used the line to restrain the furling drum from rotating. ( should be OK for a mere tropical storm- right?). I checked on the boat and the jib seems to be fine, even though another of the sailboats looked like the posted photo.
Ed

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