Will it soon be time to go for the storm jib? A windy day, Ria de Muros
Once a year we like to entertain our neighbours by hoisting our storm jib whilst we’re alongside. Not much new to be learned from it, but it does force us to get it out of the bag and give it a thorough check over for any signs of chafe or other damage.
We have a hanked on staysail for our OVNI 435 Pèlerin which can be reefed, although we’ve never used that facility, but we carry a dedicated hanked on storm jib ready to go when necessary. When that time comes the storm sail comes into its own in so many ways – high visibility orange helps us to be seen by shipping amongst white water, and the sail is designed and built to cope with the brutal treatment dealt out in wild conditions without major damage. We think it’s a vital part of our sail plan.
Often overlooked
Over the years I’ve sailed on many boats which carried storm jibs, but when I looked for them they were finally to be found buried at the bottom of some locker in a few inches of bilge water – not necessarily the best way to look after a piece of equipment your life may depend on. And in most cases it turned out that the sail had never been tested, let alone used – perhaps it was just carried as a lucky talisman?
The hard learning curve of running the foredeck on racing yachts as a young guy taught me that preparation is everything – you want to get up there and get the job done as swiftly and safely as possible. And there are many simple ways to make that all happen far more smoothly with a little planning, a great benefit when the deck is leaping around beneath you, and you’re hanging on with your eyelids.
Try it out in advance
When we first got our new boat-home, we waited for a spell of good windy weather, then took her out and tried out all of our range of sail options the hard way. That allowed us to get the storm jib set-up properly in the first place – tack strop the right height, correct sheet leads, leach line tension, and so forth.
Then we set about checking everything that can go wrong so that when the time comes to put it up in anger, we’re ready to go. Waiting until you absolutely have to put the storm jib up is no time to find out just how hard it is to attach the sheets in those conditions, that you can’t sheet it correctly, or adjust the leach line, and so on…..
Tips
The following slide show demonstrates the system we use – it works for us, but we’re sure that many of you out there have equally good ideas, if not better. If so we’d love to hear them. Please leave a comment.
You can click on the slide show to enlarge it so you can really see the details of our gear. Use the buttons at the bottom to move through the show (it does not advance automatically).
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David Nutt February 21, 2011 at 8:57 am
Any suggestions for those of us who have roller furling jibs and staysails? I admit I am one of many who has never set the storm jib despite a 42,000 mile circumnavigation and a recent trip to Greenland.
Colin Speedie February 21, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Hi David
I can remember storm jibs for racing yachts back in the 70s that had luff tapes to fit headfoils, so I’d have thought that it would be possible to have one made with a tape to fit your roller extrusion – one option. I’d also suggest that it would be far more viable to change a roller staysail for a storm jib, due to its smaller size and position further inboard, something that simply shouldn’t be tried with a big roller headsail.
However, I’m sure your roller staysail and its associated gear is pretty bulletproof, so may be up to the job. Otherwise, maybe have a detachable solent stay just aft of the roller headsail, to fly a hanked on sail.
And may neither you, nor I, have to set the storm jib in anger!
Best wishes
Colin
Ben February 21, 2011 at 9:00 am
Nice system, you are much more organised than me…
But saying that, I normally have my storm jib hanked on to the babystay/inner forestay all ready to go with a good sail cover on it, but I suppose that subjects it to a bit more wear and tear, and for tropical sailing I might try storing it below like you do. With a setup like yours I often hank it on under the staysail, just switch the halyard, unhank the staysail and you are ready to go.
I also like to have a downhaul on the sail (normally the loose tail of the halyard) this means I can drop the sail from the mast and there is no chance of losing the halyard up the mast or over the side.
I completely agree with testing it all out in flat water on a nasty very gusty day, gives you a good idea of balance, sheet leads and what kind of halyard and stay tension you might need; for example, is your running backstay system up to it; is the mast pumping too much; is the foredeck flexing; or sheet lead blocks and attachments up to it. Just make sure you have a good sheltered anchorage to leeward…
I am actually pretty comfortable with using the Roller Reefing Genoa clew instead of a storm jib If the wind is aft of the beam, it’s less committing, further forward to help keep the bow down, and very easy to adjust for the perfect amount of sail. But I do this only because my sail and furler are pretty solid. I wouldn’t try it on a much bigger boat, or one with old dodgy gear…
I could switch my storm jib onto the solent stay to do the same thing…maybe I should try that one day, guess it’s less wear on my Genoa clew.
Thanks for the great article and pictures.
Colin Speedie February 21, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Hi Ben
Thanks for some great ideas.
I take your point about having the sail hanked on, and I’ll have a look and see whether that might be viable for our boat, even though I’d prefer to only put it in place if I thought we might actually need it.
I’ve never used downhauls on a modern boat, but why not? We used to have them on the working jib and staysail on a big gaffer with a widowmaker bowsprit and they were a Godsend.
And you’ve got to try the whole kit out, as you say – there’s no point in buying a storm jib and then finding that the necessary gear isn’t up to the job – the strongest point is the weakest link. And practice makes perfect.
We also have a detachable solent stay just aft of the roller headsail for our light weight genoa, which could in theory be put to use for the storm jib downwind. We haven’t tried it out yet, but will give it a try. However, my preference is to use the inner stay, and we’ve found that it works well there, especially if you’re trying to go upwind.
Thanks for the comments
Colin
Christopher Barnes February 21, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Colin – Nice post, especially the photos of the setup. In theory at least, how does the reefing of the storm jib work (I can’t quite see it in the photos)? I’ll be ordering one shortly and curious about reef points. What is your sense, are reef points one more complexity to forgo on a sail that should be dead simple (assuming it is properly sized)? Or are they a worthwhile addition?
Colin Speedie February 21, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Hi Christopher
It’s our staysail that can be reefed, not the storm jib. We took the staysail with its reef points on the basis that we can shorten down quickly when sailing coastally, and we haven’t got far to go to get to shelter. I don’t think I’d be interested offshore, as the sail is too low in that configuration and so vulnerable to damage from water across the deck, and in any case, if it’s reached that stage then it’s time to go for the storm jib in my book. The time to reef is, as always, when you think of it.
Kind regards
Colin
David Nutt February 21, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Thanks Colin, When snotty out there I have always managed with the staysail or at times a partially rolled staysail but I have yet to see it really really angry out there. But there is still time…
David
Jim Almond February 21, 2011 at 10:43 pm
I like the orange color! I might have to consider a full set.
Colin Speedie February 22, 2011 at 8:08 am
Hi Jim
It makes a big difference, especially in rough conditions when a small boat (generally being white) can be very hard to spot.
It was not unknown ( some time ago) for sail training yachts to have the head of the main and genoa to be fluo orange, or a wide stripe just below the head. It does tend to fade, though, so shouldn’t necessarily be an integral part of the sail, just a sacrificial strip that can be replaced. If you sail a lot in busy shipping areas (like the English Channel) it may help.
Best wishes
Colin
Ben February 23, 2011 at 8:11 am
Hi Colin, Interesting how the downhaul has been dropped from modern sail plans. I guess having smoother 1×19 stainless steel forestays that are more vertical, and one part halyards with winches means the sail normally drops by itself. So most of the time a down haul just gets in the way, complicates and slows things down. So it’s only really useful in a decent blow, but they sure are nice then…
I used to have reefing headsails on my last boat. Never did work out a good way to stop the old slippery wet dacron clew working its way out of any lashing and then the rest of the bunt getting very messy and catching on everything, so often found it easier and cleaner to just change sails – I have found boomed staysails reef very well.
We put a single full length batten in the top of my staysail. It worked great, controlling the shape and flutter, and enabling the top to be depowered if needed.
Colin Speedie February 24, 2011 at 7:38 am
Hi Ben
I think it’s also a question of scale re downhauls – our sails are generally of more manageable sizes. Also the mass changeover to roller reefing. But I’d agree with you that they could still be really useful with hanked on sails.
Your point re roller reefing is a good one – one of the reasons that we have a roller Yankee rather than a genoa is that due to its triangular shape, and the fact that the sheet lead stays relatively constant, it rolls up far better, and so is much less prone to ‘pockets’ of sail coming loose in windy conditions.
And we, too, have a batten in the top of the staysail – as you say, a big advantage – thanks for raising that.
Best wishes
Colin
Dave Reid February 18, 2013 at 5:45 am
Couldn’t agree more about testing the rig – Was out the other day and got hit by 35-40kts on the nose. Could really have done with setting the storm jib and would have been able to sail out of a pretty messy situation – Mussel impounds, comercial shipping setrting sail with tugs and 2-3 metre swells all in an enclosed channel. Flashed the outboard up, just hoping it didn’t get swamped, and managed to hold position for an hour with the anchor on standby until the wind dropped and I could make some headway.