We have long used roller furling on Morgan’s Cloud and would not be without it. The thought of changing headsails that can weigh over 100-pounds dry, and far more wet, doublehanded on a wildly tossing foredeck, every time the wind changes, gives me the horrors. I served my time as bowman on an ocean racer and I’m not going back!
That said, later in this book you will find a chapter by Lane Finley on the benefits of traditional hanked-on sails over roller furling. As Lane so rightly points out, roller furling is not without its disadvantages. Here is how we manage those disadvantages and the compromises we make:
