I have been noticing lately that many sailors have de-emphasized their mainsails. In some cases to the point where the main is the first sail to come down when the going gets tough and often does not even get set in the first place.
I guess this trend is understandable because of the advent of reliable and easy to use roller furling on headsails, but it's also a mistake and potentially dangerous.
Your Mainsail Is Your Friend
by John Harries
I have been noticing lately that many sailors have de-emphasized their mainsails. In some cases to the point where the main is the first sail to come down when the going gets tough and often does not even get set in the first place.
I guess this trend is understandable because of the advent of reliable and easy to use roller furling on headsails, but it's also a mistake and potentially dangerous.
Next: Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action
Previous: Don’t Forget About The Sails
- Six Reasons To Leave The Cockpit Often
- Don’t Forget About The Sails
- Your Mainsail Is Your Friend
- Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action
- Reefs: How Many and How Deep
- Reefing Made Easy
- Reefing From The Cockpit 2.0—Thinking Things Through
- Reefing Questions and Answers
- A Dangerous Myth about Reefing
- Mainsail Handling Made Easy with Lazyjacks
- Topping Lift Tips and a Hack
- 12 Reasons The Cutter Is A Great Offshore Voyaging Rig
- Cutter Rig—Should You Buy or Convert?
- Cutter Rig—Optimizing and/or Converting
- Cruising Rigs—Sloop, Cutter, or Solent?
- Sailboat Deck Layouts
- The Case For Roller-Furling Headsails
- UV Protection For Roller Furling Sails
- The Case For Hank On Headsails
- Making Life Easier—Roller Reefing/Furling
- Making Life Easier—Storm Jib
- Gennaker Furlers Come Of Age
- Swept-Back Spreaders—We Just Don’t Get It!
- Q&A: Staysail Stay: Roller Furling And Fixed Vs Hanks And Removable
- Rigid Vangs
- Rigging a Proper Preventer, Part 1
- Rigging a Proper Preventer—Part 2
- Amidships “Preventers”—A Bad Idea That Can Kill
- Keeping The Boom Under Control—Boom Brakes
- Downwind Sailing, Tips and Tricks
- Downwind Sailing—Poling Out The Jib
- Setting and Striking a Spinnaker Made Easy and Safe
- Ten Tips To Fix Weather Helm
- Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 1
- Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 2
- Two Dangerous Rigging Mistakes
- Rig Tuning, Part 1—Preparation
- Rig Tuning, Part 2—Understanding Rake and Bend
- Rig Tuning, Part 3—6 Steps to a Great Tune
- Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and Spreaders
- Rig Tuning, Part 5—Sailing Tune
- 12 Great Rigging Hacks
John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 18 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.