Submitted on June 7, 2004 by Miles

Question: I have a Hylas 44 which I am in the process of adding a staysail stay and debating whether or not to put roller furling here. We plan to cruise short handed. Will appreaciate any comments you might have.

Thanks for your time,
Miles

Answer: Hi Miles, if your cruising plans include long ocean passages, a fixed stay and roller furling staysail might be the best setup. The other alternatives are a fixed stay on a detachable deck turnbuckle and hank on sail, or a free-flying roller furling staysail. The free flying sail would be built with a soft, double luff rope and it would be hoisted along with its furling gear.

The permanent stay roller furler is the easiest to deploy and furl. It's disadvantages are weight aloft at all times and the added difficulty of tacking and gybing your primary headsail. If you are planning mostly coastal cruising, the hassel of tacking around the inner stay will be significant.

The detachable stay, hank on sail has the same tacking and gybing disadvantage when the stay is in place, but with less weight and windage when you are using the primary headsail. For periods of extended coastal sailing you can easily detach the stay at deck level and fix it out of the way, along the mast.

The free flying sail alternative will give you a nice clean foretriangle for the majority of your sailing time. When you need the staysail you will need to spend 15 minutes on the foredeck setting it up. Once hoisted your staysail will have significantly more sag than either of the sails on the permanent stay.

Regards,
Dan Neri

Email North Sails with your question today!

Go BACK to Solutions for Sailors Main Page.