Why I Sail Solo without a Roller Furler - Ep. 210

Imagine sailing across oceans with big winds and big waves. Sailing solo on a 27 foot sailboat without a Roller Furler. A lot of people ask me why. In this video I talk about it.

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My name is Jacqueline Evers. My sailboat is a 27 foot Grinde called Loveworkx. As of 1st July 2023 I am on my solo circumnavigation from The Netherlands.

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Sailing with love around the globe.

Jacqueline Evers

[todddunn]

Dealing with hank on sails when you are young and have a small boat isn't so bad. However, if you have a bigger boat and are a bit older, reducing sail with hank on sails become a bigger job and can be quite dangerous. You can roll up a sail on a furler as small as you want. Yes you lose pointing ability after more than 4-5 turns on the furler, but that isn't such a big deal away from land. As far as having jams and similar issues with a furler, if you know what you are doing that simply doesn't happen. I base that on sailing for 29 years with a furling head sail with zero issues. Incidentally, talking to a racer is not the best thing to do since racers have very different attitudes about sailing than cruisers. Personally, I will opt for the ease of raising/lowering my 135% genoa once a year. Lugging a 37 square meter sail around on deck is doable in light air, but not something I ever want to do again in anything over 10 knots and definitely not on a pitching foredeck. As far as adding luff tape to an old hank on sail goes it isn't worth it. Just buy a new purpose built roller furling sail. You can get a decent sail for a small boat like yours for under $1, 500 USD. In other words, spare change in the sailing world.

[robertbranch]

I have sailed and raced extensively with roller furling on boats your size, 27 to 28 feet over 40, 000 miles over my 60 years sailing, all on the great lakes. I have raced in severe conditions single handed without furling and won with a large number of sail changes. I was young, in my 30ś and in good shape. The boat had been reriggerd from a round the bouy racer to a long distancer solo racer. Weather was constant upper 40 knot North easter on Lake Huron, with freighters and coast guard reporting waves in the high 20 ft range (28 ft most often reported). No issues. Used my full sail range including spinnaker as the breeze moderqated. Handled all sailchanges with all sails with hanks in all conditions. In my fifties i utilized roller furling. Did round bouy racing and day sailing. I utilized a custom heavy #1 Kevlar near deck sweeper for racing on a double groove headfoil (harken). I never sailed tthe sail with it reefed. My next sail down was a 120% full hoist heavy air genoa. I also used it for day sailing, the #1 only put up for racing. The sail never left me wanting more in light air. It sailed nicely, only a little slower than #1. The full hoist was its key and generated a lot of power. The sail was never reefed. The furler was only used for taking in and letting out sail and for sail storge. No issues. I was in mid 50ś and good health and strength. The boat was rigged as a simple main and jib cruiser. I carried a spinnaker but rarely used it. Tacking down wind brought desinations almost as quick with less hastle and work.

Finally my last 2 years. Now rigged only main and jib. My strength is gone. I cannot even pull up a halyard without a winch, not to tighten the sail but to raise it. My balance is gone. I cannot go out of the cockpit and someone else has to be there for me to sail. Roller furling was absoluterly essential to sail at all. For sail handling with other crew on board the roller furling wins hands down. Guest crewe have no business on a pitching foredeck to handle sails, rising, lowering, or sail changes. In other than light to moderate air the crew handfing sails has to have your level of expertise to go forward. Much safer and morer doable when needed with roller furling. I have never considered a flogging main behind a too big jib as proper or acceptable sail handling. If you are in shape and able to handle the boat single handed then both can be done safely. Once physical strength including stamina start to wain OR if you have to sail with non-expert crew at any age I would not recommend waiting. Change to roller furling for the rest of your sailing career. I am describing what i found in my years of sailing and how i found using both systems in my life. This was in 27 to 28 ft boats. Size can change things quickly. When I was in my best physical condition and energy. In moderate air, 22 to 30 knots. I could not handle #1 genoas on a big rigged (catalina 30 tall rig.) and not a spinnaker at all with the methods at the time. I just offer this to help food for thought.

[frankone]

I still use hank-on sails. I have considered roller furling many times. It seems like it would be easy. However, the mechanical simplicity of hank-on sails appeals to me. Also, the weight and windage of a furled sail in rough conditions makes me uneasy. I prefer to take sails down and stow below decks when conditions require it. I also use a turtle bag lashed to the railings, which works well. Thanks for sharing your views and methods.

[PedroPaulo-bdik]

I was one of those who questioned why you don't use a genoa furler.

I respect and accept your arguments.
You actually use a manual genoa furler on your genoa 3, with the bag rolled up and zipped !!!
I myself came across this argument from sailmakers about 15 years ago. Some more experienced sailors asked me: why would a sailmaker tell you to use only two sails - a furling sail and a storm sail with a staysail - instead of selling you four sails?

I then also asked myself why solo sailors in major regattas and even boats with large crews would use genoa furlers, even when the sails are high-performance and made of very rigid materials?

But it was the time at sea and sailing that made me decide to use a genoa furler... reducing movements and maneuvers on deck is important when sailing in intense winds and heavy seas. And I quickly concluded that the boat's performance was not affected when I started using the staysail in fierce winds, all I had to do was furl the genoa and open the staysail. It is not only the effort expended that must be considered, but the reduction of maneuvers on deck as a safety factor.

[vleiratfilms]

Very good sense. Having had endless problems with rollers I rigged my cutter with hanks and a boomed staysail. Not ideal but practical. Look forward to following you to us in South Africa 🇿🇦🌈

[mikeretallack]

Did similiar trip years ago totally agree with your conclusion . I found a 80 % jib for ocean crossing was adequate fo most of of the ocean work . Really impressed with your trip and your preparation.

[mirjanapavlicevic]

You are just amazing and inspiration to all of us sailors! ❤You are also the one of the bravest women in the world! 😊Stay safe and enjoy your sailing!

[patrickflanagan]

As a young New Zealander many years ago I built a lightweight 35 foot yacht in Holland where I was working as a boat builder. I decided to go cruising and had hanked on headsails. I cruised Europe and down into Africa solo like yourself and pretty much used my No 3 headsail most of the time. I had a thin tack line to the head of the jib so if it was rough I didn't need to go fwd to pull it down. Drop the hallard pull the head tack line tight and the sheet tight and she was pretty much locked to the deck. Working and sailing in and from The Netherlands was an amazing experience. I'll never forget. Enjoy NZ !!

[ronkirk]

I solo circumnavigated in a 33' cutter with a roller furling jib and hank-on staysail and this set up served me well. The roller furling was really appreciated in the southern ocean so I didn't have to brave the foredeck in heavy weather which can be pretty scary especially at night. Down at 50-60 degrees South, I spent most of the time running downwind with only the staysail poled out. This kept my boat speed <6 kts so the windvane was able to control direction while running down the steep, nearly mast height waves.

[Jeraestone]

The Words, Analysis, Wisdom and Conviction of an Experienced Sailor ~ Whose Knowledge is The Power Behind her Journey, Learned Heaps from your Tete A Tete with the "Racing Sailmaker" and your Clear and Precise Seamanship ! 👌

[arthurschuler]

We had a genua tied up on deck or the lower railing line. We beat up in the Mona passage to come in the Atlantic coming out of Nassau in the Bahamas. A wave damaged the sail pretty badly!

[ingemp]

You describe exactly why I sail a cutter with both Yankee and Staysail and both on furler on my Vancouver 27…….great rig! And great boat for solo sailing❤

[srun]

Thanks for explaining your reasons for not having the roller furler. And lovely to meet you at Marsden Cove Marina today. I am so pleased I got to say hi.

[sailingflightlevelzero]

Really enjoying your channel. Stay safe and we will be watching.

[patrickjohn]

Thanks for explaining your reasons for not using a roller furling. I see how your current setup works great for you. My concern was the safety aspect of the having to be on the bow of the boat to make sail changes in rough conditions as a solo sailor. Hats off to you. You are an awesome sailor. Be safe.

[stevewhite]

Hank on keeps it simple and allows for sail changes. Those furlers are more convenient but seem to have issues right when you don't want to have issues. A cutter seems like it would be great with a furling headsail but a hank on stay sail.

[edwinflynn]

Everyone of your reasons for not using a Genoa Furler are exactly the same ones that decided me to remove the furler from my Careel 22 trailer sailer called Wanton. I too have now made a bag that I place around the Nos. 3 genoa, on the foredeck, ready to be deployed as you described. One other reason that is not often mentioned when discussing furlers, is that when things go wrong with a roller furler, they happen at the worst possible time for such failures. You may be interested to read this narration I gave of a rather scary event, on a forum called trailer sailor place.

"Surprisingly the scariest experience we have had sailing occurred on the Gippsland lakes between Paynesville and Metung almost within Metung Bay of all places.

My wife and I along with our two grand daughters, in our boat Wanton, had sailed at Fraser Island with some pretty stiff wind on our return to the mainland. We also sailed all over the Whitsundays, again often in rather windy conditions. Wanton handled everything that was thrown at her with zest and it resulted in my wife and grand daughters gaining a lot of confidence in their abilities and Wanton's worth as a sailing boat.

On this occasion at Metung Bay three things happened, that in a lesser boat would have spelled disaster. Firstly, whilst trying to outsail and out motor a storm, that suddenly and totally unexpectedly hit us, our terrific near new plastic outboard bracket snapped in half. Whilst attempting to haul the motor into the cockpit, with my wife at the tiller, we got hit by a starboard side squall that resulted in the listing and the spreaders touching the surface of the water. Bravely, my wife let the tiller loose and that resulted in Wanton self-righting almost instantly. The main sail was already fully furled so I then decided to reduce our furling genoa. The wind now being fully ahead resulted in the furler fouling with the forestay snapping the forestay. Luckily for us we have always sailed with the baby stay on the mast. All this happened in the space of perhaps 80 seconds."

The purpose of mentioning this incident is to remind everyone the Poo Poo can happen anywhere, yes even in our beauteous Gippsland Lakes."

[mickdeewisconsin]

Wonderful stories and I'm enjoying your adventures! I had a furler it broke in high winds and left me getting blown to a lee shore. That was the last time I ever had one. Best of luck, always!

[romantiachristiana]

I'm a humble coastal sailor with a 14ft ballasted Beneteau Cabochard. I have 3 foresails: genoa, large jib and a storm jib. I too have been reticent about roller furlers and still am. When dousing, I use a jib downhaul and use the jibsheet to pull the tack back along the port side. Changing jibs at sea is tricky, so I anticipate and put on the right jib for the forecast conditions. Thanks for the reflections.

[jericlarke]

I’m so glad I found you. You’re fantastic. And at 27 ft I can really relate to her and your experiences aboard her. I’ve subscribed.