Furling Jib vs. Hanks for racing

pkpdjh

New Member
I currently have a C14.2 with a furling jib. I am considering getting sails for racing and I am curious why everyone uses hanked sails in our racing club. It seems like the places that make racing sails will make them either with hanks or with the luff wire for furling.

So, is there some inherent speed advantage to using a hanked sail with the C14.2 specifically?

I can understand that with some boats you want to quickly be able to use different sails for different conditions. However, as far as I know with the C14.2, everyone has only one set of racing sails.

I haven't really found the furler to be all that of a handy advantage. A couple times, it has been nice to reduce the size of the jib on windy days, but otherwise, it has been more of headache to keep it working well.

Thanks,
Dave ...
 
Dave,

When you race you want to get the most out of your sails. Each sail is designed to a specific shape usually putting the the deepest part of the foil around 40% of the way back in the sail from the luft. If you take a "perfectly designed" sail and shorten the distance from from the deepest part of the sail to the luft you have changed the design of the sail making it less efficient thus less competitive. The preferred way a racing sail is"shortened" is to go to a smaller sail that is designed for the wind speed you are experiencing. If you want to compete you must use the correct sails not simply shorten one using a furling system. Furling systems are great for knocking around the lake but are a poor choice for racing.
 
Dave,

When you race you want to get the most out of your sails. Each sail is designed to a specific shape usually putting the the deepest part of the foil around 40% of the way back in the sail from the luft. If you take a "perfectly designed" sail and shorten the distance from from the deepest part of the sail to the luft you have changed the design of the sail making it less efficient thus less competitive. The preferred way a racing sail is"shortened" is to go to a smaller sail that is designed for the wind speed you are experiencing. If you want to compete you must use the correct sails not simply shorten one using a furling system. Furling systems are great for knocking around the lake but are a poor choice for racing.

Thanks for your response. Everything you said makes total sense.

1. Do people actually use multiple sized jibs on C14.2s?
2. More theoretically, if two boats have the same size/shaped sails and one is hanked and one has the luff wire, would there be any performance difference?

Thanks,
Dave
 
I have one standard head sail and one I have cut down for very windy days. I have a standard main and one with three reef points. I only use standard sails for racing and the other two for days when most c14s jocks watch from the dock and wonder who that fool is out there on the water on such a windy day...:confused:

In theory a hanked-on sail would be slower than one with a smooth luft due to the disturbance the hanks cause to the flow of air over the sail. However, I seriously doubt you would see any difference between the attachment techniques in actual practice...
 
I have one standard head sail and one I have cut down for very windy days. I have a standard main and one with three reef points. I only use standard sails for racing and the other two for days when most c14s jocks watch from the dock and wonder who that fool is out there on the water on such a windy day...:confused:

In theory a hanked-on sail would be slower than one with a smooth luft due to the disturbance the hanks cause to the flow of air over the sail. However, I seriously doubt you would see any difference between the attachment techniques in actual practice...

That makes total sense to me, yet it seems the conventional wisdom is hanks-only. I am wondering if that is based on the logic you original presented in larger classes where multiple jibs are used. This weekend I'm going to be racing with the C14.2 fleet and I will be asking around.

I want to get new sails for racing and keep the originals for other days, but I still haven't decided to go with hanks or furling. I also plan to add the reef points to my main. Along with the furling jib, that will give me a flexible rig.
 
When racing class rules more often than not dictate just about everything.

Yep, larger classes will usually have multiple sails for all positions. On the picture to the left you will see that I have up a 150. I also have a blade, a deck sweeper, a 110, stay sail, spinnikar, main, storm main, drifter, mez storm mez and a few other sails that come in handy under certain situations. The whole idea is to power the boat properly - not over power or under power. With the proper sails up sailing a larger boat is simple and great fun. All head sails are hank-on making it easy to attach a new sail without lowering the sail currently being used. For racing smaller boats I prefer something other than hanks. Just a personal preference...:)
 
This tuning guide from Quantum Sails suggests that the adjusting the jib halyard is pretty important, so that would point to using a hanked sail.

"Since the rig relies on the forestay to support it, the jib halyard is used to properly maintain the jib’s sail shape position through the different wind strengths. The rule to follow is to tension the jib halyard so as to have very slight "crows-feet" emitting from the bottom three jib luff snaps (the other snaps will be almost smooth). The stronger the wind, the tighter the halyard will need to be to maintain this trim."

File Summary - Quantum Sails
 
I agree with pkppdjh/Quantum Sails (I'm sure they will breath a sigh of relief with that said:rolleyes::);)); I use hanks on my C14 and they work just fine. I would not consider the furling head sail as a competitive sail but then that is just one persons opinion; I am sure there are those who would disagree with good logic and reason....

In my post above it should have read ...For racing small boats in the 24 to 40 foot range I prefer something other than hanks... Sorry for the omission:confused:
 
Personally, the rule of thumb I use is the stability of the boat itself. If the boat tips to one side when you board it from the dock I think of it as small i.e under around 40' depending on the design of the boat. This question would probably be answered differently by everyone you ask; guess it depends upon your prospective and your experience over the years. The first 30' boat I had, many years ago, I thought of as big, I was the master of the sea in my mind but the I got to crew on a 110' so go figure...:confused: I think of the C14 as "really small" but then again that is simply my prospective. I think of all "ships" as really large. So, that is how I came up with my statement.:rolleyes: As I recall the Coast Guard considers any sailing vessel 26' or larger as a yacht while ships are categorized more on their weight or displacement but again, I could be wrong. I do recall (years ago) that specific question appearing on the captains exam - I probably answered it wrong...:(
 

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