Rolling????????????

1

105778

New Member
I am new to sailing and I was wondering if there was a right or wrong way to roll a sail. If you can help me out that would be great
 
Besides avoiding creases, an obvious benefit of rolling your sail is leaving your battens in. With this in mind, you'll want to roll parallel to the seams. I, like a lot of people, like to use a large, lightweight section of PVC (or ABS) pipe to roll the sail onto. Mine is cut about the same length as the foot, and has a small hole drilled in one end with a small piece of cord tied through it. I lay the sail out on the lawn, set the pipe down on top of the foot of the sail and wrap the clew of the sail around and tie a square (or reef) knot securing the clew to the pipe. Then it is very simple for one person to roll up the sail and the pipe also keeps the sail somewhat rigid and makes it easy to store on shelf brackets, or hanging on a wall.
 
If i use a pipe to roll my sail on, how long should the pipe be and what should the diameter be for the pipe.
 
105778 said:
If i use a pipe to roll my sail on, how long should the pipe be and what should the diameter be for the pipe.
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someone else will probably speak to this, but really "about the length of the foot" is right. If a little too long or too short really won't make much difference. I'd say start with it a little long and cut it if you like. 6" drain pipe from the home improvement store works well, but a little smaller or larger will work fine too. You probably don't want something too heavy. They're usually sold in 10' lengths, put your sail on it, mark it, and then cut it down.

As for storing your rolled sail, many of the sail makers and laser parts vendors have bags specifically for this if you want to use one. Shop them. I think they're typically between $20-$35. I ordered from intensity. It keeps sun and dust and dirt off my expensive race sails. I usually have 2 or 3 sails rolled together in one tube and stored hanging from the garage ceiling.
 
Yes, 2" will work just fine.

Sorry, I don't agree with leaving the battens in for long term storage - the elastic used in the pockets is not the greatest quality, and will loose it's elasticity the longer it is kept stretched. For a weekend, no big deal, but if it's going to sit rolled up for more then a week, take the minute to remove them.
 
In the UK, Performance Sailcraft supply their rolled sails on 3" diam pipe, just slightly longer than the foot with shock cord to attach the Cunningham and clew outhaul eyes to the tube.

I "converted" a radial folded sail to be rolled (easier to put away single handed) and used 3" PVC pipe. You can get it (in the UK) in larger builders merchants though it is not common everywhere. The place I found it sold it in 4m lengths. It is a good diam - not too tight a curve for the sail and not too large to carry around (and the correct size of the Laser tubular sailbags).

Ian
 
I've never found a pipe helpful for the actual act of rolling the sail, but is does make the rolled sail self-supporting as mentioned above. I leave my battens in my practice sail (which gets used the most) but not in my race sail. I roll from the head of the sail down the leech - which with the battens in, is the only way that works.
 
So there you are, a bunch of different opinions, approaches and tips, all of them correct and even one apology ;) (good tip on the elastic).
 
I was about to start a thread on the is very subject but found this one with the search function.

I am new to Laser sailing and have a Laser Radial. The sail was folded when I got it but I wanted to roll the sail as it is less damaging and from what I've read you can leave the battens in. I have been rolling my sail around the upper mast section. I start at the foot of the sail and orient the mast section so that it is parallel to the battens. This way I do not need to remove the battens. This places the mast section at an angle to the foot of the sail so I was wondering if this was correct or not?

Also all of the replies I've seen mention using PVC pipe of various diameters. Is there any reason why you folks don't use the upper mast section? It seems like an obvious tool.
 
Well, first you might find it easier to start at the head of the sail and make sure the tube/mast is parallel with the battens before you start to roll too far. This means all the battens will be in line and it wont make much of a difference to the offset of the foot of the sail.

And many people use PVC piping because they keep their top sections in the boat and they may take their rolled sails home in a bag. (Its what I do).
 
Our sails are rolled. I find it much easier to start at the foot and go up. There is a short piece of line in one end of my "piece o' pipe" to make this easy for one person.

I don't use the mast section because my spars are stored differently and outdoors. Having a sail wrapped around it would present new problems. The rolled sails are stored on a shelf in the garage in long sleeves (bags). Adding the weight of the spar isn't convenient, not being able to tie the sail to it would make it harder to roll. If it works for you, then it is correct.

Notice though the caution about not leaving battens in the sail. it will break down the elastic in the pocket over time. I will not dispute the correctness of this, but for what it's worth, I seldom remove my battens. So the recommendation is "do as I say, not as I do."
 
Hi Guys
OK now that make sense to me. I store the boom and mast bottom section on the boat. The upper mast section and sail are suspended in a sling from the garage roof. But wehn I transport I put the boom and lower mast in the car and tie the upper mast/rolled sail to the roof rack. If I roll the sail seperately I would then have to lash two things to the roof.

On the other hand a tailored PVC pipe might allow the use of a bag.

Thanks for getting back. Glad to know I'm not doing something grossly wrong.

I'll try rolling from the head next time and see if that makes any difference. After searching I found a couple of cautions on wearing out the elastic so now I'm puzzling over whether or not I will leave the battens in.

Those of you who store you spars on the boat do you also trailor with the spars on the boat?
 
I always remove the battens before rolling my sails. Only takes a few seconds and life seems a lot easier that way. Plus you do not have to be so exact about alignment for rolling.

Ian
 
I usually fold head to clew then roll around my boom. It is only my practice sail, but it works fine for me. Also i take the boom and sail and slide it into my sail bag which keeps everything clean for the storage tube at the club.
 
If one left the battens in the sail all the time, why not stitch the batten sleeves closed? Do the elastics provide some function other than keeping the battens in their sleeves?
 
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