Working on the pointy end

[Captain Smollett]

Secure the downhaul to the jib halyard shackle, and then pass the downhaul between the luff and the forestay, skipping every other hank or so.

Yes.  That's how I do it.  I don't know why I said to actually pass it through the HANKS.   

[Captain Smollett]

There's no reason you couldn't make up a sailbag that either uses twist-locks or zippers around the downed genoa, and allows you to bag it while it is still hanked on.

And, for what it's worth, that one recommended way to do a trysail.  Use a tube bag so the sail can be in the protection of the bag with the slides on mast track.

[AdriftAtSea]

Hadn't thought of using it for a storm trysail, since the mast track is blocked by the boom on my boat.  It would work pretty nicely if you had a separate track that went down to deck level.

[Captain Smollett]

 It would work pretty nicely if you had a separate track that went down to deck level.

That's right - that's the most widely made recommendation, at least as far as I have read.

[Fortis]

That's very odd...I posted an anser to this thread about a week ago with a Paint diagram of how I do my downhaul and stuff and everything (Multi-media presentation, no less!) and it seems to have totally vanaished.

How odd.

Alex

[AdriftAtSea]

alex is losing it.....

[Fortis]

Okay, Mr Drifty, here we try again.



Okay, what is basically going on here is that the blue line represents the dowhaul proper, the green is the headsail halyard. The red thing is a turning block positioned as close to the bottom swage of the headstay as possible. The purple hook is a snap shackle that forms the join between halyard and downhaul and the brown thingy is a CAPTIVE D-SHACKLE THAT PASSES THOUGH THE LOOP OF THE SNAP-SHACKLE AND THEN GOES AROUND THE FORESTAY. This is the critical part of this system, as it prevents sag and keeps the entire thing flowing smoothly and easily. The downhaul/halyard is kept parrelel and in-line with the forestay and there is no need to run the downhaul line through hanks, around hanks or in any other hank-related appendages.
Once the sail is up, just apply a little bit of tension to the downhaul and cleat it off. It is all hassle-free and very effective.

We use 4mm rope for it....I would definately not go above 8mm.


Alex.

 

[AdriftAtSea]

LOL... very nice...but do you weave the blue line around the hanks as BobW suggests?

[Captain Smollett]

LOL... very nice...but do you weave the blue line around the hanks as BobW suggests?

 there is no need to run the downhaul line through hanks, around hanks or in any other hank-related appendages.

 A pre-answered question!! 

Alex, one thing I like about the method you suggest is that you have built in a back--up for the forestay - ALREADY in place. Sure, the line is small, but something's better than nothing, eh?

I should mention that I also use a very small line for my jib downhaul: 3/16" or 4mm.  I think this is a key to keeping it as out of the way as possible along the luff of the jib.

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd think the sail would flake better if it was run around the hanks as BobW suggests.   

[Captain Smollett]

I'd think the sail would flake better if it was run around the hanks as BobW suggests. 

In my experience, the downhaul has nothing to do with flaking the sail as it comes down.  It does not impart any directionality to the luff or body of the sail as it drops - all it does is pull it down.  YMMV.

The reason I "lace" the downhaul between hanks is to keep it from billowing out, becoming tangled or causing chafe, but I've never noticed it flaking the sail for me.

[BobW]

In my experience, the downhaul has nothing to do with flaking the sail as it comes down.  It does not impart any directionality to the luff or body of the sail as it drops - all it does is pull it down.

That's been my experience, too, and that's why I "lace" (good word) the downhaul as well.

[Fortis]

lacinf it just gives more friction to have to pull against when you tug on the downhaul. A little bit of tension (not enough to change the sail shape) is totaly adequate to keeping the line tamed and away from temptations such as tangling and billowing.

The really important part really is the captive D shackle pinning the whole assembly to the forestay.

We run the downhaul back to the cockpit using one of those staunchion mounted blocks designed for headsail furlers, but the small size of the rope used means we could get away with using a dinghy sized one if we wished.



Alex.

[BobW]

In the past, I have rigged my downhaul with a variation of Alex' shackle on the forestay.  I took a 3" length of PVC pipe, cut a slit in it lengthwise, and drilled a hole through the sides on one end.  Slip the pipe over the forestay, run the downhaul through the holes and tie it off.  Hank the jib onto the forestay below the pipe, and lace the downhaul 3 times (to port, to starboard, to port).  The downhaul runs aft on the port side to a cam cleat even with the mast.  The downhaul is tensioned only enough to keep it in place.  To drop the sail, ease the halyard, and take up on the downhaul. 

When I replaced the standing rigging last year, I didn't replace the pipe - no particular reason.  Since then I've rigged the downhaul as described in the earlier post.

[BobW]

Forgot the pic...