Removing Sails
Best to do
this on a dry day if possible to avoid putting away wet sails. Mildew stains
are hard to remove completely. If you're going to do it by yourself, it's
really easiest if there is little or no wind.
This is how
I do it, but most of the details aren't very important. Do it once or twice and
it will just seem obvious.
To Remove the
1) I Bring both genoa sheets around to
the port side remove the lower shackle holding the tack of the genoa to the drum.
2) With the
sail still furled, uncoil all the extra genoa halyard
line and drop it down the ladder into the galley. I Lay
it out so that it won't jam when the sail drops.
3) Uncoil
the furling line and lay it out so it won't bunch up and jam also.
4) Release
the genoa halyard cleat (the sail won't drop yet
while it is furled).
5) go up on the side deck and unfurl the sail by pulling one of
the genoa halyards. Keep your foot lightly on the
furling line to keep the furling line winding tightly on the drum.
6) As the genoa gets most of the way unfurled, it will start to drop.
Once it's all the way unfurled, the sail should drop nicely. Just undo the top
shackle and the sail is free.
No real
tricks here, Just don't lose the halyard up the mast,
it's preferable to have the wind (if any) directly on the nose so that the sail
doesn't blow off the boat. Make sure all the lines will run free before you
start.
Genoa- We
prefer to remove the tack shackle after the sail is down just to help make sure
it doesn't start to slip over the side as it comes out of the luff groove.
For the Main Sail
If you have
a furling main, it'll be done almost exactly like the genoa.
If you have
a standard main with dutchman, then it's really easy.
1) To Remove the dutchman lines from the
sail. You'll have to reach up under the port side of the flaked sail, unscrew 4
screws on the pouches
and pull
the dutchman lines out.
Tips:
* Take 4 -
1" pieces of electrical tape and tape over the NUTs
on the plastic disk on each dutchman pouch before you
undo the screws. Then when you unscrew the screws, the nuts won't fall into the
drink.
* With a
black perm. marker, make a small mark on the dutchman lines so you'll know where to tighten down the
clamps on the line when you put the sail back on.
* While the
main still flaked on the boom, locate the top two plastic disks where the dutchman lines first drop through top of the sail. With a black Sharpie marker and write "UP" or
"TOP" on the upper faces of the two Dutchman disks. This will
help you figure out which way to flake the sail and how to start threading the dutchman when you put the sail back on.
2) Remove
the outhaul line from the clew of the sail and tie a big knot in it so that it
can't get sucked into the boom.
3) Untie
the reefing line from the aft end of the main sail and tie it off also so that
it can't go into the boom. Also feed the reefing line from the cockpit up to
the mast and pull it out of the sail.
4) Remove
the Tack shackle from the gooseneck.
5) Remove
the sail gate and remove the sail slugs preferably keeping them all to one
side.
6) Slide
the main off the boom towards the bow.
7) Drop the
topping lift and coil up / ziptie the duchman lines.
If you have
2 or 3 people, you can remove the main from the boom without having the sail unflake.
For the
main sail, I recommend that you fold it perfectly with all of the dutchman disks stacked so that the sail get "properly
trained" how to fold. It makes flaking it much
easier next season
Main - One
of the first steps should be to remove the battens, if your sail has them.
Also, We are among those who leave the dutchman lines in the sail and remove the whole setup with
the sail. We are in the Northeast too but no mouse problems as We leave the sails with a local sailmaker
for cleaning and a once-over for any needed repairs. He stores them free for
the winter. Some sailmakers may insist on removal of
the dutchman lines but mine does not. Taking the
sails in for cleaning is probably the best last step in the removal procedures!