Hello all. After much thought, and some sailing, i decided to replace the camber spar headsail on my new/old 45. What convinced me was an event undersail when a shackle broke and i almost got knocked overboard by the flailing camber spar, which also hit the mast a number of times and left some marks: thankfully, no damage. Between that and the fact that you cannot shorten this sail in a blow it outweighs the benefits of self tacking, in my humble opinion. Plus a hank on headsail is a “p.i.t.a” to drop and deploy, and I sail single. So, ill be putting a fractional roller on the boat, and welcome any opinion on the size of the sail, plus whatever else you feel like contributing.Thanks!
Replacing the sail should not exclude self tacking there are many options available, do not underestimate the ease of self tacking .
however I would have thought that once the wind blows enough to require reefing in the jib it will probably require a storm jib
I would also imagine there would be 2 reefs already in the main before needing to reef the little headsail
Its little but its mighty. I went from St Kitts to St Maarten on a broad reach on jib only in 18-20 knots and the F45 was doing 5 plus, approaching 6 knots all the way.
I sail single too. I understand what you’re saying, but give it some more thought before you replace it. I find it fairly easy to douse - the previous owner had a line that ran up to the head and back to the cockpit to be able to pull the sail down, but I removed it - it’s not too hard to get down, and I like being able to go wing-wing easily. I keep the jib up in up to 25+ knots because the boat really needs something up there to keep sailing. I’ve had it up in 35+ and haven’t really regretted it.
If you do decide to replace it, remember that you’ll need to do something different with your forestay, and you’ll need to be careful about loading. And you’ll lose some DDW performance. Keep us posted about how your project goes.
Mine came with a self tacking jib on a roller and the original headsail (in great shape) in a sail bag. I used to adjust the tack to run through a stanchion base to improve upwind in light air just to see what would happen if I had it properly trimmed. This did improve airflow visually but only like a 1/4 or 1/2 a knot of more speed so I rarely do it and I will disengage it as soon as the wind picks up past 8 or 10 so as to not pull the stanchion out of the deck. I just bought a new jib and the sailmaker lowered the clew to get me more sail area and I widened the tack bases outboard on the cabin roof to get a better angle and it is good enough for me.
I reef the jib as soon as, or even before I reef the main (unless I need to point) to reduce stress on the forestay/halyard in anything over 20-25. I once (when the boat was new to me) sailed DDW with only the jib up and made 6-7 all day long in 18-22 to get her to a new home on the Chesapeake. The jib flopping around in high gusty winds seeming trying to jerk itself out of my ($50k?) mast is more than I care to see so I quickly learned that the main way out is better for DDW and keep the jib rolled up now in such situations. Really I just don’t go DDW very much.
I still have what I believe to be the original jib with the camber spar pocket and some hardware that appears to be how it attached to the forestay, but I don’t have the camber spar or the boom. I’m sure the spar would not be hard to make. I plan to stay with the roller (I now have 2) though so if anyone wants the original, let me know.
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If anyone has a either a 40/40 or 45 camber spar that is not needed/wanted, we are interested in purchasing it…thanks, Tom
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I can confirm that I have both the camber spar and the boom that you mentioned. They are available.
Since you plan to stick with your roller furling system, having these original components might still be valuable for you, perhaps for historical reference or in case you ever decide to revert or sell the original jib to someone who wants the complete setup.
Since you already have the original jib sail and hardware, having the spar and boom means you would have the complete system.
$1,350 if you are buying or still want to negotiate price text ericpbash375@gmail.com
