Santana 22 Jib Downhaul
We just had our class association meeting this weekend past. The season looks very promising as we had a bunch of new skippers there. Glad to see a surge in the interest of what is a great little boat. One of the things that seems to keep coming up of late has been questions concerning getting the jib down single handed. I thought I would post my method for getting the jib down and it works well for me in all conditions.
I have a block mounted on the deck aft of the jib tack by about 4 or 5 inches. From the cockpit, usually on the starboard side (though it doesn't really matter) I run a line forward along the gunnels through a block on the stock track ( I don't use these as my winched are now on the cabin top). Then it goes inboard of the pulpit to the block on the bow which routes it up the forestay to the head of the jib. I tie the line using a bowline around the top jib hank. Every four or six hanks, I put a small carabiner like clip that just keeps the line running along the stay. These take little or no force, but should be corrosion resistent.
When heading out, I keep the jib downhaul line secured around a small cleat outside of the cockpit boards. This keeps the jib on the deck ( along with having it sheeted in ). When I want to raise the sail, I release the downhaul line, checking that it will feed cleanly ( I always skein my lines instead of coiling) and hoist the jib. After the sail is up, I secure the downhaul line to its cleat again so I don't end up with a line flopping around up along the forestay.
When dropping the jib, I use the stock winches to pull in the downhaul after releasing the jib halyard. With the jib sheeted in tight the whole thing will come down onto the deck and shouldn't fall in the water. I have noted with my forestay setup, that the sail doesn't come flat onto the deck because of the turnbuckle and stay configuration. Still it gets the sail down quickly and without much mess. It certainly isn't a furler, but it doesn't cost what one does either.
So, if you're reading this, you must evaluate whether you can apply this method to your own circumstances safely. I am just relating what works for me and assume no responsibility for others applying it on their own. Duh.
I have a block mounted on the deck aft of the jib tack by about 4 or 5 inches. From the cockpit, usually on the starboard side (though it doesn't really matter) I run a line forward along the gunnels through a block on the stock track ( I don't use these as my winched are now on the cabin top). Then it goes inboard of the pulpit to the block on the bow which routes it up the forestay to the head of the jib. I tie the line using a bowline around the top jib hank. Every four or six hanks, I put a small carabiner like clip that just keeps the line running along the stay. These take little or no force, but should be corrosion resistent.
When heading out, I keep the jib downhaul line secured around a small cleat outside of the cockpit boards. This keeps the jib on the deck ( along with having it sheeted in ). When I want to raise the sail, I release the downhaul line, checking that it will feed cleanly ( I always skein my lines instead of coiling) and hoist the jib. After the sail is up, I secure the downhaul line to its cleat again so I don't end up with a line flopping around up along the forestay.
When dropping the jib, I use the stock winches to pull in the downhaul after releasing the jib halyard. With the jib sheeted in tight the whole thing will come down onto the deck and shouldn't fall in the water. I have noted with my forestay setup, that the sail doesn't come flat onto the deck because of the turnbuckle and stay configuration. Still it gets the sail down quickly and without much mess. It certainly isn't a furler, but it doesn't cost what one does either.
So, if you're reading this, you must evaluate whether you can apply this method to your own circumstances safely. I am just relating what works for me and assume no responsibility for others applying it on their own. Duh.
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| Downhaul line routing |
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