MacGregorSailors.com

Before last years Hurricane hit near Oriental the dockmaster recommended dropping the Furling Genoa. As I did not know at the time how to "drop the Genoa" I instead elected the alternative which was to wrap the sheets around and around the genoa and then tie everyyhing off and in addition I bungeed everything.

Another alternative would have been to take the Mac 26X out of the slip but there is no ramp at the slip and the Dockmaster did not recommend motoring across the Neuse to the Public Ramp at that time as the wind was already picking up and the Neuse River was getting lively. In all honesty I was not up to this challenge either.

Anyway the boat made it thru the storm and the Genoa did not unfurl.

The dockmaster recommends wrapping a large portion of the sheet around the sail when the boat is to be left for any length of time. And I feel tieing off the sheets near the genoa is also a good idea as the furl line could break allowing the Genoa to spin in either direction unfurling the Genoa.

About a month ago I learned why the dockmaster was so concerned. During a previous blow the owner of the Marinas 24 foot Sailboat had the Genoa unfurl. The winds than pushed at the Genoa and drove the sailboat up and over the sea wall.

The next day they found the boat in this position. They thought no major damage had resulted but several weeks later they took the boat out of the water and an old timer at the boat yard pointed out to them that the rudder just didn't look right. On close inspection they found that the wind damage had compromised the rudder to the point where friction was the only thinking keeping the rudder from completly falling off.

-DOn B

I hoist a furler sock. After describing my usage pattern to the sailmaker, he suggested the sock. It means less weight when flying the Genny, better protection in dry storage, better protection when trailering, and of course, safety measure for exactly the problems described here.

If you get the right sock design, it adds only 2 minutes to the launch sequence. Mine has a single, full-length, heavy-duty zipper. Dropping it is a simple matter of pulling it down while holding the zipper stationary. Then we fold in half lengthwise and roll like a sleeping bag.

To hoist the sock after first wrap the Genny sheets 2 or 3 extra revs, just attach the sock to the jib halyard and hoist, while holding the zipper stationary. The Sock is large enough that the sheets can be zipped up right inside - UV protection.