This winter there has been a trend with local owners opting for furling sails.
The ease of use with a furling sail has huge benefits in cruising and short-handed situations. The construction process has been developed by North designers to a point where they prove just as efficient for performance sailing, as they do cruising.
In the past, the furling system has been associated mainly with the cruising fleet – however North Sails have developed furling jibs, genoas, and code zeros to be much more efficient for racing. The latest edition of the Volvo race relied heavily on zero’s which has filtered down to our local fleet.
Torsional furling stays and many different furler styles and brands have helped on the hardware front. Now there are both top down and bottom up furling systems on the market, allowing for a large variance of sail type to be furled, for ease of handling. These systems not only help with boat-handling, but also allow top end racers to push the boundaries, as they can now put extra sails up, safe in the knowledge they will be able to get them off when the time comes.
There are many other advantages for the cruising folk by choosing furling sails. One of the most obvious ones is for quick and easy storage. There’s no need to clear space on deck, leaving that area where a pile of sails would normally sit below deck free for the cruising toys. The furling system can also be controlled from the cock-pit – which for safety reasons makes it a much easier and efficient way of setting sail on your own, or two-handed.
As more people look to maximise their sail wardrobes with code zeros, the furling system works the best for ease-of-use, and efficiency in changing sails. Come summer time, it’s the obvious option.
After all, who wants to be packing away a jib when the sun’s going down, the bbq’s fired up, and you’ve just pulled into your favourite bay?
For more insight into furling benefits, watch the North Sails furling code 1 instructional video.
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