[Rhodes22-list] Storm sails reference by Bob - more on solents

[Robert Skinner]

ed kroposki wrote:
> Bob:
> Thank you for the article reference...
> Have you tried the system that attaches a storm sail around the
> furrowed Genoa?  Is that an acceptable alternative?

Yes, in the sense that almost anything is better 
than the poorly shaped high center of effort that 
results from a partly furled genoa.

However, the solent, or temporary inner stay, 
with hank-on storm jib offers two advantages:

1.  It moves the jib's center of effort aft, 
better balancing the partly furled IMF main.

2.  It offers a cleaner leading edge to the wind, 
reducing turbulence and improving efficiency.

A solent is normally not deployed, but rather 
disconnected and brought aft against the mast.  
This lets genoa handling proceed as normal, 
without interference, during non-storm conditions.

When the wind pipes up, the genoa is furled 
completely, as tight as possible, and the solent 
stay is connected to a plate in the foredeck a 
few inches to a foot aft of the genoa/bow stay.

The underside of the solent plate is often 
connected inside the bow deck to the stem, 
sometimes via a rod to the bolt securing the bow 
eye.  Thus the considerable stresses that can 
occur during a storm are transmitted to the 
keel, not to the deck.

A last note - the practice of flying a partially 
furled genoa as a storm jib, aside from center 
of effort issues, can result in furler foil, reel, 
or control line failures.  These are difficult to 
recover from under storm conditions, and can 
result in a run-away lee helm.

The solent is so easy to install and manage that I
am surprised that it is not more common.  It 
provides many of the advantages of a cutter rig
with few of the problems.

/Robert Skinner