Lacing eyelets in headsails?

[RushMan 31]

I worked in a sail loft years ago (late '80's) and headsails were made with lacing eyelets in the luff tape.

 

Are these now out of fashion, no longer used?

[PaulR 3]

NO but there are choices. Do you have a picture? diagram?

 

Single eyelets in the luff are for traditional piston hanks to hold the sail onto the forestay.

 

If the eylets are in pairs, then they could be for sewing on the Wichard (one handed, dog clip) type of hank.

 

Some heavy weather and storm jibs are made with additional eyelets so that the sail can be attached to a cloth that fits over a furled headsail and the sail hoisted; or used in a jury rigged situation.

 

Working and Storm Jibs that use luff tapes have the eyelets fitted to meet the YNZ Safety Regs so that if their headsail foil is damaged, or the luff tape is torn off or keeps being pulled out, they can fit hanks or use lashings and then hoist the sails, the extra eyelets are easier to fit at the sail makers before departure.

 

OR do you meen reefing eyelets parallel to the foot across the width of the headsail?

 

Alternatively there are sails that have a special liff tape sewn on that fits into an aluminum foil tube that is fitted over the forestay. Further some boats have a drum to rotate this foil around the forestay and so wind (furl) a sail up around the foil when not required.

 

Some use this furling to reef a sail but a lot of performance is lost as the shape of the sail becomes uncontrollable. Many things have been tried, vertical battens, blow up bladders in the luff to try to control the belly that forms half way up the headsail luff. Often the sails are smaller, flatter and heavier and favoured by cruisers rather than racers.

 

So the "best" system is still being developed, and different people have various systems and choices that they prefer.

[RushMan 31]

Thanks Paul but I was thinking of small eyelets in the back edge of the luff tape about 1m apart.

 

By passing a 2/3mm line through the eyelets it is possible for one person to flake a large headsail if a sail has been dumped down the front hatch. Once flaked the sail can be put into the bag. Can also be useful to get a large headsail under control when packing on the deck.

 

Am I showing my age or is there another reason why new sails do not have them.

[PaulR 3]

Did not think of that trick immediately as the word "small" was knot used in your first post. Hence my comment for a photo

 

Another trick for those eyelets is for a genoa halyard downhaul. In short handed / solo sailing the ability to let the halyard go and haul the head down at the same time keeping the luff in control, AND ALL done from the COCKPIT, is a lot safer and smarter. 3 to 4mm nylon may de a bit light unless you used more expensive stronger stuff e,g, Spectra.

 

We have used a genoa halyard downhaul in last years SIMRAD to very good effect and on a S34, the genoas are very big, but this year the weather was nicer and we did knot bother.

( sounds better than saying we forgot to rigg it)