Hi Brian, It is a good idea and I think many or most on this list have their boats rigged with a jib downhaul. And it's an essential element if you want to control all functions of the boat from the cockpit. One problem that I've encountered with my jib downhaul is that the working jib, which has the twist type nylon headstay clips, often fouls when dropped with the downhaul. My genoa has the brass spring clips and the downhaul operation works very nicely. The system is very simple, a light line going from the jib halyard shackle down to a small block at the stem head, turning the line back to the cockpit. A cleat somewhere at the aft end of the cabin will allow you to keep the line shipshape when the jib is up and keep the halyard tight when the jib is down. If you need to drop the jib in a hurry, it's the only way to go,especially on our small boats, where going forward is not only dangerous, but changes everything about the way the boat sails. Fair Tides, Rick Langer M15 #337 Bluebird
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 11:57:54 -0400 From: Brian Gilbert <hammerguy@mindspring.com> Subject: M_Boats: Poor man's roller furling... does it work? To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Message-ID: <C0C6CDC2.7270%hammerguy@mindspring.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi Everybody: I'm curious about something... has anybody ever used a jib downhaul to control their headsail on their boats? You know, where you tie a light line to the head of the jib abd run it through a small block at the stem of the boat. A pull from the cockpit is supposed to bring the jib down without having to send a crew forward. If you've ever tried it, does it work?
It seems like a good idea, but if it worked, I'd imagine more folks would have their boats rigged that way, and it seems we never hear of anyone actually using a jib downhaul. I'd suppose you'd need halyards led to the cockpit as well.
Just wondering!
Best BG