IP 350 Staysail and in mast furling

I have two issues that I would appreciate feedback on regarding my IP 350-11 CHANCE
1. In light wind (<10 knots) the genoa will usually not clear the staysail furler when tacking. Since we use the staysail rarely, I'm thinking of removing it. Thoughts?

2. We have in mast furling for the main. It regularly fouls near the top of the mast as we are bringing it out, seemingly on a fold which can't get out the slot.We do maintain tension on the outhaul when furling. A partial solution has been to raise the boom a foot or so when furling/unfurling. This reduces but does not eliminate the problem, with pressure on the outhaul causing the fold to pop out eventually. What's up? Is this a mast straightness issue?

thanks

rick peloquin

Hi Rick,

1. My 370 is unique in the IP universe in that it has no staysail. The original owner didn't care for one I guess. It's great not having to get the headsail through the slot. But several days each season I wish I had one because it would be possible to point higher. If this continues to be vexing, I'll install a quick-release headstay for deployment when needed; otherwise clipped to the rail. That's an involved installation for me, but going the other way should be pretty easy for you.

2. I had problems furling and unfurling my main. The problem turned out to be the main itself: it was old and blown-out. It didn't look that bad, but it was too irregular to roll smoothly. I spoke with Travis, I think, at Mack Sails who said he gets 2 - 3 calls per week about this problem. I replaced the main and it has been effortless ever since. It might be worth giving Mack Sails a call.

Hope this helps.
Steve

Hi Steve - very much appreciate your reply. A bit surprised to hear about the fix for #2 and will certainly follow up

Rick...I find that halyard tension is an important variable with our in mast furling. I relax the halyard when finished sailing for the day, and it sets easily at this lighter tension. I typically add halyard tension if going close to the wind, and furling seems less sensitive to the greater tension than unfurling is. Hope this helps...no boat bucks needed for this solution!

We recently purchased IP350 Hull Number 15, now called Inspiration. We experienced the same problem with the in mast roller furling. The two things that helped the most were:
1. The Mainsail was old and blown out. I replaced it with a North Sail Norlam Material with a radial cut.

2. The mast had a camber to it but it needs to be perfectly straight..

Hi Rick, as others noted possibly a new sail is required for your main. That said as you mentioned easing the boom by releasing the vang and tensioning the topping lift when furling should help and is a recommended technique with in mast furlers.

Thanks. It is a rare fix to an issue that doesn't require $$. I'll give it a try

Thanks. Will investigate both

Hello Rick,

Our IP 350-141 experienced the same genoa issue of not clearing the staysail when tacking. We related this issue to an ASA instructor who recommended allowing the genoa to backfill and cross in between the genoa mast and the staysail mast before releasing the genoa line. We found this to work well. We enjoy the staysail and will keep the near 1 knot speed gain when deployed.

Roger

Hi Rick, when we tack, I let the jib backfill just enough to allow the knot (the clew) to be able to clear the staysail. Then I give the sheet a little pop so the knot goes around and continue to pull the sail around. I have found that if I let it backfill too much, I have a harder time getting the sail sheeted in without using the winch.

Also, I have found it to work better to "carve" the turn rather than try to turn too fast. We seem to not bleed off speed this way. We sailed Whimsy on a big lake for 2 years and had to tack and jibe a lot! I do love the staysail and would never take it off.

Chris
s/v Whimsy IP 32

We had a 1997 IP350, hull #7 and sailed her about 12k nm over 5 years. (Island Star I would like to know where she is now) She had a roller main and stay sail / hoyt boom arrangement - all standard. All the advice above is spot on & the roller main is a great system - if not blown out, the mast is straight, and the main sheet/down haul are eased a bit when pulling it out. In fact, it is a terrific and safe system, one person can reef off the wind, even in 40 knots, with a little practice without damaging the sail.

On the values of the stay sail - keep it, it is a thing of beauty when the wind gets above 25 knots.

On Tacking - If you pull the stay sail out before tacking you will find that it is much easier to get the genoa to come thru. This seems counter intuitive, but the stay sail keeps the genoa from wrapping behind the stay and it allows the genoa to slide through on the surface of the stay sail. BTW this seems to work on all cutter rig IPs

For what it is worth.

George
S/V Delicia IP40