Headsail Roller Furlers
Headsail furlers, once a novelty scorned by "real" sailors, are everywhere nowadays. The reasons for their widespread use boil down to two advantages: the...
Plea-Free Tacking
I wonder how many people have given up sailing because of the effort it takes to tack a genoa shorthanded. Aside from hitting hard...
Sailmakers’ Advice and Prices
For this second article, we asked all our interview subjects to price out a suit of sails (mainsail and 150-percent furling headsail) for...
PS Advisor: 10/01/03
Riding Sails Ive read several articles about the benefits of riding sails while atanchor, on a mooring, even during hurricanes.What size is right so...
Market Scan: Sails and Sailmakers
Trying to pin down the technology, trade names, and jargon that define contemporary sailmaking is more than daunting—but it must be done once in...
PS Advisor: 07/15/03
Storm Jib ProvenanceA barely used, but well constructed, Haarstick storm jib was included with our recently purchased Tartan 34. The clew grommet seems undersized-...
High-Tech Rope Shackles
For some time, it has been our view that, as a stand-in for a standard 10-inch steel I-beam 50 feet long and weighing 1,720...
Offshore Log: The Reefing Staysail
One lesson we learned during our circumnavigation was the danger of the dogmatic approach to almost anything, from the choice of a boat to...
Emergency Rigging Cutters
Dismasting is right up there among a sailor's worst nightmares. When a mast comes down at sea, no matter how or why, there's tremendous...
In-Boom Furling: Five Systems
Our last good look at in-boom furling systems was in the August 1, 1998 issue, when we liked both ProFurl and Leisure Furl, giving...