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Jib Downhaul - to Douse the Jib.

NOTE - Using a stainless ring around the forestay to pull a jib down as originally suggested in this Tech Tip should be discontinued.  The ring has too much friction against the forestay making it difficult to pull a jib down when it is loaded with wind.  Pulling the head of the jib down requires about half the effort.  

The earliest form of dousing a jib is to use a downhaul line.  This technique was used on a clipper ship jib to eliminate a trip out on the bow sprit.  Too many valuable men were lost.  It's an excellent safety feature that can be done from the safety of an SJ23 cockpit when sailing single-handed or in rough weather.  The downhaul line should be clipped to the head of the jib so it can pull the sail down to the deck.

CONSTRUCTION - I've seen several designs and each worked well for the boat they were on.  What follows is probably the simplest for an SJ23.  The beauty of this system is with the line clipped on the pulpit, it is ready to connect to a  jib.  You just have to remember to transfer the line before you hoist the jib!

1. Install a 1" diameter swivel block at the bow, just aft or forward of the forestay.  A swivel block is self-aligning to guarantee a fair lead with the least resistance.  Panache's block is attached to the anchor roller, forward of the forestay, to stay clear of the tack pendant.
   - This is one of those applications where it is best to use a ball bearing block.  You want the lowest possible internal resistance because the wind strain on a flogging jib can be high even if you release the sheet.
2. Use a length of soft 3/16" nylon line with a quick release snap shackle tied on the end of the line.  Soft line protects the sail cloth.  There are pros and cons of what to snap the shackle to; 
   - If you snap to the halyard then the halyard will always be easy to retrieve should it break free.
   - If you snap to the head of the jib it is a very strong attachment point in a real blow and you can still douse the jib if the halyard should break free.
   - If you snap to a piston hank it may not be strong enough in a real blow.
3. Feed the free end of the downhaul line through the swivel block and direct it back to the cockpit, outside the pulpit and stanchions, on the same side as your jib halyards.
   - If all jib control lines are located on the same side of the cockpit you can stand in one place to control a sail without having to ask a crew to move. Follow this rule for your mainsail control lines as well.  Great for looking cool on the boat! 
4. Back in the cockpit, tie the free end of the line to the toe rail to keep it secure. You want to be able to find it in the dark. Don't leave too much slack because it simply clutters up an already restricted busy area. 
   - If you tie the line to the back end of the toe rail it runs along the full length of the cockpit and a crew can find it regardless of where they are in the cockpit.

HOIST THE JIB - Hank the jib to the forestay and clip the down haul line to the head of the jib.  Hoist the jib to full height and watch out for snarls of the downhaul line.  If you let the down haul line slip through your hand as you hoist the jib it will prevent a snag!  With the jib hoisted, the downhaul line should be slightly loose.  If the line interferes with the luff tell-tales, guide it through the hank that is forward of each telltale.  If you want to make this job easy on yourself, mark those piston hanks with a felt pen so you don't have to figure out which hank to include.  If you have self tailing winches, hoisting the jib and preventing a snarl is much easier.

STORE THE JIB - Now that you've doused the jib on the deck and reduced the boat drive you still have the problem of a jib covering the foredeck.  Stepping on Dacron cloth can be very slippery, dry or wet, and a quick trip to Davy Jones's proverbial locker, not to mention damaging the sail.  On a heaving deck you need all the secure footing you can get.  So to quickly clear the deck and keep the jib in place, snap a bungee cord around it to the lifeline or toe rail. The deck is now clear for you to do whatever.  Still looking cool.

In the photo at right, the life line "netting" is made of 3/16" nylon tied between the deck and the lifelines using a reef knot.  They prevent a sail or maybe a dog from going overboard.  Tasha, our American Eskimo, made many trips to the bow after I installed the netting.  She sensed the safety of it and I worried less about her.  The orange lines are the 3/16" bungee cord that secure the jib against the lifeline.  No, it can't hold a dog there!  The bungee cord is tied to the toe rail and the two vinyl hooks are clipped to the life line for easy location. The use of a vinyl hook ensures it is rust free which helps to protect the sail.  These hooks are available at a camping goods store or chandlery.  The bungee cords need not be tight, snug is sufficient.  The sail shown above is the standard 110% jib. 

ANCHORING CONSIDERATIONS - The foredeck of an SJ23 is a pretty tight space and a hanked on jib lying there will block access to the mooring cleats.  Therefore I suggest you snap a loose bungee cord around the forward end of the jib and the top of the pulpit to keep the jib up off the deck.

ROLLER FURLING - If you don't want to go to the foredeck then the alternative is to install roller furling.  The beauty of this system is in the little effort required and short time it takes to douse the jib.  Talk about looking cool.  You don't even have to jump in the water to clean your sweaty body afterwards!  A rolled up jib is probably the best method of storing expensive cloth, as long as the UV protection is rolled up to the outside of the coil.  See Tech Tip F10.

There are several considerations with roller furling:

1. Cost (2015) - About $1000.00 US for the hardware and modifying the luff of your sails to slide inside the extrusion. 

2. Reliability - Many furling systems used to have an "annoying" habit of failing just when the wind really pipes up.  To be fair this is more of a problem with the user waiting too late to furl.  For example I once crewed on a boat and the drum literally exploded from the recoil forces of the snapped furling line, all due to the fact that the skipper left furling too late.  We had a real problem lowering the flogging jib that was not attached to anything.  Not a good situation in a storm.  For this reason I suggest you buy a metal drum, not plastic, as many pocket cruiser furling systems are NOT meant to operate under an extreme load.  Of course it should go without saying that the jib should be reefed or furled BEFORE the heavy winds hit!

Having said all this, the speed and convenience of a good furling system is very nice, especially when single handing the boat.  Do not confuse the roller reefing system with the roller storing system.  There are more of the latter systems around. 
 

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