by Paul Eldrid OneSails Australia
Congratulations on purchasing your new OneSails PFR or FFR. These sails have been designed and built to the highest standards to ensure ease of use and exceptional performance for your cruising yacht. There are some key points that will make the use of your new sail pleasurable, so be sure to peruse this document carefully to ensure you get the most from your new sail.
The Package
You will notice that your new FFR/ PFR is stored in a custom bag with a zip. The long bag makes handling the sail much easier in getting in and out of the companion way and hatches. It also lends itself to the most efficient way of preparing the sail for use and also packing it away.
Upon undoing the ties and unzipping the bag you will see the sail is furled up and ‘snaked’ into the bag. The three corners are defined by the Head Swivel (head), Furling Drum (tack) and the Clew Strop (clew).
We recommend using the shackle on the head swivel when connecting the sail to your halyard instead of using the clip – these sails can be subjected to high loads and the shackle is a safer option.
The tack of your sail is pre loaded to the furling drum and ready to clip directly onto your bow or tack line fitting. The endless furling line is fitted onto the furling drum.
The bungee system at the end of the endless furling line is what keeps the system taught and tangle free. This is important in keeping the sail easy to deploy and furl up. The snatch block can be removed at any time by pushing the metal tab down on the snatch block and flipping the block open.
You will notice the furling line is packed in a ‘daisy chain’ which helps neatly store the length of the system. The daisy chain isn’t a knot – it will simply pull out as it lops onto itself, and is very quick and easy to re-do when packing the sail away.
When the tack (furler) is attached the system is run aft and simply looped onto a stanchion or pad eye to keep in nice and taught.
The clew strop is ready to receive your spinnaker sheets. It is important to use the strop as it allows you to easily disconnect your spinnaker sheets after use when the sail is furled up. The clew velcro will secure the sail when it is furled to prevent the sail from unfurling.
Set Up
Set the sheets up for OUTSIDE gybe. Clip the tack line onto the furler base then pull out onto the bowsprit. Run the endless furling line aft and secure the bungee so the system stays taught. Hoist the sail and with at least 4 turns on the drum give the sail PLENTY of luff tension.
The PFR set up with the luff tight and the endless furling line ready to go Luff tight – perfect setting for reaching and light winds....and necessary for furling and deploying.
Deployment
In winds less than 10 knots you can deploy the sail by pulling the sheet on with the True Wind Angle (TWA) at 90 degrees or less.
In winds over 10 knots it is strongly recommended to deploy at TWA over 90 degrees. In fact the deeper the better as it is better for the sail to be under minimal load when it is deployed.
Keep the luff tight and loaded on a winch!
Sail Trim
When reaching the sail is used like a code zero type sail - keep the luff tension tight for optimum performance.
In tight reaching mode in light winds the mainsail will need to be on or above centreline with the traveller.
When used for deeper running you can ease the halyard down or the tack up and this will allow the luff to “fly” and with the sheet eased you be able to achieve lower angles.
Remember - tighten the halyard before you furl the sail back up!
Luff tight – perfect setting for reaching and light winds... and necessary for furling and deploying.
With the tack (or halyard) eased the sail will ‘fly’ for better running performance.
FFR Furling
This is the single most important thing to get right... a bad furl will make a messy deploy the next time you use the sail. A bad furl can even result in the sail becoming unfurled half way through your next hoist, which ends in total disaster. ALLOW ENOUGH TIME TO GET A REALLY GOOD FURL!
Sail the boat properly – 145 TWA is a good start – deeper if possible. As the furl starts a little tension is kept on the sheet as the sail is furled. This will assure that the leech gets a tight furl and won’t come unravelled on the next hoist.
Remember – sail deep or motor sail to completely unload the sail... you must sail deep 150+ TWA to furl.
You will see when the sail is furled the Velcro at the clew will capture the sail and you can completely release the sheet. When lowering the sail after use, always lower it on the windward side of the jib. This way the furled sail will “fall” neatly down to the deck and will be easy to snake straight into the bag.
If it all goes wrong!
Drop the sail as you would normally drop a spinnaker. You will need to either re-hoist as you would a spinnaker, set the sail and try furling again to get a good furl that can be re-used.
Alternately, leave it for another day – a nice still day at the dock and sort it out on the deck and hoist then furl so it’s ready to go next time.
Spinnaker Gybing
Rig the Spinnaker for outside Gybes (spinnaker sheet goes all the way around the outside of the sprit). As the boat bears away ease the sheet continually so at the boat is dead downwind the clew of the spinnaker forwards of the bowsprit and the lazy sheet is being simultaneously pulled on. This is important as it will prevent the lazy sheet from going under the bow.
Hold the boat deep to allow the new sheet to be taken on and start the rotation of the sail to the new tack. Then bring the bow up slowly while trimming to suit.
The reason for the outside gybe is it is very low risk and so long as the sheet gets well eased before the gybe the sail can never back fill, which is the cause of mid gybe broaching in stronger winds.
N.B. Not all the fittings and accessories depicted in this guide could be part of the standard dotation of the sail.
