Vision 444 - How to (hopefully never have to) use a Storm Sail

 How to use the Storm Sail on a Vision 444

My fellow Visionary Pierre on Umbono reached out recently wanting to review the steps for deploying the Storm Sail, since he was forecasted to be in less-than ideal sailing conditions in the next day. What better opportunity to write a blog article!

This is going out quickly to support Pierre, but I will come back and add pictures and maybe link a video later.

Preparation

• Keep the Storm Sail and everything you need for it somewhere where it is easy to get.
  We keep ours in the large lazarette under the Cockpit table seating.
• If you think you might need the Storm Sail, you probably should have the jacklines put out too. 
  The system we use to deploy the Storm Sail reduces the time we need to be forward, but wearing a life vest with harness and being clipped into the lazy jacks is the way to go here.
• Our Storm sail is in it's own bag with the following:
• A port sheet attached to the clew with a bowline
• A starboard sheet attached to the clew with a bowline.
• A sail tie, so that we can secure the jib, since we will use the Jib Sheet as the Storm Sail Halyard, preferable tied onto the cinching line for the sail bag, so it is easy to find.
• Each of the above mentioned sheets also contains the following:
• A low friction ring threaded onto the sheet which is spliced onto a custom Soft Shackle for easy attachment to the padeye in the end of the jib track.  The Soft Shackle need to be long enough so that the sheet does not drag against fiberglass/EVA.
• Another low friction ring threaded onto the sheet, which is spliced onto a custom Soft Shackle for easy attachment to the mid-ship pad eye located near the toerail. (If you don't have this padeye, you can just as easily attach to the toe rail). Again, make sure the length is right to prevent chafe.
• A stopper knot (figure 8, etc) at the bitter end of the sheet.
• The Storm sail is stored in the bag, flaked and hanked onto the rigid stay so that it can be easily and quickly deployed.

Overview

Here is a brief description of how the sail is configured:

• The Storm Sail is already hanked onto a rigid stay that has a 3:1 purchase, lock-off block at the foot.
• The stay that is part of the Storm Sail is soft shackled onto the dyneema line attached to the mast, just above the Jib sheet mast entry, and normally attached to the bottom of the mast with a bungee and kept out of the way.
• These two are connected to form a solent stay, on which the Storm Sail is hoisted.
• The Jib Sheet becomes the Storm Sail Halyard.
• The sheets are dedicated for the Storm Sail and are already attached and stowed in the bag (preferably as a Line Sinnet / Daisy Chain as it will not tangle and is very easy to deploy)

Deploying the Storm Sail, Step-by-Step

Here are the steps we follow.  I strongly suggest practicing these and adjusting them as you see fit.  If you need to use your storm sail, you want to make sure it gets up quickly, easily and safely.

1. Be Safe. Employ all safety precautions prudent for the conditions (Life Vest, Harness, Lazy Jacks, etc).
2. Douse the Main and Jib and use the motors and autopilot to hold a heading.
3. Prepare the Storm Sail for Use
1. Slightly loosen the Jib Sheet (6 inches).
2. Turn on the deck lights if dark.
3. Bring the Storm Sail bag to the longeron and secure to the trampoline.
4. Find the Sail Tie in the bag and securely tie the Jib at the Clew so that it cannot unfurl.
   When you are done and sure it can't possibly untie, add another loop and knot.
5. Take the sheets out of the bag and undo the Line Sinnet by pulling from the bitter end.
4. Rig the Sheets:
1. Choose one to be port and attach the "first"(closest to sail) Low Friction Ring Soft Shackle to the Jib Track padeye on the port side.
2. Attach the "second" (closest to stopper knot) Low Friction Ring Soft Shackle to the port side, mid-sheet padeye.
3. Properly wind the sheet onto the port, aft winch, including going into the tailer.  You should have four full wraps, then the tailer and a short length of rope and stopper after.
4. Repeat these steps for the Starboard side.
5. Create the Solent Stay
1. Take the Storm Sail out of the bag and secure the bag. Place the sail with the tack near the Dog Bone loop and the clew on top of the longeron.
2. Make sure that the 3:1 purchase block at the foot of the sail's stay is fully loosened.
3. Free the mast-connected Dyneema stay and attach it to the snap shackle at the head of the Storm Sail's stay. You have created a Solent Stay that has yet to be tensioned or connected.
6. Connect the Storm Sail Halyard
1. Make sure your Jib is securely wrapped with a Sail Tie.
2. Dis-connect the Jib Sheet from the Jib Track Traveler by undoing the Soft Shackle.
   Reattach the Soft Shackle to the Traveler .
3. Remove the Jib Sheet from the block on the clew of the Jib.
   It should come directly from the mast to your hand.
4. Use this soft shackle from the Jib Track Traveler and attach the Jib Sheet to the Head of the Storm Sail.  This is now the Storm Sail Halyard.
5. Just behind the Jib furler is a Dyneema line with a dogbone on one end.  Feed this through the foot of the Storm Sail's stay and then insert the aluminum dogbone fitting into the mating Dyneema loop on the longeron.
7. Tension the Solent Stay
1. Pull on the tensioning line that goes to the 3:1 locking block to tension the Solent Stay. This should be very tight.  Make sure the line is locked off into the V-groove of the block. Coil the extra line and place out of the way.
8. Deploy the Sail.
1. This is best accomplished with two people.
2. One person will be raising the Storm Sail Halyard (labeled Jib Sheet) from the Helm.
3. The other person will make sure that the hanks can easily ride over the snap shackle and do not bind on the way up.
4. The person at the helm should be looking at the Halyard and making sure it is flowing smoothly and that the person forward is able to prevent it from binding on the way up.
5. The Halyard should be tightened enough to remove all creases from the luff of the sail.
   
6. When fully up, the sail and sheets may be flogging, so it is best and safest if the person at the helm uses the leeward aft winch to take in on the sheet enough so that it is not flogging and the person forward can safely walk aft.
7. Stow the Storm Sail bag where it will not flog or blow away.
9. Trimming, tacking and Gybing
1. Trimming, tacking and gybing the Storm Sail is very similar to how this is performed for the Jib, albeit with two sheets.
2. Remember, comfort is also a part of safety, so if you bear away from close-hauled, you will likely have a more comfortable (and therefore safer) sail.

Dousing and Stowing the Storm Sail

Follow these steps to stow the sail for quick use next time:

1. Be Safe. Employ all safety precautions prudent for the conditions (Life Vest, Harness, Lazy Jacks, etc).
2. Prepare for dousing
1. Turn on the deck lights if dark.
2. Fully loosen both sheets, however, keep them attached to the aft winches.
3. Bring the Storm Sail Bag forward and attach to the trampoline.
3. Lower the Storm Sail
1. This works best with two people.
2. One person will ease the halyard as the other will be forward, flaking the sail.
3. The halyard can be lowered quickly and will make the work of the person forward easier.
4. The sail should be flaked into widths that will fit easily into the bag.
5. The halyard will need to be very loose to reattach to the Jib.
4. Reattach the Jib Sheet
1. Push the Storm Sail fully down on the Solent Stay.
2. Disconnect the halyard from the Storm Sail, and pull plenty of slack to re-rig the Jib Sheet.
3. The Sheet runs from the Mast, down through the Jib Sheet Traveler Block, entering on the Aft side. It then runs in from the bottom side of the block on the clew of the Jib, then comes from the top of that block to the Jib Track Traveler and is soft-shackled.
   Important Note!: Before you feed the jib sheet through the Jib clew block, rotate the jib until tight against the furling line to make sure you are reattached the jib at the same position on the jib furling line. It is likely you lost 1 wrap when originally disconnecting the Jib Sheet.
4. Un-tie the sail tie from the Jib and then tie it to the Storm Sail Bag cinching line.
5. Tighten the Jib Sheet.
5. Disconnect the Solent Stay
1. Un-tension the solent stay by releasing the tension fully of the tack block on the stay.
2. Disconnect the Storm Sail stay from the Dyneema Mast stay using the snap shackle.
3. Re-stow the Dyneema mast stay, making sure it is not hung up on any other rigging.
   We find that a wrap or two around the lower diamond stay prevents it from noisily slapping against the mast in wind.
4. Disconnect the foot of the Storm Sail stay by undoing the dog-bone connector.
6. Stow the Storm Sail Sheets.
1. Disconnect the four soft-shackled Low Friction Rings and remove the sheets from the aft winches.
2. Slide the soft shackled Low Friction Rings forward to the clew of the Storm Sail.
3. Starting at the Storm Sail, use a Line Sinnet/Daisy Chain to tidy each sheet and place them on the flaked Storm Sail.
4. Place the storm sail back in the bag, make sure the Sail Tie is inside, then cinch the bag closed. Store the Sail Bag somewhere you can get to in the worst conceivable conditions.

Found any typos or errors?  Please let me know with a comment.