hank on sails

[Killick69]

Comments and advice sought about hanked on sails.
I am about to play with my storm jib. May never need it, but good to have it on board.
How do you attach your foresails at the foot. Night Cap has a S hook attached to the anchor roller.
The block that attaches to the tack of the sails has a V 'cleat'. Is there a better arrangement?
Do you have sheets attached to each sail? or do you detach sheets from the sail being used and then attach to the sail to be used next?
How do you fold your foresails (how do you do this on deck)?
Any tips on handling and bending on Storm jibs in particular will be most welcome.
Cheers, John

[Jeremy]

If your sheeting position if wrong, you can put in a strop (SS 7x19 swaged wire is good as a permanent solution) to move to sail up and hence move to sheeting position back.

Oh - and S hooks are useless. Get a decent snap shackle. Last thing you want to be doing is heading up on the fore deck in crappy weather to put the tack back into the damn S hook after if falls out when hoisting the sail.

I personally use the same sheets for 1 2 and 3 head sails. I always tie bowlines to attach the sheets. I have heard of people attaching the sheets whipped ends with shackles to the clew, but they will rattle around and probably break a window or hurt someone. Also leaving ropes on sails will mean that you will have wet ropes wrapped around the sails during storage leaving marks, mould or damaging the fabric.

Storm jibs are generally small with a wire luff meaning that rolling them around the luff is the gentlest way to store them. For larger hanked sails, we flake them as they come down, take off the sheets and then roll the flaked sail up (disconnecting the hanks last). Not as good or as easy on land, but with some practice its nearly as good. You cant do this easily by yourself though.

Jeremy