Both the ATN Gail Sail (above, left) and the Storm-Bag from Banner Bay (above, right) are designed to deploy over a furled . We recommend working with a rigger and sailmaker to design a proper hank-on storm and stay. ATN Gale Sail vs. Storm-Bag Neither option deserves to be designated a “storm sail,” in our opinion. he advent of roller furling and its Practical Sailor recently evaluated loft in Norfolk, Va. We did not get the Trise to “must have” sailing gear two products that claim to restore the chance to deploy these sails in heavy status over the last few decades has missing storm jib capability on vessels weather, but if given the opportunity, inadvertently generated a new area of with roller-furling headsails, the ATN we hope to this sailing season. concern, one that our hank-on head- Gale Sail and the Storm-Bag from Ban- Before we delve into these products sail seafaring forefathers would find ner Bay Marine. Each is advertised as an though, a quick summary of Practical almost laughable: the inability to bend ideal solution for roller-furling equipped Sailor’s two preferred storm jib options on a storm jib when the need arises. vessels lacking an inner , allow- is in order. These alternatives are com- Unless your boat is rigged, ing sailors to hoist a storm jib without pared to the reviewed products in a or rigged with a solent stay or in- the need to remove the genoa. table on the facing page. ner forestay to accommodate heavy- Both the Gale Sail and Storm-Bag • Storm jib on a stay: This weather headsails (including a storm address the roller furling-storm jib sail sets on an inner forestay that runs jib), the usual option in heavy weather issue, but they do it with distinctly parallel to the headstay, usually attach- is a deeply furled genoa. While roller different designs. Our evaluation ing at the top spreader and well aft of the furling eases the burden of the modern compared not only basics (cost and headstay. It can be removable and al- sailor most of the time, it is a weak ally quality of construction), but also ease most always requires running backstays in strong winds, particularly when try- of use and other pros and cons associ- to support the mast. Retrofitting can be ing to sail above a broad reach. When ated with each design. For additional expensive and require significant deck the wind pipes up, you want a dedicat- comments from a sailmaker’s perspec- reinforcement. ed headsail that holds its shape, places tive, we turned to David W. Baxter, • Storm jib on solent stay: This sail the center of effort where you need it, owner of Baxter Sailmakers (www. sets on a stay that leads from the mast- and minimizes heeling forces. baxtersailmakers.com), a well-respected head (or near it) to a fitting aft of the

28 june 2009 www.practical-sailor.com s a i l s

VALUE guide Storm jib Options Manufacturer ATN Gale Sail Storm-bag STorm Jib/solent stay $ storm jib/inner forestay Ease of installation Good Good Fair Fair Ease of hoisting Fair Good Good Good ngs i

t Ease of dousing Fair Poor Good Good

Ra Construction Quality Good Good Varies Varies Suitability for Storm Use Fair Poor Good Excellent Comments on rig Requires temporary solent stay; Requires inner forestay, running backstays; modifications Uses existing rig Uses existing rig stay can inhibit tacking of genoa generally a more expensive option Price*/ $740 / $1,100/ Source bannerbaymarine.com atninc.com $1,500 - $3,000 $1,500-$3,000 Best Choice $ Budget Buy *Approximately 60 square feet, for 36-foot test boat headstay. Because it does not require furled genoa, down to the deck, and se- it helps prevent accidental unfurling of running backstays, it can be cheaper cures them. Next, the tack is secured, the genoa. (Sailors who already own a than adding an inner forestay, but it and the Gale Sail is hanked on over storm jib can have their sail retrofitted still requires significant modification. the furled genoa, forming a sleeve. The to fit over their furled genoaby ATN for The slot is usually too small for the stay sheets are then attached, and the sail is $22 per foot of luff length.) to remain in place during tacking ma- hoisted using a spare jib or spinnaker ATN maintains that as the Gale Sail neuvers. Some boats can make use of halyard. is hoisted over the stiff roller-furled sail extra halyard fittings and hardware to Users will want to practice hoisting and foils, it maintains a good aerody- accommodate a removable solent stay, the Gale Sail in calm conditions to get namic shape, one that is better than that further reducing costs. familiar with the setup and find the of a conventional storm jib hanked on Ideally, either of these arrangements best way to route the sheets. Since the to a removable headstay. While the Gale should be carried out with input from roller-furling sail’s sheets will be used Sail sets better than a partially furled the boat’s designer and/or manufactur- to secure the genoa, the Gale Sail will jib, a well-designed storm jib and stay er, a qualified rigger, and a sailmaker, require dedicated sheets. arrangement will offer better perfor- who will be able to provide valuable For either sail, you will probably have mance, in our view. information on gear selection and in- to unreave the genoa sheets from the Dousing, removing, and stowing the stallation details. This is a project where lead cars to accommodate the storm Gale Sail is straightforward, similar to cutting corners can have serious con- jib’s sheets. Another option would be a conventional storm jib. sequences. to have double-sheave cars or install Bottom line: The Gale Sail is well- In the view of Practical Sailor, either a second set of cars well forward on made and for a sailor looking for this one of these retrofits is a much better op- the track. type of product, it is a better option tion than the products reviewed here. Hanking the Gale Sail on to the jib than the Storm-Bag. At $740, the 60- is simple as both the pistons and their square-foot sail recommended for our The Gale Sail matching grommets are clearly labeled. 36-foot full-keeled test boat (a Union ATN’s Gale Sail has been available for However, testers found working the pis- 36) is approximately $350 less than a well over a decade, and we first recom- ton hanks into position to be tough, due comparably sized Storm-Bag, although mended it in July 1997, saying it would be primarily to the stiffness of thenew sail the Storm-Bag comes with sheets. “well used in tradewind conditions,” but and restricted articulation of the hanks. we remained unconvinced it eliminates Because the crew will be working with a THE STORM-BAG the need for a conventional storm jib and flogging sail at the bow of the boat, ex- Available from New Jersey-based Banner inner forestay. Construction for the sail posed to wind and waves, this sail is best Bay Marine, the Storm-Bag is a “double- we tested this time, 60 square feet of 8- set before conditions get too rough. sided” storm jib compactly stowed in ounce Dacron, was good and included The Gale Sail hoists easily in calm a custom bag that fits around a furled features such as oversized piston hanks, weather, but we see a number of prob- jib like a saddle. The sail (offered in in- webbed grommets, and a high-visibility lems that could arise while hoisting in ternational orange) is deployed directly luff pouch. The sail was initially offered an actual storm. One possible problem from the bag; simply snap the provided in orange, but it is currently only avail- noted by our testers is that the sleeve tack line to the roller-furler drum (or able in white with a red sleeve. could be a tight fit in some cases, such as suitable deck strong point), attach a hal- The Gale Sail comes packed in a tra- on a more loosely furled jib or a stiff sail yard, then snap on the included sheets, ditional sail bag. To deploy, the user that may not roll up as tightly. On the and route them to the cockpit. wraps the genoa sheets around the other hand, once the sleeve is in place, The sail remains secure in its bag until practical sailor june 2009 29 S a i l s S torm j i b d e t a i l s

1 hoisted, a feature our testers liked. This ecause the Gale Sail and the Storm-Bag are meant meant no wrestling with the sail dur- Bto be deployed in high winds, testers carefully ing preparation for deployment. Once looked at construction quality, particularly details at back in the cockpit, the user pulls on the the corners, seams, and hanks. Overall, the Gale Sail leeward sheet to release the sail from its scored higher in terms of construction quality. bag, and then hauls up the halyard to 1. The Storm-Bag folds in place prior to hoisting, but raise the sail. like the Gale Sail, it requires that tension be released Testers found construction of the from roller-furling sheets. The Storm Bag’s supplied Storm-Bag to be good. The model test- sheets attach at the “clews” with a snap shackle (inset), ed (#SB06, for boats 27 to 35 feet) is 65 not something we’d recommend for a storm jib. square feet and constructed of double layers of 6-ounce Dacron sailcloth. 2. Webbing-reinforced grommets and bronze hanks The Storm-Bag is advertised as having secure the Gale Sail around the genoa. This helps to many advantages over a conventional contain the furled sail, but makes it slower to hoist storm jib: compact stowage, easier de- than a storm jib hanked on a stay. A quick hoist is es- ployment, and reduced likelihood of the sential to prevent flogging in a storm. genoa unfurling in high winds (although 3. The Gale Sail’s clew is well protected not to the degree provided by the Gale from chafe and reinforced with webbing. Sail sleeve arrangement). The stowed sail The clew-ring is rugged but heavy, not is compact, but the other stated advan- something you want flogging about near tages are offset by potential problems, in crew. Some makers of storm sails are opting our opinion. for high-modulus fiber strops here instead. Because it folds loosely over the furled genoa, the Storm-Bag will easily fit, no 2 3 matter how bulky the genoa is. The maker says it can also be deployed over a forestay foil, but only as a temporary get-me-home solution. A downside to this “fold-over” design is that you’re dealing with twice as much sailcloth as you really need. This could make it more difficult to manage in a storm, since you’ll have potentially 130 square feet of material flogging around. The Storm-Bag is easy to deploy heading into the wind, but it could be a handful should the wind whip between the fold sail is to stuff it into a sail bag, take it name “storm sail” in our opinion. An and start the two halves flogging. ashore at the next landfall, and origami- offshore sailor’s money is better spent While the quality of construction fold it back into the storage bag. in developing a proper storm jib set- was good, our testers raised several is- Bottom line: At $1,100, the up, one that employs either an inner sues with the Storm-Bag. For one, PS is 65-square-foot sail presents too many forestay or a solent stay and allows for a not a big fan of utilizing snap shackles potential issues, in our opinion, to rec- hank-on heavy-weather jib, and for se- on a heavy-weather sail, and the storm ommend it for heavy-weather use. The vere conditions, a dedicated storm jib. bag uses one to attach the sheets. Crew maker is looking at improving some of With luck, you’ll never find yourself in members will want to stay well clear of the design elements. a situation that requires such a sail, but this shackle when hoisting or dousing. if you do, you will want one that is up Testers also didn’t like the thin, 1-inch- Conclusion to the task. wide Velcro used to close the ends of the If a storm jib for offshore sailing is launching bag. (The maker has tried a what you want, neither of these prod- wider strip, but it caused the bag to tear.) ucts is an ideal option, in our opinion. Contacts Also, once the sail is deployed, the bag re- The Gale Sail is better than nothing in Gale Sail, 800/874-3671, mains attached at the bottom, and would conditions where a furled genoa may www.atninc.com likely be flapping in the wind. fall short—deep reaching or running Another issue is that the Storm-Bag in reinforced trades, or heaving to in storm-BAg, 201/452-2834, www.bannerbaymarine.com is hard to properly repack after use. It reinforced trades are two examples that seems that the best way to repack the come to mind—but neither merits the

30 june 2009 www.practical-sailor.com