Self-tending Staysail

I rigged my inner fore stay yesterday but I have not sailed with it yet. I am concerned that my 150 genoa will not tack well through the narrow opening between the head stay and the inner fore stay. Does anyone have any experience tacking with this setup?

Alternatively, my inner fore stay has a quick release on the deck. My plan is to use the staysail in heavier winds instead of the genoa so I may just secure it further aft when not in use. Has anyone found a good way to secure the inner fore stay further back by the mast when not using the staysail?

Thanks in advance.

Bill W
s/v Alembic

Even a 100% yankee won't fit through the slot in front of the stays'l.

When sailing under the outer headsail, we furl and unfurl it during a tack.

When Helm's a-lee, we wait until she starts to luff, cast off the sheet, furl like hell until it's small enough that it will pop through to the other side. Once we're through the wind, we can release the furling line and haul out on the other tack. If we're careful, the furling line has dropped neatly into a pile and doesn't jam. If we're not careful, there's a kink and we have to unjam the furling line to get the yankee out.

We tack our ~125% Genoa the same way as Steve. Occasionally we will jibe without furling but it usually ends up being more hassle than if we just furled it to begin with. Tacking without furling has never worked for us. But we RARELY sail up wind so we don't tack often.

When we installed the stays'l we did not opt for the quick release at the deck. I've seen them where they are secured near the toe rail to one side of the mast. I don't recall if the sail is left hanked on when stowed like that. My concern would be when you need to switch to the staysail is not when you want to be on deck messing with the loose end of a furling unit or the sail.

Scott

Great responses - thanks for the insights.