With crew, I've been up on the foredeck when a sane person wouldn't be --
it can be a kind of terrifying fun, like a berserk amusement park ride --
but alone, I just can't take the chance, even with a harness. There are
times when I absolutely do _not_ want to go to the foredeck. This is true
almost exclusively because I am often all alone, sailing far from anything,
land included.
Furlers can fail with the headsail exposed, a massive bummer if a super
squall is upon you. My simple downhaul can only fail if the line breaks, an
extremely unlikely occurrence -- and one which can in any case be overcome
oh-so-quickly by popping the top 1/3 of my body out the front hatch and
clawing down the sail.
For me, it's a no-brainer. I can't take the chance of using a furler, even
if they _can_ reef efficiently (which I'm gonna have to see, as that goes
against everything I've yet experienced, although admittedly that
experience is with bigger sails on bigger boats).
Different strokes and all that.
Regards,
Bill Combs
WWP 19 #439 (Aug 1987)
"Ursa Minor"
Fort Walton Beach FL
ttursine@earthlink.net