Sails are checked hoisted, at the pontoon, in Saturday's calm. A fault found there is the base's to fix; found on Sunday off the headland it is your problem. See every sail up, every reef in and every furler turn before you sign.
1 · Sails and inventory
You sign for what you were shown
Should I see the sails hoisted before signing for a charter yacht?
Yes: ask for the main hoisted and the genoa unrolled while it is calm. If it blows too hard, have the sail rolled out a metre and back, and write not fully seen on the form.
'Sails: OK, checked yesterday' is not a check. Ask for the main hoisted and the genoa unrolled while it is calm. If it blows too hard, have the sail rolled out a metre and back, and write 'not fully seen' on the form.
What you find
What you ask for
Chafed clew, torn leech, UV strip hanging
The base's repair before you leave
An old, stretched sail
Its state on the form; reef it early
A sail listed but not aboard; a wrong sail number
The list corrected before you sign
A gennaker on the list
Hoisted in its sock once; tack line and halyard found
The inventory you sign is what you hand back: a storm jib that was never aboard is charged as missing. A gennaker is normally outside the waiver and needs the base's written consent, so a torn one is paid in full. Report damage the day it happens: hiding it costs more than the repair.
2 · Mainsail and halyards
Up, down, and what can snag
How do I check the mainsail on a charter boat at the pontoon?
With the main up, look at every batten pocket, every luff slide and the whole leech, then let the halyard go: the sail must drop on its own, or you cannot get it down fast in a squall.
With the main up, look at every batten pocket, every luff slide and the whole leech. Missing battens let the leech flog; a cracked slide jams the hoist; a tear grows, so the sailmaker mends it before you leave, like worn spreader patches. Then let the halyard go: the sail must drop on its own, or you cannot get it down fast in a squall.
Halyards
What to know
Tape mark at the clutch
Full hoist: stop there, or the headboard jams in the sheave
Shackle
One that can open drops the sail and sends the halyard aloft
Masthead, by binoculars
Crossed halyards are cleared from aloft, by the base
Electric winch
Short pushes, eyes on the sail, stop at any snag
Hoist head to wind at slow ahead, eyes aloft. If the hoist stops, a batten end is under a lazyjack: ease, clear it, go on by hand. Without lazyjacks someone flakes the sail at the mast as it drops. See a catamaran's square-top main hoisted and bagged once.
3 · Genoa furler
It must roll in by hand
What should I do if the genoa furler jams?
Never winch it: ease the sheet, try again by hand and call the base. If the furling line goes solid, look up, because the halyard may be wrapped round the forestay above the swivel.
In light wind a furler turns by hand; one that needs a winch at the pontoon will not furl at 25 knots. The line runs fair through its lead blocks, and the sail is rolled with its UV strip outside. If the line goes solid, look up: the halyard may be wrapped round the forestay above the swivel. Never winch a jammed furler. Scallops along the luff ask for more halyard, just until they go.
At sea
What you do
Furling in a breeze
Bear away so the main blankets it, keep a little sheet tension, haul by hand
The furler jams
Ease the sheet, try again by hand, call the base; cut nothing
Genoa half rolled
Move the sheet cars forward, or the leech flogs
Sheets show no bare core and reach their winches; each car is pinned in its track. A self-tacking jib still has one sheet, one car and two end stops to check.
4 · In-mast furling
A tight roll and the boom at its mark
How do I furl an in-mast mainsail without it jamming?
Set the boom to the base's mark, keep a little outhaul tension and take the furling line in steadily. If it bunches in the slot, stop, unroll a turn and furl again by hand: under power a bunch only tightens.
The main rolls up inside the mast through a narrow slot, where a loose roll bunches and jams. To unfurl, haul the outhaul on the winch while easing the furling line under slight tension. To furl, set the boom to the base's mark, keep a little outhaul tension and take the furling line in steadily. Never winch against a closed clutch.
Rule
A bunch in the slot only tightens under power. Stop, unroll a turn, boom to its mark, furl again by hand.
5 · Reefing and wind limits
Put the reef in at the pontoon first
Should I practise reefing before leaving the charter base?
Yes: put reef 1 in at the pontoon and try reef 2, to see which line does what, that it runs free and is long enough. A torn cringle or a short reef line is put right before you leave.
Put reef 1 in at the pontoon and try reef 2: you see which line does what, that it runs free and is long enough. Horns at the gooseneck mean a two-line system: someone goes to the mast, clipped on, to hook the luff cringle, then the clew line is hauled from the cockpit. A torn cringle or a short reef line is no reef: it is put right before you leave.
Reefing wind speeds and a maximum wind force in the contract or the briefing are terms, not advice: sailing above them can void the insurance. The limit is read against the forecast, so you move the passage: leave before the wind arrives and tell the base. When a reef is forecast, put it in at the hoist, in flat water.
Remember
Shaking a reef out is easy. Taking one in late is not.
6 · Boom gear
What controls the boom and what tames it
How should a boom preventer be rigged on a charter yacht?
A preventer runs from the boom end to the bow and back to a cockpit winch, so it can be eased. A boom brake only slows a gybe by friction; it does not stop one.
All 50 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.
