Mark designed the sail with the working jib clew at a height that maintained the same sheeting angle as the genoa, so with the bonnet on or off, the jib leads would stay in the same place. It did not take much to convince me and in fact I was surprised by his enthusiasm. He thought it would trap water when sailing offshore and just be kind of difficult.

He thought about it and commented that with a sail that big there would be a lot of sail that had to be contained by the reefing ties. I wanted a hank-on jib with a set of reef points. When I first talked to him I explained that I did not want a roller reefing jib. He also sailed his own engineless 34’ full-keel cutter so he is a bit of a kindred spirit in that way. He was on the sail making crew for Dennis Conner and other 12 Meter teams in the 1980s. He has a lot of experience having worked as a sailmaker for most of his adult life. When it was time to purchase sails for the Far Reach I met with Mark Weinheimer, a local sailmaker that runs the Doyle loft in Oriental, NC. They sang its praise having used it for tens of thousands of sea miles. I have of course read about the zippered bonnet the Pardey’s used on their 9 ton cutter Taleisin. I think square riggers used them along with stuns’ls to increase sail area too. Lots of times you will see them “laced” on to the foot of mainsails and jibs when the wind is light. I first saw them in pictures of gaffers and other traditional craft. But, a zippered bonnet, or reef points, in a headsail, is a time-tested and seaman like solution for those that want an option to a furler.Ī bonnet is essentially an additional section of smaller sail added to a larger sail to make it bigger still. I fully respect the decision to have what you like. So wanting, having, loving a furler is a non issue for me. A hank-on jib, with or without reef points or a bonnet, will never be as convenient as a roller furling jib.

I appreciate most people love their furler and would not want a hank-on sail. But, it’s my only experience with a zippered bonneted jib.

I can talk all day long about what we use on the FR. So, it seemed like a good time to provide more detail to those who might be interested. I was asked about it again the other day on the Cape Dory forum. I have been asked about our bonneted jib a number of times. You might also notice there’s is no cover for the majority of the zipper. You can clearly see the zipper running diagonally down from left to right. At the upper left of the photo you can see the working jib clew cringle and just below it the leather cover that protects the zipper. On the left is the genoa with the zippered bonnet.

Tie headsail clew to roller furling