A stay that gets its name from a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of southern England, the Solent. This traditionally windy place with strong currents can cause rough sea conditions and can make for some interesting sailing, to say the least. This body of water is also famous for hosting one of sailing’s largest events known as Cowes Week. These sometimes unrelenting sailing conditions have brought forth the conception of an entire stay, aptly called the Solent Stay.
As most boats these days are equipped with headsail furlers, rigging a Solent stay is a modification that many blue water cruisers are considering, more and more. The Solent stay is an inner fore-stay that provides an alternative to the Sta-sail stay. Its benefits, similar to that of the Sta-sail Stay, are to provide an inner stay that can fly a smaller/ heavier headsail without having to unfurl, douse and change out the boats everyday headsail.
The Solent stay is unique to the Sta-sail in that the stay is rigged close enough to the fore stay at the mast, so as to not require the use of any additional back-stays. It can also eliminate the need for additional sheet leads, depending on the boats current sheet lead configuration and the new Solent Sail size and cut.
Since it is a good idea to move the center of effort inboard as we are trying to reduce sail and ensure control of the boat, it may be advisable to to move the deck attachment in-board, if feasible. The on-deck attachment can be moved as far inboard as a conventional Sta-sail stay. This gives the fore triangle a bit of an undesirable look, as most modern day sailors like to see the fore stays parallel each other. If you can get over the appearance this set-up probably makes the most sense.
Some Solent stays are rigged to be removable and stowed aft (more on stowing removable stays here). Personally, I find this to be a totally acceptable practice. However, as the boat length increases so does the sail size and the associated hardware. Therefore, rigging the Solent stay and sail can become a bit more difficult. With larger boats it might be recommended to install a permanent Solent stay with a furler. When rigging the Solent stay with a furler, it may be advisable to have a smaller sail (maybe 110%) built that will carry you through most sailing conditions, medium to heavy (i.e. 15-30 knots wind speed), with at least one, maybe two reef points. For a better reefing shape, a furler (like the Harken MK III or IV) with a free swiveling tack should be your first choice. This sail should be cut to achieve all points of sail from the hard beat to the beam reach. The OEM furler should now get a full cut-over-sized Genoa (maybe 150% or larger) that can be used as a light air drifter or Genoa. Yes, this sail will need to be furled completely during tacks. The OEM foresail should be cut for working upwind to a very close reach, to downwind, just below the beam reach for light to moderate conditions (i.e.5-12 knots wind speed). For more downwind sailing options, read our blogs here and here.
Lastly, there is one other consideration: the tension of putting two fore-stays opposite of the one back-stay ends up sharing the loads. This can lead to the Solent stay sagging to leeward, moving the draft aft and causing issues with being able to point the boat upwind. This is not preferred in most heavy weather conditions, especially when having to work upwind. The solution lies in the how the rig tune is set up. The OEM furler or fore-stay will need to be slackened a good bit. This set up will accommodate the aforementioned light air Genoa/ Drifter sail. The new inner Solent stay will need to be tightened fairly tight; this will accommodate the new moderate to heavy-air sail which is fitted to the Solent Stay. In the case of the Solent Stay being removable, make sure your Highfield lever is set to a tighter tension than the Head-stay. This should cause the Head-stay to become slack when the Solent stay is in use. It is also a good idea to make sure the back-stay is at its maximum recommended tension (30% of braking strength) to combat this leeward sag issue of using two fore-stays for one back-stay.
As always, you should seek the advice of your local rigger to ensure this Solent stay system is set up completely and properly. Have question or a comment, please leave us a few words in our comments link below.
Thanks for the read!
~T.R.C.
