J/4X setup as a Cutter? Anybody else try this?

[Adam Ruscitto]

Hi Everyone, Curious if anybody else has tried their J/4X as a cutter, or at least flying a staysail and headsail at the same time? This summer i installed an inner forestay on my J/40, that i set my storm jib, and a staysail on. 

Yesterday, I started out with the staysail as i was working to weather, but the wind didn't build as i expected, and backed until i was sailing at 80-90 deg true with 7-10kts TWS. With about 28 miles to my anchorage for the night, I unfurled the 135 while the staysail was still up, and messed around for a while trying to get everything working in concert. While far from perfect it sure seemed like i found another gear that i previously didn't have. My AWA was up around 45 deg and boat speed was 6.5-6.7kts in fairly choppy seas. Bare in mind, i'm in full cruising mode, solar/radar arch, bimini, dinghy in the davits, etc.

I think the use case is probably pretty narrow, but it sure felt like the boat was moving way better than it would have been main and genoa alone. Curios what other peoples experiences have been with this setup.

cheers,

Adam

[Dennis Boyd]

Adam,

Not yet.   On bigger boats that raced,  20 + years on Santa Cruz 70 and TP 52. we rarely set a staysail going to weather.   When we cracked off we would and often we would also move the tack to rail, off-centerline, up or down to either rail.  The rule of thumb was put it up,  if you got a 1/2 knot keep it,  if not drop it.

I am curious about cutter option, but as you all know Bill S. didn't feel the need on a 42.   So he never made that change.  In fact if I recall what I have read he he sold the "Gail Sail" he had.   As I read his three books,  I never see him mention it.   I will have to in time figure something out, as Chicago Mac safety rules require a storm sail.   Maybe I am back to "Gail Sail".

Looking to see what group offers you.

Dennis

Jaywalker J42  #6

[Dick York]

I don't know how it would work on the 40, but if you look at Curtis's videos on Sailing Sweet Ruca, you can see him using two forward white sails.   I think the jib was a number 2, but ask him!

....Dick York

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[Dick York]

I should have said 
"two forward white sails" from time to time.

CJ can tell us the wind conditions.....

[Paul Kekalos]

I currently have a staysail on order for my J40 that is to be used in conjunction with the high-clewed Jib Topsail I use for long reaches. It will not be used on the wind, but is intended to help efficiency on reaches by helping direct airflow through the slot. The jib topsail is, so far, the most fun sail I have - it really moves the boat on a reach- and I can't wait to plus it up with the staysail.

[Adam Ruscitto]

I likely misspoke and may have misled some of you referring to the sail as a staysail. It's really a working jib, not quite a true blade, but was designed and intended primarily for upwind work. The 135 on the furler is high clewed, works great off the wind and poled out, but doesn't point for shit. On top of that I can't imagine doing headail changes out in the ocean, especially solo, which is what 85% of my sailing has turned out to be. So, I installed an inner forestay and had a working jib made for my boat. Anything over 12kts TWS and 65 deg TWA, the working jib on the inner stay is the clear winner for me. I'm higher, as fast or faster, and much more comfortable. I realize this may be in large part due to the deficiencies of my genoa, but it seems to be a good setup so far. I dreamed a little, but never really considered a code 0 for my boat, and now i 'think' i've found a solution with the sails I already have. TBD if this setup works well at lower AWA, getting down to around 100 where i can carry one of my spinnakers.

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[S/V Sweet Ruca]

Right on Dick. I use it a lot. Not "to weather" but that would be 33-28 AWA. At 45 AWA that is when it starts to work with two headsails, especially if you put a second sheet and outside lead on the genoa to open the slots up.

The staysail on Sweet Ruca is cut as a heavy weather jib/staysail, not a true GS. It is built for unwind work in the rough stuff, but serves well enough for cruising all around, even flying under the reaching kite.

Hope that helps.

Curtis

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[Adam Ruscitto]

Thanks for the insight, Curtis, very helpful. The slot between the two headsails was definitely closed off, especially down low. This is pretty obvious in one of the photos from my first post. Next time I run this setup I’ll try leading my genoa to a snatch block on the rail.

Out of curiosity, what size genoa do you have on the furler, and when do you switch to just your staysail going upwind?

Cheers,

Adam

On Nov 17, 2025, at 16:30, S/V Sweet Ruca <rucas...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Walter Caldwell]

Adam,

I’m curious how you installed the inner forestay on your J/40. 

Cheers. 

Walter

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 17, 2025, at 22:34, Adam Ruscitto <adamru...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[David Jade]

And a further question: how do you manage having multiple sheets in use on one side on your J/46? Just looking for some tried and true tips here. We haven’t tried this yet. 

Someone else mentioned using the locking turning blocks near the primary winch, if you first remount it flip the orientation of one so it locks a sheet led forward (instead of aft), but I have not done this yet. 

David                      _/)

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On Nov 17, 2025, at 10:34 PM, Adam Ruscitto <adamru...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Ed Sitver]

On my J/42, the staysail works well as described by Curtis. Not enough extra speed to make it worthwhile to me on short legs (I keep my headsail stowed and not rigged on a regular basis), but it does lend a boost.

Regarding two sheets on the same side of the boat, a locking turning block for the main sheet winches, allows for a primary and a main sheet winch to run headsail sheets. 

-Ed

[Ed S]

Correction: I keep my staysail stowed, not my headsail. 

Regards,

Ed

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Ed Sitver

esi...@gmail.com

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On Nov 19, 2025, at 08:03, Ed Sitver <esi...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dennis Boyd]

All, 

When I was looking at buying a J 42.   I found these photos of Arrowhead.   They are set up as cutter rig.   That looks like it could be a runner, not sure.     Looks like they are using the second jib halyard, and deck fitting/hard point aft of anchor locker.   Looks pretty.   Temp set up for race, a bermuda?

I am curious what other think or know about this set up.   Has anyone consider this?

J/42 ARROWHEAD

Dennis 

Jaywalker

J42  #6

[Adam Ruscitto]

Hey Walter,

Re: how did I install the inner stay - The forward head on our boat is decommissioned and serves as storage, so I removed the holding tank in the bow and glassed in a 3/4" plywood bulkhead with a chainplate, turnbuckle, and tie rod going to the bottom of the deck. On top of the deck is a Wichard double folding pad eye, one for the stay, the other for the tack of the sail. The double pad eye is through bolted and I added an additional 3/8" piece of G10 under the deck for reinforcement. Wichard makes an eye strap with the same hole pattern as the double pad eye on top of the deck, and that's what the tie rod is attached to. 

I replaced all the standing rigging when I purchased the boat in 2020, and had a sheave box and tang added to the mast at that time. The stay itself is Dyneema with a 2:1 tensioning system via low friction rings, which runs along the port side deck to a rope clutch mounted vertically on the cockpit coaming. I have another low friction ring attached to the U bolt where the check stays (now runners on my boat) usually attach, that serves as a turning block leading the tensioning line back to the port primary winch.

When I first started researching the idea years ago, I inquired with J-boats, and Alan replied with some old drawings which included dimensions and some specs. I used that for the bulkhead and location of the deck pad eye that I added. Looking at photos of Curtis' boat, Sweet Ruca, and the pics Dennis added of Arrowhead, the inner stay attachment point on deck seems to be at least 18-24" further back than the 42" behind the stemhead, spec'd on the drawing I received from Alan. My stays are almost parallel, theirs are not. No idea how that affects things.

David, Re: two sheets on the same side -  my boat came with secondary winches in the cockpit, making life a lot easier. I found the sheeting angle of the car is too far outboard for anything closer than 80 apparent, so I came up with an inhauler that leads to what was an empty clutch on the cabin top. Between the adjustable car and the inhauler, I can achieve decent sheeting angles now.

Dennis, it's interesting you bring up Arrowhead, I remember seeing these photos when I first started researching the project. I think that's the first time I saw any photos of a J/4X with a staysail.

Adam

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[Dennis Boyd]

I really like the plywood choice, and the J42 engineering detail is really interesting.  Adding these to my project files.

Arrowhead is an interesting vessel.   Really demonstrated a lot of creative thinking,  maybe five or six unique ideas.    I went back and looked at the pictures again.  And they have another cutter, mayble solent set up.    This is in additon to the bowsprite that I think they race with now.   See photos for second rig mod.    Also,  after looking in some  detail all the pictures on the old listing, I don't think they added runners/checkstays to the rig.   I see no evidence in any other pics of them.    The line looks to be, after looking all all the other photos is just a lazy jack.   

Wondering if these two different head sail set ups were effective and if they are still used?

Here is another set up.

[jeff thayer]

Here is a shot of Arrowheads staysail/mast interface detail (Stratus.jpg).   Line lashing around mast and top spreader (chaffe?) and low friction block, serving as a fairlead for a spare headsail halyard.   The rig on Arrowhead went thru a couple of iterations.  Somebody in this group is the new owner of the boat, maybe he can shed some light. We almost bought Arrowhead but decided she was too deep for our use case (custom keel drawing 8' if I recall).  

We have a staysail set up on our J/42 "Allez" # 46 (formerly "Providence", "Another J", and "Crisis Mode").  There is a proper anchor point for the stay at the upper spreaders along w/ dedicated haryard and sheave at the same location.   Deck (tack) fitting is connected to a bulkhead at the aft end of the anchor locker.  Stay itself is dynema w/ a tensioning rig at the deck end.  When not in use, we pull it aft to the mast and have a pretty janky set up there for securing it (project?).   There are dynema running backs (check stays?) at the same, upper spreader location.  They also are stowed at the mast base when not in use.  

Jeff Thayer

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[Jeff Linden]

On the issue of chafe with that setup, i sailed my thousands of miles on a J/125 with a very similar setup including using a jib halyard run down through a friction ring on the spreader.  This was tested and vetted through repeated offshore thrashings including a transpac.  No issues at all.   

[Ed S]

I had Newport Rigging put a sheave in my carbon mast for staysail stay. Importantly, the mast was built with that section reinforced for a staysail sheave. 

Deck fitting is a Wichard double padeye fastened just ahead of the anchor locker bulkhead, and tabbed to deck and bulkhead with G10 backing. 

Staysail hoists on a 2-1 halyard, lifting a torsion line furling setup. 

Regards,

Ed

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Ed Sitver

esi...@gmail.com

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On Nov 20, 2025, at 16:45, Jeff Linden <jeff....@gmail.com> wrote:

On the issue of chafe with that setup, i sailed my thousands of miles on a J/125 with a very similar setup including using a jib halyard run down through a friction ring on the spreader.  This was tested and vetted through repeated offshore thrashings including a transpac.  No issues at all.   

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[Adam Ruscitto]

Ed, is the torsion line that your sail furls on separate from the luff of the sail? If I had to do it over, i think i would have explored a furling option, as long as it's still removable. I haven't found a good solution for the sail up on the foredeck when underway and not raised/in use. I should explore if any furling options exist for my current sail.

Adam

[Ed S]

I guess the torsion line is technically part of the luff. I simply attach the two-to-one halyard at the top of the sail and clip the furler on deck and hoist. The “luff” of the sail becomes the “stay.”

The sail is easy to connect/disconnect and stow. Even heavily built, it’s such a small sail that it’s light and easy to move around the deck.

Not sure if I answered your question. Did I?

Regards,

Ed

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Ed Sitver

esi...@gmail.com

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On Nov 20, 2025, at 17:28, Adam Ruscitto <adamru...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ed, is the torsion line that your sail furls on separate from the luff of the sail? If I had to do it over, i think i would have explored a furling option, as long as it's still removable. I haven't found a good solution for the sail up on the foredeck when underway and not raised/in use. I should explore if any furling options exist for my current sail.

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[Skip Lahti]

I also added an inner forestay to my J46, Raaja, and added a staysail. I'm very happy with this setup and use the staysail all the time (except hard on the wind and deep downwind).  I'm sailing from San Diego, CA  to Patagonia, via Panama Canal and Brazil, so quite a few longer passages and this staysail as made a significant difference.

[Dennis Boyd]

I'm really learning a lot in this conversation. 

As I read all these great comments, I am wondering if any loop spreader / friction rings set up have been on Aluminun rigs?    And if runner/checkstay were added?   Are they being configured/design for storm sails?   I am hoping to learn from your experineces and then decide the best way to comply with Chicago Mac Race  Monohull requirment "Storm jib with alternate forms of headstay attachment [CMSR 5.30]"     

Dennis

Jaywalker #6

[Bill Bowers]

Ahoy all

We have sailed ConverJence J42#3 for several years as a cutter.  This is an ideal rig for us cruising the Canadian Maritimes. 

We moved the Harken 1.5 original headstay furler back to the factory installed anchor bulkhead inner forestay plate and upgraded to a beefier 2.0 headstay furler for the Yankee jib topsail. We use the Dyneema checkstays with the staysail. 

North built us a reefable 9oz genoa staysail which sheets closehauled to padeyes installed on the brow of the coach roof for bullet sheet blocks on adjustable lashings.  The sheets lead under the dodger to added clutches at  the halliard winches. 

When close hauled with the yankee, unrolling the staysail adds 1/2 knot of boat speed as it trims perfectly midslot under the  high clewed topsail.  We crosshaul the traveller to twist the main when beating double head. 

When reaching we relead or add a reaching staysail sheet at the forward end of the track or on the toe rail sheeted to the secondary cockpit winches. 

We use a soft shackle sheet strop to the yankee clew to avoid hangup and chafe on the staysail/foil when tacking.  We back the staysail which blows the yankee clew around. 

While this is an ideal cruising rig for us, it is not slow.  Under PHRF we are required to use the double head rig and we sail well against other J42s. 

Hope this helps. 

Cheers

Bill Bowers

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[Bill Bowers]

Dennis

Our genoa staysail and storm staysail both have pressed grommets behind the luff bead for backup gaskets tied around the foil. 

Cheers

Bill Bowers

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[Dennis Boyd]

Bill,

Thanks.

Dennis

[Dasa...@yahoo.com]

All, we are owners of J42 #62 Austral (ex-Arrowhead). Will try to answer a few questions above re: our rig. We bought her from Steve Berlack (who may be around as he moved up to a J/46 and could clarify), and he had apparently tried the cutter rig but as mentioned earlier didn't find it helpful hard on the wind and so I don't believe used that configuration regularly at all. Not sure rating any penalty would be worth it. Dennis is correct, the boat does not have runners and to my knowledge never did. One picture above showed lazy jacks not a runner.

Dennis, as far as solent rig, that picture shows the furled code 0 attached to the roller forward of headstay. Look forward to seeing JayWalker on the water again soon!

David Saudek