Stolen jib...

[Richincident]

Okay this is probably the weirdest incident that has so far happened to THE INCIDENT. Certainly the weirdest in the five years I have owned her.

Someone boarded her at her mooring last Friday night, lowered the working jib, took out the clevis pin for the head attachment and the one for the foot. Lost or took one clevis pin. Left the halyard loose but closed the mainsail cover over it. Untied and unknotted the jib sheets and took them and the sail to god knows where.

As far as I know no one is particularly mad at me, and as far as I have ever seen, the antique Schaeffer roller furling mechanism is pretty much gone the way of the dinosaurs. I have seen one other one, and that was at a Sailboats graveyard. Never seen another one on a boat.

The system requires a jib with a THICK luffwire and no attachment to the headstay. It functions pretty well, but the sag in the jib led to rapid improvements of better systems.

I have left a 110 genny and a storm trysail. Neither has the sunbrella cover that the missing jib had.

I guess my question is: Anyone out there have one of these old jibs that they want to sell?

Oh. That and just whining to understanding listeners. I don't think the CSI folks could figure this one out--and neither can I!

[ILikeRust]

Nothing wierd or mysterious - just another scumbag who decided he wanted your sail and decided to help himself to it.

Hopefully, there is a special circle in hell for dirtbags like that who steal from other people.

[Richincident]

You are probably right. Nothing more complex than a dirtbag. But apparently a dirtbag with a need for an "original" Schaeffer furling system sail. I am now afraid to leave my last jib on the boat.

I have previously tried to locate similar jibs, and they apparently have all vanished. Thoughts on replacement are highly welcome.

[ILikeRust]

I would try Bacon Sails - they sell a lot of used sails. I had a new main sail made by Sail Care and was very happy with their service. So you might try them.

[Aweigh329]

Try looking for your jib on craigslist. I had a similar incident involving a stolen kayak. I found it listed for sale on craigslist shortly after it went missing. I made arrangements to meet the seller in a public place. I retrieved my kayak. As I was leaving with my kayak the "seller" was still trying to explain how he came into possession of my kayak to the police. :)

[Richincident]

Since the List of Craig IS my yacht broker I posted a note there as soon as I realized what had happened. However, I sincerely doubt anyone who would steal THAT jib was likely to be trying to sell it.

Although I sound like a "Coast to Coast AM" conspiracy theorist, I am pretty darned sure whoever took it had a similar furling device, or knew someone who did. If you were going to sell it on CL, you would take a modern jib from a more widely distributed boat. No shortage of Catalina's and J-boats in our harbor.

Which means it is an owner (or stooge) of a plastic classic.

Making me crazy. We went out yesterday and it was WONDERFUL out there with the genoa. But I doubt I can single hand with it. Even with three of us, every tack was a Chinese fire drill. I am sure practice will improve the sail handling (and so will new jib sheets, already purchased from Frank T Laski. (http://www.theropedope.com/sail_braid.htm) but by myself I would have really struggled to handle the boat with that jib.

I DO have a storm trysail, so I guess I am going to trot that out and see how embarrassing it will be to sail with it in 10-20 knot winds.

[TampaBay]

Don't bet that the thief has a similar furling system. A dirt bag like this one, is probably not that smart.

Call the police and file a report.