let's see if we can read between the lines here.
headstay broke with roller furling attached. which left the jib halyard holding everything up? including the unfurled sail/ blade?
and then somehow you lowered the forestay, roller unit, and sail to the deck or were able to furl and secure? with wind driven short waves 2-4 ft?
sounds interesting. 30 years ago I would have appreciated the challenge. which was two fold -- having crew who could handle it and a driver who could support that foredeck effort.
One of my greatest fears with the old harken rollers {which I had one for 25 years on #505} was that once they were built you could not easily check the swage joints. The new units slip over the forestay and can be removed completely.
v
