I appreciate getting this great feedback so soon. There are a couple of comments I'd like to add to what has been discussed.
First, with regard to the suggestion that the fordeck crew would not have to go forward to pull down the jib when dropped, three years of foredeck work on J24's tells me different. The jib always needs some help getting to the deck requiring the foredeck monkey to go forward at least momentarily. However,they probably aren't up there as long with hanks because they don't have to rig the bead into the feeder and groove for the next hoist.
On roller furlers,I think at least part of the PHRF allowance comes from the fact that when sails are rigged for furling the tack is attached above the drum resulting in a significant gap between foot and deck and a consequent loss of performance. I believe that removing the drum and attaching the tack at the stem (as I do for racing) would result in loss of the allowance as the furling feature would not work.
And please, let's not dismiss the discussion of the performance merits of luff tapes and hanks. It's question on which the whole issue of allowance of hanks rests (and one I've been curious about for a long time).
-Jeff
