Raising the Main

[thaeni]

I have a 1992 33.5. I can raise the main 3/4 by hand with out the winch.
The last 1/4 however takes all I have with the winch. I release the
tension on the boom but still no help. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Parsons]

Really hard to tell without looking at your rig as it could be one of a dozen issues. Here's my first line of guesses that you can answer to let the group know that you've already thought of it.
1 - Single line reefing hanging up - the last half of the main set is where a tight reefing line would drag. Make sure that the lines run free, and add blocks to the grommets (not just run lines through sail grommets). Of course, I don't know what type of reefing you have, so this may not apply.
2 - Setting at an angle to the wind - the cumulative lateral force against the slugs may be nothing at the bottom, but as the sail sets, it builds up.
3 - Poorly lubricated slugs or damage to the track - when was the last time you cleaned and lubed the main track? Sail Kote lube remains for most of a season for us.

 

[caguy]

I have a 1992 33.5. I can raise the main 3/4 by hand with out the winch.
The last 1/4 however takes all I have with the winch. I release the
tension on the boom but still no help. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

Does that mean the boom vang, mainsail sheet or both?

 

[Benny17441]

You have to loosen the reef lines, the main sheet, the boom vang, clean and lubricate the sail track and because the weight of the sail will still have to use the winch to tighten the halyard.

 

[mmsailor]

raising mainsail

I have a 1992 33.5. I can raise the main 3/4 by hand with out the winch.
The last 1/4 however takes all I have with the winch. I release the
tension on the boom but still no help. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

I vote for intem number 3 from other responder . When I have had this problem it has almost always been some form of dirt of foreign object inside the mast track . Cleaning this has to be an annual task . Then lube with a good product .

 

[rardiH36]

I find for my sail raising that its even more than just ensuring that the main sheet and the boom vang are slack. I use my topping lift to raise the boom above horizontal, so absolutely no weight of the boom transferred to the sail's foot and clew. Then after the sail is raised and winch tightened, then I slacken the topping lift to let the boom fall several inches to it's natural hang position. I've got a 42' luff. Get it up by hand using the halyard led back to the cockpit. (Do have to pull hard for the last 25% though.) Haven't lubricated my slides for a couple of years now. The mast hasn't been down for probably 10 years. So the track I doubt is very clean.

 

[H30Gary]

The previous posts about loosing mainsheet and vang and raising topping lift are good. But my guess is that the main halyard sheave is frozen (stuck, not turning). Happened on my boat with similar symptoms: Could raise main most of way, but last part required winch and was a bear. Had pulley removed, cleaned up, and lubed and all worked much better. (Could raise main all the way with final tensioning with winch.) Subsequently, had bronze bushing installed in sheave, and it works REALLY nice.