Bloody hell...

[SFKjeld]

Now this worries me. First, I am in a berth. I don't know how to remove the jib with the furler up. Is there a way to assess the forstay with the rigging in place?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Now this worries me. First, I am in a berth. I don't know how to remove the jib with the furler up. Is there a way to assess the forstay with the rigging in place?

What are you doing tomorrow? You seem to be in Fortman, I'm in Grand. I have to come down in the mid morning, could stop by to help. Let me know.

 

[SFKjeld]

What are you doing tomorrow? You seem to be in Fortman, I'm in Grand. I have to come down in the mid morning, could stop by to help. Let me know.

That would be spectacular. I was planning to go out to the boat in the morning anyway. What time were you thinking?

 

[cmiles3]

Hunter 23.5 should be able to handle 5-7 knots handily. Waves may make a wet ride, though.
My main is hard to raise if I am sailing. Ease the sheets or turn into the wind to reduce the tension on the luff, the slugs will slide easier. My track probably needs cleaned, but I lube the slugs when they start binding while I raise the main. I will use the winch to tighten the luff at times.

I typically release the main & sheets if I sail to the dock. But not usually in 14 knots, I'll point up & drop the sails, then motor in with that much wind.

I don't have any experience with furlers except tales from others who experience jams, frequently.

...This time tho, really too much wind for a relatively inexperienced sailor on a new boat. My friend and I got out into the Esturary, turned into the 5-7kt breeze. I was nervous enough about the breeze, so only raised the major to the first reef point...
...Reached about the second reef point and the main would not go up further. Felt like slugs were bound since it became so difficult to move suddenly...
...Thought we might have to just release the jib sheets entirely to depower the boat at the dock...

...Should I need the winch to set the main fully? Should I need the winch to wind up the furler? ....

 

[SFKjeld]

What are you doing tomorrow? You seem to be in Fortman, I'm in Grand. I have to come down in the mid morning, could stop by to help. Let me know.

Stu met me at the boat today and was a life saver. Found the line that probably hung the jib. Found some damage to the jib halyard that was prob caused by my winching in the jib. Trimmed it off and is fine. Stu showed me why the main couldn't be raised past the reef point. It was the jiffy reefing rigging is wrong. I didn't even know how the jiffy reefing worked. Lots of great ideas and tips too. What a day. Thanks to all of you too!

I learned so much the past few days. And one of the most important is that, if I am scared enough, I will walk out onto the deck with the wind howling and boat heeling. Frankly, I never thought I would do that.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I don't have any experience with furlers except tales from others who experience jams, frequently.

It was truly a pleasure to meet Kjeld this morning, we had a great time, nice skipper.

His furler was fine. Turned out that when he turned downwind and popped the jib, the jib halyard got hung up in the special line his boat has for raising the mast. That line is on the front of his mast, so they got hung up. After he got back to his slip, he'd tightened it up, and cleared the tangle.

Once there, we dropped the jib successfully, cut off the damaged jib halyard and bowlined it back onto the shackle and raised the jib. He has a Snapfurl system, so the plastic foil seemed to be OK, maybe bent a tad at the top, but still works just fine. Nice gear.

His sail slugs were just fine, his clew reefing line was tight, that was that problem solved. If anyone knows the details of how the clew reefing point should be run, he'd much appreciate it. The line now runs from the bottom of the boom up through the cringle and then to the aft end of the boom through a sheave through the boom to a clutch at the forward end of the boom at the mast. Nice idea, but the clew reef line should be on both sides before it runs back. I didn't figure it out while I was there.

I found a Hunter manual, right on this forum (!) and emailed it to him a few minutes ago. It looks right (manual vs his installation) but still appears odd to me for the reason mentioned above.

We chatted about a few dozen other boaty things and had a great time. Glad to help.

 

[woodster]

Man that's great glad you got to help him out in person stu now I know who is the go to guy if I ever make it to the left coast now to add to your rep on your profile. at a boy

 

[SFKjeld]

Man that's great glad you got to help him out in person stu now I know who is the go to guy if I ever make it to the left coast now to add to your rep on your profile. at a boy

I am here to tell you.... Couldn't imagine a more knowledgeable and nicer guy. Man, I owe this guy a lot beer/ale.

 

[Stu Jackson]

How'd he know I love ALE. I never mentioned it (the sun hadn't gone beyond the yardarm - yet!!!) .

 

[justsomeguy]

Nice!

 

[Ward H]

Love a good ending!
Actually,
more like a good beginning!

 

[Stephan Seely]

We have all been there!

Comedy of errors that were nearly not that funny. Went out this afternoon determined to get the main sail up, after a very successful unfurling of the jib last week. This time tho, really too much wind for a relatively inexperienced sailor on a new boat. My friend and I got out into the Esturary, turned into the 5-7kt breeze. I was nervous enough about the breeze, so only raised the major to the first reef point. Again, the boat took off. Was a lot of fun as we were flying out of the Estuary much faster than I'd ever traversed it with my Potter. So since we were largely sailing into the wind, decided to raise the main further. Reached about the second reef point and the main would not go up further. Felt like slugs were bound since it became so difficult to move suddenly. Anyway, was probably a good thing, since the breeze was picking up fast. So we turned around and began sailing back down the Esutary, wind to our back. Decided to unfurl the jib again. And again, the boat really took off. Much faster than I've ever been in a sailboat. And did I mention, the breeze was still picking up, 14kts by then. So as we approached the marina, my friend asked if we would have difficulty lowering the main, since it seems stuck going up. Good question. But I figured we start with the furler. I tried to pull it in and that stuck at about 50%. Could never have docked the boat in that wind. I went out to the bow to try to free the furler, but saw nothing binding it. So I dropped the main (thank god it came down). Then went back out to wrestle with the jib. No luck. Thought we might have to just release the jib sheets entirely to depower the boat at the dock. Before that tho, tried to use the winch to pull the jib in. With a lot of effort, managed to get it to about 15-20%, enough to dock the boat comfortably.

A few questions. Should I need the winch to set the main fully? Should I need the winch to wind up the furler? Certainly unfurled without a hitch.

The pic is where the furler is now, maybe 15-20% out. Can't pull it in any further. Will wait for no wind day, then rewrap it I guess.

Hello, you never have to use a winch to furl a jib. From the photo it looks like it is wrapped very tight. I am glad you stopped cranking on the winch. They are designed to be furled by hand. Were the jibsheets loose? if so there must be some other issue.

The main sail should initially be raised by hand and it's best to have someone at the mast in case something gets in a bind. Then complete the raising of the main with a winch.

Before you raise the main you need to make sure that the boom is totally loose. This means that the main sheet has to be slack. If there is a Reefing System it must also be loose. The final thing to check is to make sure that the Vang boom is loose. If any of these are tight it will not allow you to raise the main sail as far as it is designed to be.

I know this is pretty simplistic but it should help you get the point.