Help with forestay / roller furling

Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
Hello,
On my 1984 Macgregor 25 the genoa is torn and in need of repair and I'm not sure how to remove it. It is on a roller furler and pictures are attached. Above the spool on the furler is an aluminum tube which the sail is slipped over and with the fore-stay running up inside this tube. In the diagram from the Macgregor manual the upper forestay attachment is like the diagram except for there is no block for a jib halyard.
What is the easiest way for me to remove the genoa from the furler and put a jib on the furler
RF1.jpg
RF2.jpg
RF3.jpg
while I do repairs.
Thank you for reading.
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

.
Feb 20, 2011
8,025
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Jim Hawkins said:
Above the spool on the furler is an aluminum tube which the sail is slipped over...
Click to expand
Are you saying that the existing headsail's luff is a sleeve?

Nonetheless, dropping the mast on our boats isn't all that difficult.
 
walt

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,527
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Not your original question but the turnbuckle below the furler bottom attachment point is risky.. usually not a good idea.
The turn buckle can "unscrew" and come apart and this is holding your mast up.. Coming apart is not a good thing to happen. When you use the furler with the turnbuckle attached BELOW where the furler normally is attached to the deck, it puts a rotation force on the turnbuckle so has a higher risk for coming apart.

The pictures below show the guts of a Schaefer SF and it has a turnbuckle but its ABOVE the part of the fuler that attaches to the deck chainplate and so the turnbuckles does not take the rotation force - the "locking strap" in the picture below is what does.

Im not sure why that has a turnbuckle there but maybe just replace it with a Johnson lever as these can handle the rotation force and still allow for easy mast setup.



 
Last edited:
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Well SOMETHING is holding the sail up. Because that furler has no top swivel, it is either on an internal halyard, or it is simply secured up there. It it's also possible that the internal halyard has broken and failed. Unless you can find the halyard, you will have to drop the furler. Instead of dropping the mast, it IS possible that you could disconnect the forestry at the bottom, and while securing the mast from falling backwards, pull the furler off the stay.
 
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
ok, a plan?
I take the mainsail halyard off the sail and attach it forward to hold the mast while I disconnect the fo0restay, then I tie a line to the bottom of the forestay and strech it out so I can slide the aluminum tube off the forestay and then slide the sail off, slide new sail on retie the line to the forestay and back up.
Logical?
 
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
Thanks all and Walt your point about the turnbuckle is well taken. Also, the bottom of the aluminum spool is turning/grinding right on top of the crimp in the forestay. I unfurled the sail and see that there is a #10 bolt, bolted through the top of the sail and the aluminum tube holding the sail up.
Justsomeguy - Yes the existing headsail's luff IS a sleeve
 

Attachments

justsomeguy

justsomeguy

.
Feb 20, 2011
8,025
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Jim Hawkins said:
ok, a plan?
I take the mainsail halyard off the sail and attach it forward to hold the mast while I disconnect the fo0restay, then I tie a line to the bottom of the forestay and strech it out so I can slide the aluminum tube off the forestay and then slide the sail off, slide new sail on retie the line to the forestay and back up.
Logical?
Click to expand
Sounds workable. Got your new sleeved headsail?

I still think dropping the mast for this operation would be optimal, if only to give your entire forestay a good look-see.
 
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
I suppose your right JustSomeGuy, and I checked my jib, no sleeve. You know all about this sailin stuff, don't you?
 
  • Like
Likes: justsomeguy
walt

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,527
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
FYI, that sure looks like a seriously relaxed spot you have your boat in.. Nice..
 
Meriachee

Meriachee

.
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
That crimped bit on that wire is, um, not normally what you'd expect to find inside a furler drum. If it's setup as the picture(s) suggest, you might want to entertain a new furler, cuz that's asking for disaster. Just keep in mind which way the mast isn't supported if that part breaks, and where you happen to be when it comes apart. Good crimps or not, you don't want stuff grinding on them.
 
  • Like
Likes: justsomeguy
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
OK, I'm going to lower the mast. Take the whole assembly apart, inspect and repair the parts, repair the sail, then, when I put it back together I'll add a clamp on the stay below the furler spool with a nylon washer for the spool the spin on.
Or, Or, I'll just figger it out as I go
Thanks for the help!
 
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
Alright, so I tried to lower the mast. I used 2 blocks and a line fastened to the bottom of the fore-stay to give me plenty of mechanical advantage to lower it easy. I realized as the mast came down without the gin pole my line with the pulleys wasn't going to have enough angle to do anything. OK so I improvised a gin pole but when the mast is halfway down it leans so much to one side it is twisting the bracket at the base of the mast and I'm afraid I'm going to wreck something so I pulled the mast back up. Are my side-stays too loose? How can I lower this thing centered by myself?
 

Attachments

willsnow

willsnow

.
Jul 1, 2012
306
MacGregor 26D Kirkland, WA
sounds like you are missing the baby-stays. are there short (something like 4ft) stays that go from the deck (not the chainplate) to the mast?
 
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
I have 2 sets of side stays, 1 that attach about 10' up at
the spreaders and a second set about 20' up.
I'm searching "baby stays"...
 
Last edited:
Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins

.
Jan 10, 2016
127
Islander Wayfarer 37 Sloop Key West
OK, I thought my existing stays were what was meant by baby stays but now I understand. First I need two points to attach the stays to the deck. I have two teak rails that need to come off anyway and it looks as if the screws at one point in the teak rail lines up with where the baby stay should attach, so I could remove the teak rail, add a eye bolt at that hole to attach the baby stay. Then I have two cleats on the mast at 3' up, I could attach the top of the baby stays there if that will work. Will that work?
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Meriachee

Meriachee

.
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
The stays need to be about the same tension through the whole arc of the mast - from when it's upright all the way though till its laying down.
They don't have to be under tension, but tight enough to stop the mast from going sideways, which as you've already seen, is bad.
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Jim Hawkins said:
...I have two cleats on the mast at 3' up, I could attach the top of the baby stays there if that will work. Will that work?
Click to expand

They really need to be further up than 3 feet to work well. Where they tie in down at the deck they need to be pretty close to the hinge line of the mast (an imaginary line from where one baby stay attaches to the other that crosses over/through the mast base)



The two center arrows point to the baby stays above (the boat is a 26S). More here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/rigging-2.html

Sumner
=============================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom