We are going to purchase a new Main sail for our 2003 Hunter 356. We have had several jams when furling our main over the last few years. Also we race and sail trim is not very efficient without battens and full roach and I'm considering whether or not I can convert from in-mast roller furling to the traditional close-footed, battened full main that is raised/lowered with a halyard? I'm thinking of replacing the in-mast furling and getting a stack pack with a dutchman system.
Hunter 356 in-mast sailing conversion to hanks/rope and halyard option
- Thread starter sailpablo
- Start date
The only time I have ever had an in-mast furled main was on a chartered boat so I only have one week of experience here. We were cruising and we always had pleanty of wind ...so.... it was a joy... BUT I get your point. The main seemed to luff early as I tried to sail to wind and I'd have to fall off to keep the sail from luffing. Everything is a trade-off. I guess you need to decide what is most important to you and then go with that.
I have a furling main on my current Hunter 33 and I had a Hunter 38 with furling main. You can purchase a mainsail with vertical battens and positive roach that work absolutely fine with the Seldén in-mast furling. This cut sail would have better control over the shape of the main as well as more sail area. Talk to a sail loft. UK provided the original suit.
If you are set on trying a conventional main, your biggest challenge is the luff slot. The furling slot is much wider than a typical luff slot. I don't think you will find sail slugs big enough to slide into the slot and secure the luff to the mast.
The only thing that might work is to get a track and slide system like Tides Marine that inserts into the furling slot and converts it to a conventional slot. You would need to call and discuss with them as this would be a custom job. I'm only speculating here. I would still be a bit concerned that the edges will flex or expand with heat and allow the track to pop out of the slot.
A loose-footed main would be just fine with the outhaul car that comes with the boom. There's probably extra sheaves for single line reefing, at least for reef #1.
If you are set on trying a conventional main, your biggest challenge is the luff slot. The furling slot is much wider than a typical luff slot. I don't think you will find sail slugs big enough to slide into the slot and secure the luff to the mast.
The only thing that might work is to get a track and slide system like Tides Marine that inserts into the furling slot and converts it to a conventional slot. You would need to call and discuss with them as this would be a custom job. I'm only speculating here. I would still be a bit concerned that the edges will flex or expand with heat and allow the track to pop out of the slot.
A loose-footed main would be just fine with the outhaul car that comes with the boom. There's probably extra sheaves for single line reefing, at least for reef #1.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,387
I never had much jamming until my sail was 15 years old and many repairs from racing but got
new sails and no more jamming.
new sails and no more jamming.
So I'll throw out an idea that isn't fully formed, and see whether it has any merit based on the experience of others. My previous H36, a newer sister to the H356 line, had the same Selden in-mast furling system. But interestingly it also had a mast slot to port of the large slot where the in-mast sail furled. I never paid much attention to it, but I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the slot was meant to take a mainsail with traditional slugs. Here's a cross section from overhead from the Selden manual with the track circled in red:
If that is indeed the purpose of the red circled area, could one remove the furling main used for cruising, and replace with a standard slugged main when you want to race? The more accessories you want to add (e.g. stack pack, etc.) will make such a conversion a lot more effort, but if you only race occasionally and want a slugged main perhaps you forego those other mods to make the temporary conversion quick and easy?
If that is indeed the purpose of the red circled area, could one remove the furling main used for cruising, and replace with a standard slugged main when you want to race? The more accessories you want to add (e.g. stack pack, etc.) will make such a conversion a lot more effort, but if you only race occasionally and want a slugged main perhaps you forego those other mods to make the temporary conversion quick and easy?
Thanks to all who responded. Mains are not cheap so I really wanted to get what I need this time around. It sounds like I should stay with the in-mast furling. Most of our sailing is for cruising but we do race about 12 times each summer. I have often thought the additional slot was for a non-furling main which gave me the original idea of looking into other options. It sounds to fully complete the conversion would be difficult at best and may not do much more than a brand new sail. Again, thanks to all!
Doyle made us a racing style laminate main with no battens and a larger roach than the standard in-mast main and it works perfectly. fantastic shape, furls great and absolutely no stretch. The only thig we had to change was to replace the outhaul with a hi-tech ultra low stretch line.
Page 45 in the Selden Sailmaker's Guide (595-542-E.pdf (seldenmast.com)) suggests that a Bainbridge slide (AO31? AO32? AO33?) could possibly be used in the luff groove, depending on the particular mast section.
This sounds like people who buy a house and fill in the pool.
It is better to have a good friend with a pool than to have a pool.
... and everytime I make this statement, someone always says...
It is better to have a friend with a boat than to own a boat.
Technique and new sails make a huuuuuuge difference. I’m still not a fan, but it’s better since I got my technique down.
My ‘07 38 IMF mast has an external track and a spare halyard. Maybe you could have the best of both worlds?
Since the groove is supported on one side, I'm not certain how it would hold up to the stress produced with a full main sail. Is it possible the original intent of the groove was for a storm trysail? Contacting Selden might yield better insight.
My understanding was that that groove was for a storm trysail - so you could quickly set the storm sail without disrupting the IMF. The storm sail was designed with ties to go around the mast for extra support (and bright orange!)