Binding in mast Furling

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

I have a Catalina 320 11 years old. Recently the Charleston Spar In Mast Furler began to bind both when I pull it out and especially when I furl it. It is like it has a high spot in it and when it hits that spot it takes an inordinate amount of power to get past it. When pulling it out I find it easier to pull it out by hand hauling on the foot of the sail, then tightening my out haul.

Has any one else run into this? If so is there an easy fix? I am ready to try to find a rigger in this area who knows these systems.

 

[Weasel]

Patrick:

Check your furling line. I had to replace mine with a slightly smaller one due to binding. Also if your sail has streched and has too much draft that can be a problem. I don't know anything about the Charlston Spar mast system but I would get the manual and study it especially the troubleshooting part. Also these things like a lot of lube, and if you are in salt water it compounds your problems. Take off the inspection panels and look inside. Do this at the dock on a windless day. Have a friend furl and unfurl the sail while you are looking inside and see what is happening. May provide a clue.
Hope this helps,

Weasel

 

[Patrick17430]

Been There, Done That

I had the same rig bind the same way on my Beneteau. Turned out to be the main sheet was frayed and was slipping on the furler causing it to not wrap the main tight enough in the mast. Also, the Charleston rig does not require any lube. Try a new line ill bet it solves your problem.

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

I'll give it a try:

I find even if furl the sail tight I have the same high spot on each turn. I have noticed that if I furl too loosely the sail does bind its self in the mast and I play hell getting it out.

I will try a new furling line and recheck the manual thanks for the input.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

I have heard to also make sure the leech line is relaxed and that the boom is very perpendicular to the mast before winding sail in. Good luck.

 

[Albanach]

Re: I'll give it a try:

Assuming, that the In-Mast Furler for the 320 is in principle the same as for the 310 I offer following observations from practice with my furler:

1. The boom should be slightly above perpendicular (Charleston Spar’s manual advises this also) to avoid the foot wrapping over itself . Once the right angle has been found you won’t have to touch the topping lift again in this respect.
2. The Vang and mainsheet should be loose enough to allow the boom to rise with the sail when unfurling.
3. The halyard should be tight, then let off a bit (matter of experimenting). If too loose, the foil may bend slightly in the middle under pressure and cause binding.
4. Try and flush any dirt out of the bottom in-mast bearing.
5. Make sure that there is nothing jamming on the mast walls, e.g. J Hook that holds the sail’s tack down, screw that secures the control/furling line in the furling screw or the hoist car.
   Any of these only need to be a fraction out to bind on the mast wall. I had the J Hook come loose and jam the mechanism completely.
6. A new rope does make life easier by reducing friction. The leading angles of the furling line are not well designed – they introduce enormous friction. (Hopefully, your screw locking the furling line has not galvanised with the furling screw. It took me a loooong time to get it out.)

Your problem does sound as if caused by not enough lateral force on foot when hauling out, as it seems easier by hand. This could be caused by the outhaul acting at the wrong angle, e.g. pulling more the middle of the sail, causing the foil to bend (the mast is not bent?), or pulling against the leech or vang/mainsheet.

You may also want to contact Charleston Spar for assistance. They have been very prompt with helpful advice to me.

 

[Witzend]

The other issue that I'm beginning to deal with is that because the main sail is 10yrs old, the bolt ropes have shrunk, causing the sail to have a belly in it, and the belly won't wrap tightly. Unfortunately as a result I need to keep some out-haul tension on the clew, and follow it in as I furlow. I'm not really sure this is really helping for the stated reason, because I doubt I can apply enough tension on the out-haul to stretch the bolt ropes, but it seems to help reduce jams, maybe by firming up the fabric some. Another thing I do, since our system rotates counter clockwise (looking from the top), if I pull the boom to the port ~ 3-5deg. it provides a better lead angle into the wrap.

Sails are expensive, than again having the bolt ropes replaced on a sail of this age may not be cost effective in the long run either. Other than that most of the ideas have been covered.

In general I would not have a system like this because if it jams (and it will at the worst possible time), you can not get the sail down. Also, battens are out of the question. It came with the boat so it was weighed with the pros and cons during the decision to purchase it. I do however find the systems that rotate the boom interesting, anyone have one?

 

[DougM]

We always had issues with bolt rope shrinkage on our smaller sailboats. It was a regular practice to cut the lock stitching at the tack with the sail off the boat and just pull the sail. Obviously, because of the rope shrinkage, the bolt rope would disappear into the sail. we would just feel for the point where the tail of the boltrope ended up and restitched. Its surprising how much shrinkage there can be.

 

[Witzend]

We always had issues with bolt rope shrinkage on our smaller sailboats. It was a regular practice to cut the lock stitching at the tack with the sail off the boat and just pull the sail. Obviously, because of the rope shrinkage, the bolt rope would disappear into the sail. we would just feel for the point where the tail of the boltrope ended up and restitched. Its surprising how much shrinkage there can be.

By doing this on a larger sail with possible much more load present, would you have concerns about compromising the integrity of the sail?

 

[DougM]

I wouldn't worry about compromising sail integrity. on a 22 foot mast we would typically see about 6 to 10 inches of "shrinkage". I don't think you would see much more than a foot on your boat. Just make sure you re-stich the end of the rope.

If you get a lot more shrink, it might be time to have a sailmaker look at it. It would depend on how old the sail is and how baggy it has become as to whether it is worth reworking.

It may be getting to the time to bite the bullet and buy a new sail if the piggy bank can stand it.