Furling main question

[Valerio]

This weekend on the way back of a very good sailing day, we were hit by a 3 hours of very high (for me) winds of more than 30 knots. We had children aboard so i take just like 6 feet of the main out no genoa, and i start to take tacks back and fort, we were making like. 3 knots, we have the wind on the nose. The boat was very little heled like 15 degrees, the boom just a nose below the middle and the outhaul very tigh, the main was so baggy that with this wind was touching the spreaders, and after 3 ours of taking we were at the same point. Is my main gone ? Or this is normal on a furling main? Boat is a h 41. I know with abaggy sail is very hard to go close reach, but this is my frist seldom mast.

 

[shemandr]

At 30 knots you have different trim criteria. With just six feet of the main out and no genoa you can't expect to make much progress upwind. The bagginess of the main is a concern if it was only six feet deployed. It's hard to imagine that the boom is near centerline, the outhaul is tight and yet the main is touching the spreaders. It is not normal. I don't know if your main is gone or not. I don't think a Selden mast is different than any other mast in this.

 

[Jake N Eggs]

When you reef in big winds it is best to move the furling winch to lock. This locks the sail from coming out but you can pull it in. without the furling winch locked the system is relying on the tension of the furling line on the furling winch to hold the sail in place. If the furling line is old and worn it will not hold well and the sail can be pulled out.

 

[meb135]

The fact that you say your outhaul was very tight indicates that the sail had not unfurled. So it really sounds like your main is very much blown out. With only 6 feet of sail out and the boom close to center, the sail should not be close to toughing the spreader.
Marc