jib getting harder and harder to hoist in furlex foil 41DS

[sailor5017]

jib was very hard to raise and drop this season. seems to have gotten harder each year. I am thinking maybe foil slot is getting dirty and needs cleaning what kind of setup works to clean this 1/4 inch slot. Going to check the rope bolt tape is right size..
Thanx in advance

 

[Gunni]

Check the bearings in your swivel.

 

[Rick486]

Try lubing your luff tape with a non toxic substance like dish detergent. There may be a sliding lubricator at West or Defenders. The loft that made your jib should know the number of your luff tape and the size of your headstay foil to compare. On my boat the OEM luff tape on the jib was too small.

 

[jssailem]

I have used http://www.mclubemarine.com/sailkote/.
I have also cleaned the track. For me it was easy, I had the mast down and use a rag with sailkote to clean and lubricate the tracks.

 

[John T1594]

The previous owner of my 2000 H340 replaced the jib and I think that the luff tape on this sail is a bit larger than the original. I have a Furlex 200 for the jib. The jib is always a problem to raise every spring season. My wife uses the cockpit winch on the jib halyard in the cockpit while I feed the luff into the slot in the headstay foil. I use lots and lots of McLube spray lube and silicone spray on the luff tape and as high as I can reach into the headstay slot. The jib still goes up hard every year but then slides down easily in the fall. There is a tendency for a fold of sail to get trapped in the headstay slot as you feed the luff tape and that will bind the sail in the slot.

 

[Gunni]

The jib still goes up hard every year but then slides down easily in the fall.

Classic indication of bad swivel bearings and a possible halyard wrap. Ask yourself, why would you need to excessively lube the foil track to get it up, but have it fall on deck when you release the halyard?

 

[thinwater]

Buy a length of luff tape from Sailrite, put a grommet in each end (make 2 of these), and haul it up and down soaked in xylene, followed by one soaked in Sailkote.

No, this is not an indication of a wrap or bearing problems, unless you can see the wrap or the foil is bent. It is the result of different tensions under gravity than hoisting. The friction over the head pulley and the halyard restraining strap are also much greater when hoisting. A little Sailkote on the halyard and the outside of the foil (the top swivel must slide) helps.

Easy fix.

 

[Gunni]

Check the "swivel hub" part marked A1 on the attached diagram. The swivel hub is a friction fit on your foil, riding up and down with each hoist and transferring the sail load from foil to sail. As it wears and comes out of OEM dimension it will cock and bind your hoist, but slide back down once you release the halyard tension.