The in-mast furler (US Spar) on our ’07 Hunter 27 had a major fail late last week. As I was forward tidying up the jib sheets after furling that sail (we like to coil & tie off the sheets on the pulpit rail rather than keeping them run back to the winches), I heard a racket behind me and turned to see the main tumbling down. I yelled to the admiral at the helm, “Why did you release the main halyard?,” but then I realized she couldn’t have done that and still been behind the wheel! (There’s still some hard feelings about my tone of voice on that one… Oops!)
We were about to pull into an anchorage and drop the hook for the evening, and since we were 20+ miles from our home port, we just flaked the main over the boom and tied it up like the “old days” (sans the boom cover!). We motorsailed back the next day using the jib for a little boost, and since the wind was brisk and generally just off our nose for much of the trip, we didn’t miss the main.
When we got home, we removed the main to fold & stow it for the time being. What we found as we did so was unexpected. The problem was not that the halyard had parted, but that the furler headpiece/collar that attaches to the head of the sail and goes up the foil had somehow failed. Undoubtedly, when it happened, the released tension on the luff shot the headpiece up hard and jammed it there. Doh! We know the line didn’t fail because it’s still under tension back to the rope clutch. Further, the clip that attaches at the head of the main — and is closed with seizing wire to be sure it doesn’t slip off — was still attached to the sail!
So the main halyard is now stuck at the top of the mast. As for getting up there, the jib halyard is not only attached to the jib furler, which would make it problematic for hoisting someone aloft, but also we’re a fractional rig, so it still is a good 6’ below the top of the mast. (We don’t run a spinnaker, though there is a messenger line run should we want to add a spinny halyard at some future point… no help today!) So the only option is the topping lift. Unfortunately, that looks to be a 1/4” line, which would be a bit sketchy for a working load of someone 200+ pounds, as well as kinda hard to grasp under load. (Yes, we would use the winch to hoist, but coming back down, I think you’d need a good hold while on belay.)
Anyway, I called a rigger Friday morning (Bring Out Another Thousand), and as far as the masthead access/hoisting issue is concerned, he’s saying we could sew on to the end of the existing topping lift to run a thicker line, perhaps 1/2” or 3/8”, and it would be safe to put a full adult-sized load on it… as long as they don’t go to McDonalds too often…
But the main problem still remains: “What broke and how complex is the fix?” If the attachment on the headpiece for the clip actually broke off, then the whole piece will need to be replaced. I assume that scenario will require unstepping the mast, a fairly complex, time consuming repair, and then stepping the mast again (Bring Out Another Thousand... or two). If that’s the case, I think I’ll just finish the season as is, go a lot slower under jib only, and unstep the mast when we go on the hard in a month or so and deal with the repair at that point (we normally leave up the mast in the offseason). However, in the initial phone call with my new-best-friend-rigger, he said he had pulled up an illustration online of our furling system, and while the headpiece didn’t quite show full details, he thought that there might be a pin which holds the clip in place and perhaps that’s what failed. Maybe I’ll only have to bring out half-a-thou for that…
So there’s the sad tale as I know it today. I’m waiting to hear back from the rigger to determine when we can meet and figure out (1) how to get up the mast and retrieve the halyard, and (2) how to fix the failure. I’ll have to drive 3 1/2 hours from Mid-VT to Mystic, CT, but luckily (or not, depending on your point of view), I’m a theatre master electrician/stagehand and both of my primary venues are closed for renovations until next year, so I have plenty of time on my hands until ski season comes around and I start my instructor gig.
In the meantime, I thought I’d probe the collected wisdom here to be forewarned and forearmed prior to my meet and greet with the rigger.
Thanks, in advance, for any experience, strength, or hope!
We were about to pull into an anchorage and drop the hook for the evening, and since we were 20+ miles from our home port, we just flaked the main over the boom and tied it up like the “old days” (sans the boom cover!). We motorsailed back the next day using the jib for a little boost, and since the wind was brisk and generally just off our nose for much of the trip, we didn’t miss the main.
When we got home, we removed the main to fold & stow it for the time being. What we found as we did so was unexpected. The problem was not that the halyard had parted, but that the furler headpiece/collar that attaches to the head of the sail and goes up the foil had somehow failed. Undoubtedly, when it happened, the released tension on the luff shot the headpiece up hard and jammed it there. Doh! We know the line didn’t fail because it’s still under tension back to the rope clutch. Further, the clip that attaches at the head of the main — and is closed with seizing wire to be sure it doesn’t slip off — was still attached to the sail!
So the main halyard is now stuck at the top of the mast. As for getting up there, the jib halyard is not only attached to the jib furler, which would make it problematic for hoisting someone aloft, but also we’re a fractional rig, so it still is a good 6’ below the top of the mast. (We don’t run a spinnaker, though there is a messenger line run should we want to add a spinny halyard at some future point… no help today!) So the only option is the topping lift. Unfortunately, that looks to be a 1/4” line, which would be a bit sketchy for a working load of someone 200+ pounds, as well as kinda hard to grasp under load. (Yes, we would use the winch to hoist, but coming back down, I think you’d need a good hold while on belay.)
Anyway, I called a rigger Friday morning (Bring Out Another Thousand), and as far as the masthead access/hoisting issue is concerned, he’s saying we could sew on to the end of the existing topping lift to run a thicker line, perhaps 1/2” or 3/8”, and it would be safe to put a full adult-sized load on it… as long as they don’t go to McDonalds too often…
But the main problem still remains: “What broke and how complex is the fix?” If the attachment on the headpiece for the clip actually broke off, then the whole piece will need to be replaced. I assume that scenario will require unstepping the mast, a fairly complex, time consuming repair, and then stepping the mast again (Bring Out Another Thousand... or two). If that’s the case, I think I’ll just finish the season as is, go a lot slower under jib only, and unstep the mast when we go on the hard in a month or so and deal with the repair at that point (we normally leave up the mast in the offseason). However, in the initial phone call with my new-best-friend-rigger, he said he had pulled up an illustration online of our furling system, and while the headpiece didn’t quite show full details, he thought that there might be a pin which holds the clip in place and perhaps that’s what failed. Maybe I’ll only have to bring out half-a-thou for that…
So there’s the sad tale as I know it today. I’m waiting to hear back from the rigger to determine when we can meet and figure out (1) how to get up the mast and retrieve the halyard, and (2) how to fix the failure. I’ll have to drive 3 1/2 hours from Mid-VT to Mystic, CT, but luckily (or not, depending on your point of view), I’m a theatre master electrician/stagehand and both of my primary venues are closed for renovations until next year, so I have plenty of time on my hands until ski season comes around and I start my instructor gig.
In the meantime, I thought I’d probe the collected wisdom here to be forewarned and forearmed prior to my meet and greet with the rigger.
Thanks, in advance, for any experience, strength, or hope!
