2 Sail/Rigging questions

[jGo]

Hi all!

I have 2 questions about my sails.

1. My main often gets hung up on the topping lift. There doesn't seem to be a predictable pattern. Sometimes it happens close hauled other times when running. The topping lift is all the way out and the luff is cleated down as much as possible. Thoughts?

2. My furling jib doesn't like to unfurl the last 2 turns or so and I end up having to send someone up there to twist it by hand. This kinda defeats the purpose of the furler, no? I have tried keeping tension on the furling line and tried it without. I have tried unfurling on a tack and in irons. Thoughts?

I have attached a photo that shows both happening simultaneously.

Thanks!

 

[Clark]

What is your topping lift made of? It sounds like it is a bit heavy or a bit short or both. I have a lift on my 280 (very large roach in the main) and have no trouble with the lift because I can let it out quite a bit and it is a (relatively) light, tough 1/4" line. When free, it flies behind the sail in most any decent breeze and just dangles when the winds are very light. As for your furler, it doesn't take much drag to keep the final couple of turns from coming out. Have you tried momentarily pulling hard on your jib sheet to help?
Edit: On your furler, make sure it is lubed properly as well; both the lower part and the upper. Added drag there can make the last couple of turns tougher.

 

[jrowan]

You have 2 different questions but here goes - your topping lift appears to be to tight.
If there is not enough extra length left to release the line to leave it slack so the main can run freely, then you may need to add an extension to it. If its made of wire like mine, then U will have to add a cable splice, if its cordage then that's easier to extend.
Many topping lifts have a small block added on the end of the boom to allow the adjustment of tension on the topping lift. The excess is cleated to an extra cleat set in front of the block on the boom. When the mainsail is up, the topping lift is not necessary to leave tight, as the main will support the boom. You only need to tension the lift when the sail is lowered to prevent the boom from falling.
Furlers are another story. My Harken unit used to jamb up on me about 7/8 of the way unfurled too. I tried several things such as lubrication of the drum, tightening & loosening the jib halyard, changing the furling line, raising the clew of the sail, etc.
Many times the halyard is actually wrapping or twisting around itself onto the forestay.
Halyard wrap will eventually strip the outer cover off your line & cause it to break.
Mine did at the top of the mast. Not fun to shimy up there in a bosun's chair to repair. A halyard restrainer bracket pulling the hayard away from the forestay will fix this, if its the problem. Examine the top of the mast at the forestay & top swivel with binoculars when unfurling to check. Of course mine always worked perfectly at the dock! Its when its under strain that the fault always occurs. Good luck & tell us what fixed the problem.

 

[cjb300]

Look at the wrinkles on your main, looks like you have too much outhaul on the mainsail.

 

[weinie]

1. Topping should have lots of slack in it. It should only be taught if you have the sail down and you want to keep the boom from dropping onto the deck.

2. Check to make sure your furling line isnt too think or isnt coiling improperly in the furler drum. You might just have too much line getting spooled up on the drum. Unfurl the sail at the dock on a windless day.

 

[jGo]

Thanks for all the responses.

1. I should be able to easily add some cordage to the topping lift. There is a block about 2' above the boom and cordage is run from the back of the boom through the topping lift block, then back through another block on the boom and up to the cleat. Solution = longer cord. (Also, lowering the end of the boom by relieving the topping lift will get rid of those unsightly wrinkles, no?)

2. I'll play around with the furler a bit more and get back to you all!

Again, Thanks!

 

[foolproof]

Looking at your picture it appears that your main is not all the way up! There is a black line at the top of the mast, about a foot above the sail, and a line about 9" above the boom.

Make sure that your boom is loose at the gooseneck and can slide up when you lift the main. Getting the sail all the way up the mast should ease some tension on the topping lift as well, and should give better performance. It will also help with some of the wrinkles, though it does look like the foot is too tight.

 

[cjb300]

yeah, it does look like the main is not hoisted all the way. Look at the gooseneck, maybe the flattening reef is attached to the horns for some reason. Hoisting your main to the top will help and ease all control lines, vang, cunningham, etc and then see how it looks.

 

[Joe]

Look at the gooseneck, maybe the flattening reef is attached to the horns for some reason.

There's a flattening reef on a C22?.... hmmm...

 

[cjb300]

There's a flattening reef on a C22?.... hmmm...

Well, look at the photo and if you look close at the tack of the main, it looks like it is hooked on the horns. I am not sure if it is the Cunningham cringle or not. Looking at the clew of the main, looks like it is pulled flatter and down, like a flattening reef. Who knows who made these sails so it is possible they have these items. Also, looking at the boat in question, it is not a Catalina 22, maybe a 27?

 

[jGo]

Learning

Yes a Catalina 27. I have to admit that I am not familiar with all of these terms.
Is the Flattening Reef the line at the bottom, luff end of the boom that limits/controls the vertical travel?
Is 'Horns' another name for a cleat -or- a cleat on the mast?

RE: Sail not all the way up. Embarrassing!
Looking at more photos, I did not have the flattening reef (?) let out to allow the boom to lift to the proper height.



Thanks for the comments!!
Learning is fun!

 

[cjb300]

A flattening reef, you will see on most sailboats that race, it flattens the mainsail some.

the line that adjusts the foot of the sail, that portion along the boom is called the outhaul. Seems you have yours pretty tight in these pictures.

Your topping lift does appear to be adjustable as you can see the wire comes down from the top of the mast and it appears to end in an 'eye' where a line is then lead thru the eye and goes to a cleat somewhere on the boom. Ease the topping lift when sailing but remember to pull it tight when dropping the main.

 

[Joe]

CJB I was referring to your C 22, pretty cool...... I'm thinking, however, that the Cat 27 owner isn't set up for racing quite yet.

I don't see any flattening reef feature in the second Cat 27 picture... looks like the sail is not hoisted correctly, though.... The old Cat 27's had a boom downhaul instead of a cunningham.....meaning the gooseneck could slide up in the sail groove if it's not secured.... I can't see a cunningham cringle on the sail luff.... so he needs to full hoist the main....then.... adjust the boom downhaul to correct the wrinkles out of the luff.

His main has an attached foot, no shelf.... thus.. the outhaul won't work as effectively as on a loose or shelf foot sail. In this case, a flattening reef would be a practical modification.... but ... I'd be more inclined to save the money and put it towards a new, loose foot main with a cunningham cringle.

With a cunnigham set up he could immobilize the gooseneck with a couple of track stops.... giving him much better luff control.

 

[jrowan]

I would not allow the boom to be loosened to allow the main sail to rise on the boom on this boat the way it sis rigged. Because he has no boom vang set up to stop the boom from rising. This boat also has the original end boom mainsheet setup which allows for a lot of twist & bagginess in the sail. Raising the boom will only worsen performace. He just needs to add length to the toppinglift to stop it from running, ease the outhaul a little to stop the wrinkles in the main. Then add a new boom vang, new traveller set up, fix the jib furler........& he's right on track with the rest of us with the 1 million projects list that we will never finish! lol. Cheers.

 

[Joe]

I would not allow the boom to be loosened to allow the main sail to rise on the boom on this boat the way it sis rigged. Because he has no boom vang set up to stop the boom from rising. This boat also has the original end boom mainsheet setup which allows for a lot of twist & bagginess in the sail. Raising the boom will only worsen performace. He just needs to add length to the toppinglift to stop it from running, ease the outhaul a little to stop the wrinkles in the main. Then add a new boom vang, new traveller set up, fix the jib furler........& he's right on track with the rest of us with the 1 million projects list that we will never finish! lol. Cheers.

Sorry man........ just can't see where you came up with end boom sheeting causing bagginess in the sail...my boat has end boom sheeting and there are no issues...in fact end boom sheeting is a very effective rigging set up. The mid boom sheeting's greatest attribute is it clears up the cockpit... but conversely it is more difficult to tend because of it's location.

Like I said...... and apparently Jgo has already figured out.... he simply needed to hoist his main properly.

 

[StanFM]

Off topic, but jGo, I love that dark shiny hull! Beautiful! Also, I'm glad you posted the second pic, as I now realize you do not have a huge head with a big blue hat-- instead a grill with a cover on it!

Stan

 

[jGo]

Off topic, but jGo, I love that dark shiny hull! Beautiful! Also, I'm glad you posted the second pic, as I now realize you do not have a huge head with a big blue hat-- instead a grill with a cover on it!

Stan

Thanks Stan! LOL!

 

[StanFM]

Although we live here in Arizona, we travel northwest to Seattle often. The light rail is awesome-- we hop off the plane, walk to the train, and zoom-- we're downtown. We love taking the ferries out to Bainbridge and Bremerton. Our dream is to sail in the sound one day. Our boat (a little 22) is a first small step toward that as we learn and get started here.

Stan