20 year old furlex roller furller track jams when hoisting jib

[Capt Robbie]

Never had this issue before, last year when hoisting the jib into the track the sail start to get difficult to pull up after it reached approximately 3/4 up the track. Lowered it down about 1/2 way and had to winch it up the last 10% of the way up. When lowering it at the end of the season it normally just drops after releasing the rope clutch, but had to give it a few tugs downward and after a few feet it dropped to the deck with no trouble.
This spring had the same issue, this time about 1/2 way up the track. Lowered it down again and switched to the other track and raised it again. It jammed again about the 1/2 point.
lowered the sail three or four times and it keeps getting stuck 1/2 point. Normally I can just hoist it up by hand. This year had to winch it up the rest of the way to the top.
Nothing has changed the past to season's also checked to make sure that the halyard didn’t somehow get wrapped around the track. Everything appears to be clear and working. With the sail out of the track I look up the tracks to see if anything was bent or any kind of obstruction.
I don’t see anything. The leading edge of the sail appears to be in good condition as well.

my thoughts are that some kind of dirt or grime is in the track. I’m at a loss why it keeps jamming. I’m thinking about somehow getting something to fit into the track and using some soap to run it up and down the track to see if that works. Any suggestions would be appreciated
Or if anyone else has had this issue. How you resolved it.

 

[dlochner]

How are the sections of he track connected to each other? It is not uncommon for the rivets, screws or whatever to back out a little and cause the symptoms you describe. The solution involves a close inspection of the mast track from bottom to top. If the mast comes down each winter, this is easy. If not someone has to go up the forestay to inspect it.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

McLube Sailkote. Soap isn’t a long -term solution.

as with any problem, start with the easy (read -cheap) options first.

 

[jssailem]

There are a couple of possibilities to check.

• Certainly you may have dirt in the sail track/slide. Cleaning it with a little McLube Sailkote on a rag that you pull up the tack can help. They make a cleaning cloth that fits the track and is hauled up using the halyard and pulled down using an attached line.
• You may have an issue with the joins on your furler extrusion. Check the extrusion at the joins that a screw or the fitting has not been damaged. You said it was difficult and you over came the problem by applying force. This may have further damaged the sections and now the force is not working.
• Youu may have an issue with the luff on the sail. Some times the sail threads fail due to UV damage. This causes a wrinkle in the sail that jams in the sail slot. The sail can be repaired by a sail loft.
• lastly check out the halyards and the sheaves used to hoist the sail. If they are failing you cna see those same systems. When the sail needs an extra help because of the friction of the sail and the halyards it can manifest it self when the sail is partially raised.

The sail and rigging is designed to work smoothly If at any time it stops working smoothly, force to overcome the rough patch is often negative not positive. Look at the rigging and the sail to fidn the problem when it is little before it becomes monstrous.