45DS mainsail furling

[MFD]

Thanks for the reply sail sfbay. Just one note, the rope clutches on the cabin top do not slip.
I am guessing that it slipping at the drum at the mast, but have not seen it so can't confirm.
Replacing the furling line might help.
Right now I am mainly wondering if this is common/expected and the ratchet is the solution or if I should be looking deeper.

Yeah - more than likely the plastic drum on the in-mast winch is worn out. It's a common problem.

Also keep in mind, if you have Spinlock clutches - to ALWAYS keep them at the semi-engaged position when pulling line in/through. If you have them 'clamped' you are wearing out the plastic teeth in the clutch and not so much your rope/line. With the semi-engaged position there will be light spring pressure and 'about enough' to not let line go out while hauling in lots of it with light loads. With fully engaged - you are just wearing out the equipment.

Same goes for handling the drum in the main mast furling winch.

 

[flightlead404]

Slightly related, just thought I'd pass on this tidbit. Last year I had trouble unfurling practically every time I used my main. The sail would jam in the slot in the mast. Often the sail coming out would look like it was pulling additional layers of sail out with it. No matter how tightly I rolled the sail it would do it.

A couple of weeks ago while cleaning and greasing the bearings and gears in the mast I also added a bit of tension to the furling. I wasn't particularly scientific about it, just added 3 turns on the turnbuckle. So far, it appears to have made quite an improvement.

 

[sail sfbay]

Had a rigging inspection today and my rigger indicated the mast winch teeth can wear resulting in continuous slippage, if not secured in a clutch. He indicated the sailneeds to be dropped and the winch removed, re-built and then re-instlled......very complicated and time consuming.

 

[flightlead404]

Had a rigging inspection today and my rigger indicated the mast winch teeth can wear resulting in continuous slippage, if not secured in a clutch. He indicated the sailneeds to be dropped and the winch removed, re-built and then re-instlled......very complicated and time consuming.

judging by what I hear, see on threads, and the state of my boat most boat owners don't seem to understand that these things need regular cleaning and lubrication.

I sent my wife to the mast head to get the top bearings

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Had a rigging inspection today and my rigger indicated the mast winch teeth can wear resulting in continuous slippage,

Had a close look inside the plates of the reefing winch and couldn't see any significant signs of wear on our "winch teeth" as mentioned in post #20. I've got to admit that the Wet Coast of B.C. doesn't get a lot of wind in the summer so maybe that explains why the lack of erosion on the teeth.

judging by what I hear, see on threads, and the state of my boat most boat owners don't seem to understand that these things need regular cleaning and lubrication.

Seems fair that the main should stay in place without the reefing winch being locked if everything is maintained. The main can then be reefed without anyone going to the mast to unlock the winch when the deck is awash in green water .

 

[H30sailor]

I don't do a lot of single handing, but when the going gets tough and it's just me and miles of ocean, I am so happy when I can do everything from the cockpit. In particular, reefing both in and out.



Got to wonder what you use for lines (or if their covered in green moss) if yours become slippery when wet. Wet polyester grabs on to anything and jams into the reefing winch.

Do yourself a favour and examine your inmast furling a little closer and see why it's designed the way it is. The ratchet is ONLY for reefing by a crewmwmber at the mast. The reefing winch is for control from the cockpit.

So the ratchet is actually a terrific safety feature and is not just for control at the mast. The ratchet feature prevents the sail from unfurling.
Once the desired amount of sail has been unfurled (drum set to “free”), the control knob should be placed back in “ratchet” position. This prevents the sail from unrolling. Now reefing is controlled entirely from the cockpit.

I saw your post yesterday morning just before heading out to the boat. Figured it was about time I understood how and why my reefing winch was able to grip the furling line so tightly when others seemed to have problems with slippage.

This is the arrangement of the furling line in the cockpit:

View attachment 207320

The two red lines have been gripped together, tugged by hand and then both rope clutches slammed shut.



This is the arrangement at the mast:

View attachment 207321

The winch is unlocked and a winch handle has been inserted into the furling winch. CCW turning unfurls the sail. The winch handle is cranked CCW until it is ready to tear the RH section of the rope clutch off its mounting. The handle is then turned CW and again it is now ready to tear the LH section of the rope clutch off its mounting. Back and forth repeatedly and it jams every time. If you look inside the winch plates, the faces are covered with heavy radial protrusions which force the furling line towards the centre of the winch. It has to jam.

I notice that my 10 mm. furling line is about 5 to 6 years old and showing wear but is still solid and fits snugly in the reefing winch.



Sorry, but I see no need in going through all this rigamaroll. It's just not required. Looks like you're going to be the only one on board who knows (and remembers) how to furl the main.



Probably because it's so simple they figured it's not worth mentioning.

There’s no need to use a winch handle on mast drum unless for instance the line has jumped off the drum. The system is designed to be almost fully controlled from the cockpit. The ratchet is a terrific safety feature and should be used almost all the time whether sailing or not. Here’s how:

When ready to pull out some sail, the mast drum is set to “free” and the desired amount of sail is pulled out using the outhaul while keeping some tension on the “furl” side of the continuous line. Once the desired amount of sail has been deployed, both continuous furling line clutches and the outhaul clutch are closed. Set the mast drum back to “ratchet”. This is a safety setting so that the sail cannot catch a gust of wind and unroll further. Now the sail is ready at any time to reef safely from the cockpit. Keeping mild tension on the outhaul, for example by using a wrap or two on a free cockpit winch) the “furl in” side of the continuous line is wrapped clockwise on its cockpit winch and its clutches are opened. The clutch to the outhaul is opened, which will allow the sail to feed back into the mast. Furl in at the cockpit winch.

When winds die back and you’re ready to pull out some more sail, the mast drum is set back to “free”. After deploying the desired amount of sail, it is immediately set back to “ratchet” ready to reef or furl away at any time. The setting remains on “ratchet” until the next time you’re pulling out the sail.

Also by remaining in safety mode with the mast drum set to “ratchet”, you can ease or tighten the outhaul to adjust a partially furled sail shape without worry that more sail will just get pulled out of the mast by pulling on the outhaul. Kind of ingenious.

So essentially the setting should always be on ratchet during sailing (ready to reef or furl away) and also when finished sailing so that the sail cannot accidentally be deployed by a wind gust.