B41 main furler tack slack

[zoya]

Hello,

Since the delivery of my B41, I have been battling an issue with slack at the main's tack while underway when winds reach 15-20 kt. When going to the mast under those conditions, I can grab the tack and easily slide it up and down and inch or two. The luff above the slack seem to be stretched properly and I verified that the sail is properly set its track all along . Once I de-power the sails and go in irons, the slack goes away but sometimes, the luff gets slightly stuck on the furling slot guide where the slack is shown on the picture. I talked to my rigger several times, he applied a bit more tension to the main halyard which seems to reduce the slack but not eliminate it. He says I need a low stretch halyard. Any other B41 with a similar furler issue? I found weird that Beneteau would have stock rigging on the B41 with that problem. Please take a look at the attached pic and let me know what you think.

Best,

 

[CCHer]

When I took delivery of my 37 last year, I was told the luff of the new sail would stretch a bit during the initial use and to keep watch on the halyard tension. That happened and it was simply a matter of tightening the halyard from time to time. At this point I haven't had to do that in several months. The luff seemed to have settled in to its designed length. However if the head of your sail is at the top of the furler, the luff may be too long.

 

[bob_pattison]

Tack is Loose

Re: Soft luff on your 41. Your halyard will stretch initially until it settles in..the sail will stretch a bit as well and your rope clutch might slip a bit...and if any of these things happen the result is as you described.
And even more importantly, the issue of the sail 'sticking' a bit when furling (the first rotation of the furler is the worst usually).
All this is exacerbated by the fact that the tack is a soft webbing, attached to a shackle that is free to rotate aft when not loaded in the normal 'vertical' position.

To address this, I came up with a very easy fix: A small double velcro strap that can be wrapped around the webbing/shackle keeping it tight to the extrusion.
We offer these for free.
See attached PDF.
Also, I updated this last year to include a fix an owner shared with me, which is just to use a heavy duty electrical tie!

My contact details are on the PDF.

Bob Pattison

Hello,

Since the delivery of my B41, I have been battling an issue with slack at the main's tack while underway when winds reach 15-20 kt. When going to the mast under those conditions, I can grab the tack and easily slide it up and down and inch or two. The luff above the slack seem to be stretched properly and I verified that the sail is properly set its track all along . Once I de-power the sails and go in irons, the slack goes away but sometimes, the luff gets slightly stuck on the furling slot guide where the slack is shown on the picture. I talked to my rigger several times, he applied a bit more tension to the main halyard which seems to reduce the slack but not eliminate it. He says I need a low stretch halyard. Any other B41 with a similar furler issue? I found weird that Beneteau would have stock rigging on the B41 with that problem. Please take a look at the attached pic and let me know what you think.

Best,

 

[zoya]

Re: Tack is Loose

Hello Bob,

Thanks so much for jumping in with all that good info. I'll contact you off list to order the fix.

Take care,

Thierry.

 

[artdogwd]

This same issue came up today on my 41 also while we we're sailing today,we had 16 to 18 kts of breeze,one of the guys sailing with me today noticed there was a little luff in my main just like your photo,now you have understand this guy is racing sailor,he said we just need to take the slack out of the main halyard,to which I replied you ain't going up to the mast to fix this,after finally figuring out that my main halyard was led aft,he wrapped the elect. Winch and started taking the slack out slowly as to not break anything.all the slack came out and she furled in nicely without drama. I was very happy to say the least. So take it easy and take the slack out of the main halyard .....I'm sure it'll work for you as it did me...good luck