Furling Mainsail Binding
- Thread starter Alex21425
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Fixing the furling mainsail binding
Alex, I was also having a binding issue with the roller furling main on my 331. I was at the Beneteau Rendezvous this summer and was given a great solution to my problem by the guy in charge of service for my local Beneteau dealer. Hopefully it will work for you as well as it did for me. The bearings get dirty and that dirt causes lots of friction. So much that when I unfurled my main, the canvas would bunch up and bind in the channel where the sail exits the rear of the mast. The suggestion was to flush the two bearings in the mast above and below where the uphaul raps around the drum with WD40. Work the outhaul and uphaul back and fourth while you do this. You should see lots of black gunk drip from the bearings. This also got my uphaul line a little dirty. After you get those bearings good and flushed it should be very easy to pull the sail out by hand. While you are doing this it is also a good idea to flush the bearings on the boom car. You don’t want to leave the WD40 on the bearings because it will attract dirt. You want to flush the bearings with lots of water and a detergent like Simple Green. This will remove the WD40. Let the bearings dry for several hours and apply a liberal coat of McLube. This is a dry lubricant that will not attract dirt. I was told to reapply about once a month to keep things working properly. You can use McLube to lubricate all of the blocks in your furling system, mainsheet, vang, etc. The McLube does not leave the furling system quite as easy to operate as the WD40 but it should stay cleaner and working much longer. I was also told that it would be good to perform the same task on the bearing at the head of the main about once a year. It is good to take the sail down to inspect it once a year anyway. I have not taken my main down yet but just cleaning and re-lubricating the lower two bearings, boom car, and all of the blocks made an incredible difference. I can now furl and unfurl my main completely by hand (still not easy). Before the cleaning I had a very hard time doing it with the winch! There was an older gentleman there who had a large boat and didn’t have the strength to easily unfurl his main. He said that releasing the outhaul, dragging the boom car to the end of the boom, and tying it off gives him more leverage to unfurl the main. You would want to untie the cheater line if you are going to leave some curvature to your main or reef at all. Cory Reinking
Alex, I was also having a binding issue with the roller furling main on my 331. I was at the Beneteau Rendezvous this summer and was given a great solution to my problem by the guy in charge of service for my local Beneteau dealer. Hopefully it will work for you as well as it did for me. The bearings get dirty and that dirt causes lots of friction. So much that when I unfurled my main, the canvas would bunch up and bind in the channel where the sail exits the rear of the mast. The suggestion was to flush the two bearings in the mast above and below where the uphaul raps around the drum with WD40. Work the outhaul and uphaul back and fourth while you do this. You should see lots of black gunk drip from the bearings. This also got my uphaul line a little dirty. After you get those bearings good and flushed it should be very easy to pull the sail out by hand. While you are doing this it is also a good idea to flush the bearings on the boom car. You don’t want to leave the WD40 on the bearings because it will attract dirt. You want to flush the bearings with lots of water and a detergent like Simple Green. This will remove the WD40. Let the bearings dry for several hours and apply a liberal coat of McLube. This is a dry lubricant that will not attract dirt. I was told to reapply about once a month to keep things working properly. You can use McLube to lubricate all of the blocks in your furling system, mainsheet, vang, etc. The McLube does not leave the furling system quite as easy to operate as the WD40 but it should stay cleaner and working much longer. I was also told that it would be good to perform the same task on the bearing at the head of the main about once a year. It is good to take the sail down to inspect it once a year anyway. I have not taken my main down yet but just cleaning and re-lubricating the lower two bearings, boom car, and all of the blocks made an incredible difference. I can now furl and unfurl my main completely by hand (still not easy). Before the cleaning I had a very hard time doing it with the winch! There was an older gentleman there who had a large boat and didn’t have the strength to easily unfurl his main. He said that releasing the outhaul, dragging the boom car to the end of the boom, and tying it off gives him more leverage to unfurl the main. You would want to untie the cheater line if you are going to leave some curvature to your main or reef at all. Cory Reinking
My Problem was Solved
When I chartered a beneteau w/ mast furling, I was told to position the boat anywhere from 0-22 degrees into the wind to furl the main. Pay attention to the angle which the sail is unfurled from the mast and reduce the angle by which it furls into the mast (This prevents furling it around the natural angle and "ridge" created by the unfurled sail). This was one of the basic furling rules that we were given and it worked for us. Other conditions may require other means.
When I chartered a beneteau w/ mast furling, I was told to position the boat anywhere from 0-22 degrees into the wind to furl the main. Pay attention to the angle which the sail is unfurled from the mast and reduce the angle by which it furls into the mast (This prevents furling it around the natural angle and "ridge" created by the unfurled sail). This was one of the basic furling rules that we were given and it worked for us. Other conditions may require other means.
I had the same problem...
...on a chartered beneteau 411 in the BVIs. It would bind when unfurling because the furled wad in the mast would start to come out the slot and jam. I didn't learn the trick until after returning home. Maintenance on your own boat is key, to be sure, but not practical on a charter. Having a trick up your sleave is pretty important in the case of chartering. The trick that I read here somewhere is, I think, the same as what Paul describes, but I can't quite tell from his description. (Sorry, Paul!) Here's my version, untested since as I said, I haven't tried it yet. If you peer into the slot at the rear of the mast, the sail inside is wound one way or another. Let's say it comes off the right-hand side of the furled wad in the mast. To unfurl, the idea is to not be head to wind but to bear off the wind to port (as if on a starboard tack; 20 degrees or so?) so that the sail is forced against the left hand edge of the slot as it comes out. This closes the slot so that the wad of furled sail is kept inside, preventing it from being pulled out of the slot to jam it up. Perhaps another explanation is that it's quite similar to how you hold a roll of Saran Wrap, tin foil, wax paper, etc, in the box when pulling out a strip. If it's unrolling from the top, you hold the outcoming strip against the edge of the box to trap the roll in the box. Paul, if this isn't your method I'd love to hear the variation that you learned! ...RickM...
...on a chartered beneteau 411 in the BVIs. It would bind when unfurling because the furled wad in the mast would start to come out the slot and jam. I didn't learn the trick until after returning home. Maintenance on your own boat is key, to be sure, but not practical on a charter. Having a trick up your sleave is pretty important in the case of chartering. The trick that I read here somewhere is, I think, the same as what Paul describes, but I can't quite tell from his description. (Sorry, Paul!) Here's my version, untested since as I said, I haven't tried it yet. If you peer into the slot at the rear of the mast, the sail inside is wound one way or another. Let's say it comes off the right-hand side of the furled wad in the mast. To unfurl, the idea is to not be head to wind but to bear off the wind to port (as if on a starboard tack; 20 degrees or so?) so that the sail is forced against the left hand edge of the slot as it comes out. This closes the slot so that the wad of furled sail is kept inside, preventing it from being pulled out of the slot to jam it up. Perhaps another explanation is that it's quite similar to how you hold a roll of Saran Wrap, tin foil, wax paper, etc, in the box when pulling out a strip. If it's unrolling from the top, you hold the outcoming strip against the edge of the box to trap the roll in the box. Paul, if this isn't your method I'd love to hear the variation that you learned! ...RickM...
Couple of other ideas
The other responses are right on target, but a few things there are a few other things you may want to consider. Mast bend - anything more than about half the fore and aft thickness of the mast (about 5 inches) is going to increase the friction. If you do have some mast bend (which I like on my B321) try and leave the furled sail in different positions so the internal rod doesn't develop as much memory Use a winch - when furling or unfurling the use of a winch (even though you may not need the power) helps apply steady and even tension - and make sure you have gentle tension on the free line If sailing with a partially furled sail (reefed) - always unfurl the sail completely ( shake out the reef) before putting the sail away - otherwise there will be uneven tension when you do unfurl that could lead to problems
The other responses are right on target, but a few things there are a few other things you may want to consider. Mast bend - anything more than about half the fore and aft thickness of the mast (about 5 inches) is going to increase the friction. If you do have some mast bend (which I like on my B321) try and leave the furled sail in different positions so the internal rod doesn't develop as much memory Use a winch - when furling or unfurling the use of a winch (even though you may not need the power) helps apply steady and even tension - and make sure you have gentle tension on the free line If sailing with a partially furled sail (reefed) - always unfurl the sail completely ( shake out the reef) before putting the sail away - otherwise there will be uneven tension when you do unfurl that could lead to problems
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