Hello all, the head of my new 140% genoa is not wrapping. I've tried different halyard tensions with little effect. Any ideas on what may be wrong?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Genoa head not wrapping
- Thread starter lfcsi
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,334
This is a good suggestion.
This would tension (pull down from the sail head) the leech and belly a bit at the foot. This might resolve the bit of gap you have in your furled sail.
You might also experiment with a little higher hoist to snug up the halyard restrainer closer to the swivel. It may keep the wrap a little cleaner. I emphasize "experiment" with this adjustment because it might not help at all... or it could... who knows. See what you can come up with to add a few inches to the hoist temporarily. For instance, you could extend the sail's tack further up the foil by disconnecting it from the drum shackle and adding a few loops of small diameter line between the two. Remember your just experimenting here, so limiting the activity to dockside at first is the safe method. Whatever the outcome, you should learn something that might be applicable elsewhere. Good Luck.
That’s my guess too. One thing that can happen on older sails is that the leech can stretch out and no longer be under as much tension as it should. It looks like that could explain a wrap like that. Moving the car forward might help keep more leech tension so it furls when it’s supposed to instead of bubbling out while the rest of the sail is wrapping.
The op stated that it’s a new 140 genoa, in which case I would suspect that the head patch is stiff and doesn’t like to be bent around the foil. I have a similar problem with the clew patch on my new mainsail, it’s very stiff and makes closing the sail cover very difficult.
Good catch. I missed that too. I think you’re exactly right - there’s a lot of cloth and stitching at the head there and not a lot of force available to make it curl, so that could explain it.
Yep. We must had the same problem with a brand new sail. After a while it rolls better (at the expense of a permanent curl when unfurled).
At the risk of pointing out something that you already know about and isn't part of the problem, it looks like you have a spinnaker halyard interfering with the swivel. That is usually the quickest way to foul the wrap. It also looks like you have a retainer for the genoa halyard. Simply looking at the gap between the swivel and the top of the stay, it looks like you need the retainer so it is a good thing to have.
I agree with moving the fairlead forward, especially if the top of the sail is luffing when beating.
Also, the buildup at the head of the sail makes that area more "boardy", and may not want to curve around the foil.
Also, the buildup at the head of the sail makes that area more "boardy", and may not want to curve around the foil.
We get this sometimes, regardless of where the fairlead is on the track. It happens if we don't keep a little bit of tension on the sheet as we are furling, and winds are a certain way. Just keeping a little tension on the sheets helps it lay flat. The problem (for us) happens when wind is blowing the genoa and the clew is allowed to float up, creating some twist in the genoa. So, by the time the foot is all rolled up the leech is a bit loose, resulting in the kind of thing you are seeing.
Good observation. Simple explanation of the issue. We must learn to examine all the evidence before offering an opinion...heh, heh. not
