Headsail "Barber Poling" When Furling

duck21

.
Jul 17, 2020
120
Hunter 376 0 Washburn, WI on Lake Superior
Hello, brain-trust.

I was taught to keep some tension on the jib sheets in order to ensure a nice tight furl. On my old Catalina 30 this was the case, I never had issues.

On our new boat (Hunter 376, although this probably isn't particularly relevant) when I furl the sail the sheet tension pulls down on the clew where the sheets are tied to the sail. This results in the sun cover "barber poling" the last few wraps leaving sail exposed (blue sun cover, white sail, it's quite obvious where the overlap is missed). If I don't tension the sheet then the wrap tends to be too loose and I run out of furling line on the drum. At this point I've found myself, at the end of the day, having to unfurl some or all of the sail (in little/no wind), hold the clew above my head (adding tension) while someone else wraps the sail with the furling line. Then I get a nice clean wrap with no sail exposed.

Does any one else have this problem? Any tips as to how to get a good wrap on the first try?
 

Dave Groshong

SBO Staff
Staff member
Jan 25, 2007
1,864
Catalina 22 Seattle
As DayDreamer said, it is essential you have some tension when furling, otherwise you get the "candy cane" effect, who knows though, your furling line might be too short, or too fat, give me a call if you'd like to discuss.

dave
877-932-7245 x116
Mon-Fri, 9-3:30 Pacific
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
Sounds like you need to move the cars back to change the angle of the sheets to get the proper tension.