How ro remove an in-mast furling mainsail?

[ckreitlein]

Since buying my b-331 a year ago, I have never been able to unfurl the mainsail completely. The foot is out completely but not the head of the sail. I bought a new Neil Pryde mainsail and need instruction on how to remove the old mainsail from the furler. Is anyone available to give me instruction or advice on tricks to do the job done?

 

[SycloneDriver]

Have you got any pictures?

 

[JamesG161]

Is anyone available to give me instruction or advice on tricks to do the job done?

you may not have a problem at all.

read this link from start to finish first.

In mast 'piece of crap' furling system

Then I can help.
Jim...

PS: I will check back in about an hour.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Easy, if you tell us the make and model of the furler.

 

[Davidasailor26]

The whole luff rotates on one foil, so I don’t see how the foot could be out and the head still partially furled.

I just unfurl mine completely and release the halyard. It starts falling on its own and then I pull the luff down a little to help it along. The trickiest part is getting the head and tack shackles off the foil after the sail is down. That takes some delicate work reaching inside the access cutouts. For that step it helps to stuff a rag in the mast under the sail to catch any escaping parts.

 

[danstanford]

Rotate the furler until the sail is fully out and you should be able to see where the tack is shackled to the furler. The most difficult thing is getting the shackle undone and out without dropping it down the mast. A noted above you loosen the halyard and pull the sail out as it drops.

 

[JamesG161]

Wild guess...

I have never been able to unfurl the mainsail completely

He has never had the Correct Halyard tension.

Too loose exhibits his problem.

Jim...

PS: @ckreitlein check your Private Messages

 

[PovilO]

Do you have vertical battens? On my 361 the top batten would stick in the mast not allowing the top to come out while the foot of the sail would fully extend. Battens or not the solution is to go up with a bosun's chair and yank the top out!

 

[justsomeguy]

yank the top out!

Ayup, there is some yanking involved.

 

[JamesG161]

Ayup,

Why did you Capitalize this?

How much force is "Some Yanking"?

Great add to this thread.

 

[Lu Sea]

When the top of the sail is jammed in the mast, we alternate pulling the inhaul back in a few feet and pulling the luff out a few feet at the mast, going quickly back and forth until it comes out. this process needs two people, one in the cockpit on the inhaul line and one person standing at the mast. Thankfully, we have never had to go up the mast.

 

[JamesG161]

@ckreitlein and I finally had our phone call last night.

We discussed Terminology and focused on his issues.

This my opinion is from the SBO link in my post #3 above.

Halyard Tension... (a tip from the spar maker)
There is a "sweet spot" for tension. Too tight and the upper swivel is in a bind and won't turn. Too loose and the swivel spins with the sail. It took me two tries to find that "sweet spot".

And possibly this...

Furling Bearings...
Mine are Stainless self lubricating, but they need a good water flushing 2 times a year to washout "spider dung" or whatever. If you lube them, use a dry lube that won't accumulate/attract dirt.
_______

He does have a new Main Sail.
_______________
It is a 2-3 person job to drop the Main and fold it properly, as the Halyard is lowered, bit by bit.

At that removal time.
1) Flush and clean the Swivels
2) Secure the upper and lower shackles to prevent them from dropping inside the mast.
3) Fold the old sail , left and right, so that it can be removed easily and put in a Sail Bag.
4) Inspect the Foil for possible bent OPEN points.
5) Also a good time to use shore water on pressure hose to clean the entire mast Slot of debris.
______
I am assuming the new sail has the right size, seamed in, Rope.

Time to install new Main Sail...

1) Attach the upper swivel to the Main Sail top with its Shackle.
2) Pull up the Halyard, bit by bit, feeding the seamed in Rope, inside the Foil groove.
3) Over pull the Halyard when Full Main is inside the Foil Groove, allowing the bottom Shackle and Swivel to connect foot of the New Main Sail.

This is best done on a Zero Wind day.

I would suggest having the New Main Sail maker there during this procedure.

Jim...

 

[DayDreamer41]

Ah the challenge of a furling mainsail, with (2) persons one in the cock pit and one on the mast mounted winch deploy the mainsail controlling its deployment from the mast mounted winch watching the luff edge at the same time the person working the outhaul in the cockpit keeping tension on the outhaul, working as a team work the sail in and out in small advances and furl back in, back and forth while on a starboard tack. Allow the mainsheet and vang some slack.
Sounds as if the main at one time was furled hurriedly and possibly while going downwind, which will cause the head of the sail to start its adventure back into the mast before the tack.
Once you have the sail all the way out (head and foot) you will have to furl it back in while paying attention to the luff edge, make sure it goes back in somewhat evenly, so when at the dock while pulling it out during an almost windless day (or in the lee of a building, or bow to breeze) it (the main) come out fully, then you can release the main halyard and pull the sail down.
Once down you will see how head of the sail is connected, be careful not to drop and parts.
While the sail is off, lubricate all the moving parts of the furling system with while lithium grease or dry lubricant, The upper (top of the foil) is important and usually involves stepping the mast to lubricate properly.

 

[ckreitlein]

Thanks to everyone who posted a response. Unfortunately, I took my boat out for a sail, to really work the main sail furler... and I got things really screwed up. The sail overlapped and jammed up and down the Mast track to the point where I was barely able to get it in, with still about 4 ft out. After getting back to the slip, I went to the local rigger with my photographs. He said "I know exactly what your problem is, you're using the original sail and that is not going to work. An in-mast furler works well with a crisp new sail and will not work well with anything old and blown out. I had to unjam one this morning just like yours. We fix them all the time, but you need a new sail." Fortunately, I have a new sail I bought fron neil pryde at the Annapolis boat show that I have been waiting to put on...., so he and I arranged to have him do the job next week. The rigger asked me to pressure wash the bearings below the Barber pole line wrapper before bringing the boat over....I admit I did not know there were bearings down that low, but I guess there are.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Oh my, that is buggered up real good! Good luck with the rigger

 

[Davidasailor26]

Yeah, that’s a bad one. One key point when both furling and un-furling - if it’s getting harder or the sail is starting to overwrap you should stop and reverse direction quickly. No good comes of trying to power through it. The wraps don’t work themselves out, they just get tighter and harder to fix.

 

[joker460]

I've never seen the foot of a sail so high. Mine is no more than 2-3 " above the boom. That looks like a couple of feet? Definitely going to be fun to untangle.