I have a 2007 Hunter 38 sailing on Lake Ontario that has developed a problem with the main sail jamming up. THe top of the sail remains jammed in the furling mast when the sail is fully extended on the boom. The longest vertical batten hangs up in the mast. after my last sail it was extremely difficult to furl the main and completely jammed up when I attempted to unfurl it at the dock. Having the marina service shop look at it this week to see if there is a mechanical problem or something else happening.
Hunter 38 Mainsail jamming
- Thread starter ptmurphy
- Start date
You can fix this yourself with a helper by dropping the main halyard and pulling the sail down and out of the mast. Then re-load the sail.
My experience has been that this happens when the leech of the sail is too loose when furling and this allows a large fold of sail to get wrapped around the furler in the mast. We started with the full vertical battens and now have a new sail with short vertical battens. There was a learning curve for both sails but once figured out we seldom have any trouble at all. Some careful working of the sail in and out with both the furling line and the out haul has always worked for us. To keep the leech tight when furling the boom needs to be as horizontal as possible. ie topping lift loose and vang tight. On our 38 I had to move the vang position on the boom to allow the boom to lie closer to the arch, ours was set up from new with the vang such that it was impossible to tighten the leech. When furling the main you want to be into the wind, lock off the sheet, cinch the vang down, have a turn of the outhaul around the winch, open the outhaul jammer, open the out jammer for the continuous line. Then haul in on the furling line while keeping a little tension on the outhaul. It is the position of the boom end which determines how much tension is on the leech when furling. Just like when sailing a little difference in vang makes a bit difference in leech tension and sail shape. Hope that helps?
It happened on my Hunter45CC also after for years having a Doyle sail. The sail got pouched out over time and then the vertical short batten at the top jammed since the sail was overlapping when rolled into the mast. I finally got a new sail from Mack Sails - perfect, no more jamming! Agree with all the other advices (keeping tension on the outhaul when furling in on slight port tack). Hope this helps!
Good luck! Viktor
Good luck! Viktor