In mast furling issues

D

Davefromoregon

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Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
I have had my share of in mast furler fouling on my 343. I am pretty careful to make sure the boom is is perpendicular to the boom and that I keep tension on the inhaul while pulling the sail out. Still it fouls.

Suggestions other than getting rid of the in mast system?
 
Rick I

Rick I

.
Jan 6, 2007
414
CS36Merlin and Beneteau 393 - Toronto
The trick is to keep tension on the outhaul when furling. The jamming happens when the sail is furled incorrectly but you don't notice it until the next time you try to unfurl the sail.
 
gleason99

gleason99

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Oct 29, 2008
25
Beneteau 37 Wilmington,DE
if the sail is the original equiptment Neil Pryde or anyother manufacturer and it is over 5 years old or has to much shape or camber from stretch, no amount of outhaul tension will prevent wrinkles from forming in the middle of the sail. you could take the sail in for flattening, basically moving the luff tape towards the center of the sail probably about 2-3 inches and that would help the problem, or get a new sail made out of firmer material
 
D

Davefromoregon

.
Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
gleason99 said:
if the sail is the original equiptment Neil Pryde or anyother manufacturer and it is over 5 years old or has to much shape or camber from stretch, no amount of outhaul tension will prevent wrinkles from forming in the middle of the sail. you could take the sail in for flattening, basically moving the luff tape towards the center of the sail probably about 2-3 inches and that would help the problem, or get a new sail made out of firmer material
Click to expand
It is 5-6 years old but rarely used.
 
B

Barnacle Bill

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Jun 9, 2008
1,771
- -- -Bayfield
Might depend on the manufacturer. I have had a lot of experience with Selden in mast furling mainsails and they work great. I have had problems with other systems (but won't mention names).
 
Rick I

Rick I

.
Jan 6, 2007
414
CS36Merlin and Beneteau 393 - Toronto
I furled my 393 (Neil Pride original equip sail) without a jam for 8 years and it was sailed every winter. I used to furl it on most points of sail and it winds up to 25 kts. I guess I got a bit cocky and the sail was bagged out and it jammed. Took me half a day to unfurl it, going up the mast foot by foot. Next season I got new sails and now usually head up to furl the sail.
 
azguy

azguy

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Aug 23, 2012
337
Catalina 22 Lake Pleasant
Probably no different than keeping tension on my jib sheets when rolling up the headsail, it wraps nice neat and tight when a little tension is applied...
 
F

friesen

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Sep 7, 2013
11
beneteau B40 Bronte
In mast saiil fouling

Davefromoregon said:
I have had my share of in mast furler fouling on my 343. I am pretty careful to make sure the boom is is perpendicular to the boom and that I keep tension on the inhaul while pulling the sail out. Still it fouls.

Suggestions other than getting rid of the in mast system?
Click to expand
Hi Dave

I have very few sail fouls with my B40 (6 years old) reefing system. There are three key issues. The first the vertical battens have to be fully in the sail, and not twisted at all. The second is that the a little bit of outhaul pressure is maintained while reefing the sail in. I do this by putting a couple of loops in the outhaul sheet around a winch. This keeps the sail wound up tighter, and seems to have more room then to come out. The thrid is that there is no or very slight downward pressure on the clew when reefing in (eg the mainsheet and vang are released and the boom is not pulled down)

I do not put any inhaul (reefing) line pressure on when pulling the sail out. It pulls out very quickly most of the time. But I do seem to notice it pulls out a little easier if there is a little bit of wind pressure on the starboard side (eg the boat is 5 degress to port) as the mast opening is on the starboard side, and perhaps it helps keep the sail pressure off the opening on that side a little bit, and perhaps a little less friction.

Regards,

Rick
 
BigEasy

BigEasy

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Jun 21, 2004
2,533
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Dave,
I am also having problems the mainsail on my '06 Ben 343. Tried all the simple remedies. I removed the mainsail yesterday. The sail appears to be in good condition; however, there is some stretch in the center. I have to get the sacrificial cover replaced so I am going to see if recutting will reduce / eliminate the sag. It also appears that the furling in haul line may be rubbing, so I plan to remove the furler & return it to US spars for service & to replace the line. Not using the boat at present because of the weather so might as well get these things completed before Spring. The sail has vertical battens; still undecided whether to keep them or eliminate.
 
DougM

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Someone mentioned the furling line itself... I have seen some cases where the original furling line has been a possible culprit. The line itself can swell over time and could possibly be overfilling the drum inside the mast. Not exactly sure that is a contributor, but could be worth investigating.
 
B

bob_pattison

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Oct 27, 2010
119
E-22 e-22 Stratford
furling

See my previous post on furling mainsails (secrets of furling mainsails revealed) and for things to look out for and do to help the sails furl better….
Replacing furling line is one of a several good ideas. Line starts to flatten out and 'spreads' in the worm gear...seems to add friction.

**I would not spend money recutting 6 year old furling main. Normally sails last 8-20 years...and after 8 every year depends on use, local, sail, owner and other...and by year 8 they are tired and they just get more 'tired'.
So at 6 years old, you are well past mid-life. And importantly, as anyone that has or remembers what their brand new main looked like, they are NOT full and deep. The additional fullness of older sails comes from the fabric being tweaked and stretched over the years through use and furling in and out...so the shape changes as the sail stretches in ways it didn't when it was new. It's not really 'fuller' it's just that the shape is less desirable than new. And when you furl it, this very lack of shape stability adversely affects the ease of furling.
If you recut the sail, you will end up with a flatter stretchy sail and in my experience one that will not furl any easier.

bob pattison
DougM said:
Someone mentioned the furling line itself... I have seen some cases where the original furling line has been a possible culprit. The line itself can swell over time and could possibly be overfilling the drum inside the mast. Not exactly sure that is a contributor, but could be worth investigating.
Click to expand
 
H

hardway

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Jul 8, 2013
1
beneteau moors 401 wilmington CA
in mast furling.

Davefromoregon said:
I have had my share of in mast furler fouling on my 343. I am pretty careful to make sure the boom is is perpendicular to the boom and that I keep tension on the inhaul while pulling the sail out. Still it fouls.

Suggestions other than getting rid of the in mast system?
Click to expand
Get new a new car for the boom. It comes with new bearings. My furler works like a dream now.
 
cymeyer

cymeyer

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Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
We also got a new boom car (with ball bearings instead of nylon) and it made a huge difference. We did have to reduce the angle of the boom with the mast (ie the boom is now much higher at the stern). Moving the boom for us was the answer along with all the other great ideas on this post.

hardway said:
Get new a new car for the boom. It comes with new bearings. My furler works like a dream now.
Click to expand
 
Deadhead

Deadhead

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Jan 22, 2008
328
Beneteau 46 Georgetown YB
I never had problems with the main sail furling on my 343 when following the recommendations in the Neil Pryde sail trim guide. They are the same Bob has specified. Likewise on my '08 B46; however, I replaced the out haul & furling lines before the 2012 season
 
D

Davefromoregon

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Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
BigEasy said:
Dave, I am also having problems the mainsail on my '06 Ben 343. Tried all the simple remedies. I removed the mainsail yesterday. The sail appears to be in good condition; however, there is some stretch in the center. I have to get the sacrificial cover replaced so I am going to see if recutting will reduce / eliminate the sag. It also appears that the furling in haul line may be rubbing, so I plan to remove the furler & return it to US spars for service & to replace the line. Not using the boat at present because of the weather so might as well get these things completed before Spring. The sail has vertical battens; still undecided whether to keep them or eliminate.
Click to expand
According to the rigger, this is a problem with the battens. He took them out and it works properly. Now I need to figure out how to make sure the battens are not a problem when I put them back in ( or have them put back).
 
BigEasy

BigEasy

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Jun 21, 2004
2,533
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Quick update on my furling problems.
I removed the sail and I am getting it checked out. No estimate yet.
I removed the furling mechanism. The bearings were gunked up with salt & grime. After cleaning, the bearings sounded harsh when rotating the furler, so I purchased a new set of upper & lower bearings from US Spars (cost $135.) and installed. Furler action is much better. I also plan to replace the furling line this weekend because the line appears questionable and there appeared to be some rubbing on the inside surface of the worm screw cover.(Cost appx. $60). I don't think that the boom car is an issue in my case. Will wait unitl I get the sail reinstalled before evaluating the car. Also plan to recheck the settings on my rig while the sail is off to determine if it needs to be tweaked. Will update again after I get everything back together.
 
M

Methane Mick

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Jan 19, 2014
8
Beneteau 343 Eagle Harbour YC
Hi, my solution has been to keep tension on the in-haul as the sail is coming out and tension on the out-haul as the sail is coming in. Both operations should have the wind directly ahead or slightly coming from port; never from starboard as the battens have caught a few times. I also release any tension on the main sheet and boom-vang. Hope this helps.
 
BigEasy

BigEasy

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Jun 21, 2004
2,533
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Mick,
Thanks for the advice. Already do all of these things routinely; however, the problem has been getting more severe every time I use the boat. Last two times, when unfurling, the boom would rise as tension on the outhaul line increased with the sail binding in the mast slot. I had to use the boom as a lever and pull it down in successive manner to get the sail out. Didn't really have any problem furling; primarily unfurling. Halyard tension was good also with mainsheet & vang released. Decided to address the issue now, during the winter , while I am not using the boat very much. I really believe the big problem is the sail, with some of the problem related to the furler being gunked up and the furling line creating excess friction. Will reinstall the repaired furler and new line this week. Hope to hear from the sail loft this week, regarding the sail. Thanks for the help.
 
P

peterpinson

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Nov 19, 2013
2
beneteau 36cc buddina qld
Davefromoregon said:
I have had my share of in mast furler fouling on my 343. I am pretty careful to make sure the boom is is perpendicular to the boom and that I keep tension on the inhaul while pulling the sail out. Still it fouls.

Suggestions other than getting rid of the in mast system?
Click to expand
Hi Dave.
I have a 36cc within mast main & at 1st I had trouble too.
When winching the main back into the mast make sure you have tension on the haul out rope.This will make sure the main is tidy & compact when put away.Also when hauling the main out bring the boom over to the port side you will notice this improves the angle of the sail to the mast.
Good luck Peter
 
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