Of late, my main has jammed repeatedly. Usually, I can work the system back-and-forth, push and pull on the sail at the mast, etc. but today the heroics were unrewarded. I wonder if anyone has a favorite tecnique on this?
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Ross thanks for responding.
The main enters the flot in the aft side of the mast and furls around a luff extrusion which in integral to Selden's in-mast furling shaft. The luft of the Elvstrom sail has a type of bolt rope.
Take care,
p.s. I can send you the Selden link if it would help.
Ross thanks for responding.
The main enters the flot in the aft side of the mast and furls around a luff extrusion which in integral to Selden's in-mast furling shaft. The luft of the Elvstrom sail has a type of bolt rope.
Take care,
p.s. I can send you the Selden link if it would help.
Furling an in mast
Should be furled with wind in the sail. Letting it flog will cause more "bunching" and will result in a looser furl than when the sail is carrying wind even with pressure on the out haul. The outhaul does not put even pressure along the luff of the sail and only makes it tighter at the bottom and sometimes the top and looser in the middle. Only a sail full of wind will furl tightly and fit in the mast as it is intended to do.
If it rolls up into the mast counter clock wise you want to be on a starboard tack with the boom near to close hauled. If it rolls up clock wise you want to be on a port tack with the boom in the same location. To far out on the boom beyond a close hauled setting, or close to it, and the sail can bind and create undue friction on the mast edges. It can also damage the sail threads. Point your boat into the wind then fall off just enough to fill the main then furl it..
Although I currently have a boat without in mast furling I'd go back to it in a heart beat as I'm not racing my own boat. I had zero issues with my in mast furling and it always performed flawlessly even in 35+ Nor' Westerlies. It is very convenient and we sailed more because of it.
Should be furled with wind in the sail. Letting it flog will cause more "bunching" and will result in a looser furl than when the sail is carrying wind even with pressure on the out haul. The outhaul does not put even pressure along the luff of the sail and only makes it tighter at the bottom and sometimes the top and looser in the middle. Only a sail full of wind will furl tightly and fit in the mast as it is intended to do.
If it rolls up into the mast counter clock wise you want to be on a starboard tack with the boom near to close hauled. If it rolls up clock wise you want to be on a port tack with the boom in the same location. To far out on the boom beyond a close hauled setting, or close to it, and the sail can bind and create undue friction on the mast edges. It can also damage the sail threads. Point your boat into the wind then fall off just enough to fill the main then furl it..
Although I currently have a boat without in mast furling I'd go back to it in a heart beat as I'm not racing my own boat. I had zero issues with my in mast furling and it always performed flawlessly even in 35+ Nor' Westerlies. It is very convenient and we sailed more because of it.
Inmast furling
The sail does not have to have wind filling it to furl properly - if you are dead into wind you need to keep a small amount of tension on the outhaul line to get it to furl tightly enough inside the mast - no different than the technique you use to furl your headsail.
The sail does not have to have wind filling it to furl properly - if you are dead into wind you need to keep a small amount of tension on the outhaul line to get it to furl tightly enough inside the mast - no different than the technique you use to furl your headsail.
Interesting..
While you may have had good luck with that while your sail is new as it loses shape you may eventually begin to have trouble. The outhaul does not put even pressure at the luff on all sails. While it might on some very flat cut sails it is generally not the case for most production sails.
My factory Catalina sail was not cut very flat and as such the outhaul did NOT let it roll up tightly in the middle unless you kept a little wind on it while furling. If I did not keep wind in it it could bind or roll loosely in the middle section of the sail just as a genny does.
Look at your genoa and you'll see that it's furled more tightly at the top and bottom if you point into the wind to furl. If you furl your genny slightly off the wind it rolls tightly along the entire length of the extrusion. A lot also depends on the weight of your sail cloth and the inside diameter of your spar. Many boats now ship with a light weight sail cloth to prevent complaints and or furling mishaps..
Some more thoughts for the OP:
Does your mast have a lot of prebend? Is the furling rod inside the mast loose? A pre-bent mast with overly tightened back stay or swept back spreader rig uppers in combination with a loose furling rod can combine to make the sail press against the aft inside surface of the masts sail cavity which might be contributing to the cloth bunching inside the spar. You should be able to find instructions for tensioning the rod in your spars owners manual.
Your sail also might benefit from a simple luff curve recut to flatten it out.
Lots of ways to skin the cat..
While you may have had good luck with that while your sail is new as it loses shape you may eventually begin to have trouble. The outhaul does not put even pressure at the luff on all sails. While it might on some very flat cut sails it is generally not the case for most production sails.
My factory Catalina sail was not cut very flat and as such the outhaul did NOT let it roll up tightly in the middle unless you kept a little wind on it while furling. If I did not keep wind in it it could bind or roll loosely in the middle section of the sail just as a genny does.
Look at your genoa and you'll see that it's furled more tightly at the top and bottom if you point into the wind to furl. If you furl your genny slightly off the wind it rolls tightly along the entire length of the extrusion. A lot also depends on the weight of your sail cloth and the inside diameter of your spar. Many boats now ship with a light weight sail cloth to prevent complaints and or furling mishaps..
Some more thoughts for the OP:
Does your mast have a lot of prebend? Is the furling rod inside the mast loose? A pre-bent mast with overly tightened back stay or swept back spreader rig uppers in combination with a loose furling rod can combine to make the sail press against the aft inside surface of the masts sail cavity which might be contributing to the cloth bunching inside the spar. You should be able to find instructions for tensioning the rod in your spars owners manual.
Your sail also might benefit from a simple luff curve recut to flatten it out.
Lots of ways to skin the cat..
Mast pre-bend
Thanks for the response.
Fractional rig w/ swept back spreaders, but doesn't seem to have much pre-bend.
I have a hydraulic backstay adjuster, and am careful to release it prior to furling the main, for the reasons you mentioned. Nontheless, recently - just for fun - I tensioned the backstay and it released a jam mid-way up the luft. I don't think it would work if the jam were at the extemes. I am also wondering if my son might have furled the main w/o enough backstay tension in this last instance.
I've had this Bavaria 37 for six years, and not had problems until recently. I've got nearly new Harken running rigging and furling blocks and a track and car on top of the boom, so I'm surprised at what's been occuring. I'm even more surprised I can't work the sail back-and-forth to free it up. I have a new vertical batten Hood sail coming in late August, but I hope I can be sailing before then.
You are on to something - the in-mast furlers are very convenient.
Thanks for the response.
Fractional rig w/ swept back spreaders, but doesn't seem to have much pre-bend.
I have a hydraulic backstay adjuster, and am careful to release it prior to furling the main, for the reasons you mentioned. Nontheless, recently - just for fun - I tensioned the backstay and it released a jam mid-way up the luft. I don't think it would work if the jam were at the extemes. I am also wondering if my son might have furled the main w/o enough backstay tension in this last instance.
I've had this Bavaria 37 for six years, and not had problems until recently. I've got nearly new Harken running rigging and furling blocks and a track and car on top of the boom, so I'm surprised at what's been occuring. I'm even more surprised I can't work the sail back-and-forth to free it up. I have a new vertical batten Hood sail coming in late August, but I hope I can be sailing before then.
You are on to something - the in-mast furlers are very convenient.
halyard
friend of mine had some problems recently on his new Hunter. We got to looking and found that the halyard tension was off just a little. We tightened it a little and the "bunching" problem went away. Just an idea you may want to look at. Good luck! frank
friend of mine had some problems recently on his new Hunter. We got to looking and found that the halyard tension was off just a little. We tightened it a little and the "bunching" problem went away. Just an idea you may want to look at. Good luck! frank
Boom position is (semi-) critical
Just back from the East Coast Bavaria Rendezvous - where we had a Tech talk on the subject of Selden rig maintenance. He pointed out that the boom position is critical to achieving a good wind. Too much mainsheet and the boom is too low, pulling on the leech, but not the foot of the sail - will contribute to wrinkles in the sail. Insufficient mainsheet and the boom rides high, then too much pull on the foot, not enough on the leech allowing leech wrinkles. He recommended experimenting to find the "just right" position of the boom (or sheet tension). If the boom is in the "just right" position, and the sail cloth still wrinkles and bunches up, you probably need a new luff tape or foam - which the sail maker can do.
Hope this helps......
Ken Johnson
"WindSong"
Just back from the East Coast Bavaria Rendezvous - where we had a Tech talk on the subject of Selden rig maintenance. He pointed out that the boom position is critical to achieving a good wind. Too much mainsheet and the boom is too low, pulling on the leech, but not the foot of the sail - will contribute to wrinkles in the sail. Insufficient mainsheet and the boom rides high, then too much pull on the foot, not enough on the leech allowing leech wrinkles. He recommended experimenting to find the "just right" position of the boom (or sheet tension). If the boom is in the "just right" position, and the sail cloth still wrinkles and bunches up, you probably need a new luff tape or foam - which the sail maker can do.
Hope this helps......
Ken Johnson
"WindSong"
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