In-Mast Roller Furling Problems

kjretlaw · Mar 17, 2021

I have a 326 2003 and it's important to ensure the main is rolled in with a few cresses as possible. I like a little wind tension on the main as I roll it in, keeps it tight and flat, try not to let if flail about. Also check your boom position as well.

Justin_NSA · Mar 17, 2021

A roller main seems like a great idea, but it must feel helpless when it gets stuck inside. I suppose if the sail was bagged out in the middle it could cause this. Would tensioning the vang help flatten it? Do the mechanicals need to be cleaned or refurbed?

tfox2069 · Mar 17, 2021

All of the things you mention are possibilities as to why the main is difficult to handle with the roller furler. The only way to know is to get the sail off and take it to a sail loft and have them look at it. You really should do this anyway with a 22-year-old main. They'll be able to easily tell how out of shape it is, whether it can be recut, whether its WORTH recutting it due to age and wear. And in the unlikely event they find little wrong with the main, then you know you have a roller furling issue. In that vein, have you pulled off the main, read the manual on your furler, and serviced it? They need lubrication and tensioning annually. You can easily do this yourself, assuming there's no issue with the furler. If there is, best to get a rigger who knows roller furling to come out and have a look.

Roller furling mains are wonderful - until they're not. I love mine, but its been a learning curve to get it working reliably. That's not a knock on them - its a system, just like your motor is a system. You need to read the manuals, do the maintenance, and learn their idiosyncracies. Maintain it, use a sail that's not stretched out, and furl properly, and you'll love it. There's lots of tips if you search the site on how to do all this.

duality · Mar 17, 2021

i had similar issue, was recommended to not have the halyard too tight, loosen it a bit. all is fine.

shemandr · Mar 17, 2021

So much to unpack here. If the sail was very lightly used and you think the cloth is still stiff, even at 22 years it may not be blown out to the extent that it would make unfurling so difficult. You need to get it out of the mast, one way or another, and take it down to bring to a sail maker for an evaluation. I always got mine out but I can't say it was always pretty.
Is there any mast pre-bend at all? There shouldn't be.
Do you have vertical battens? How long are they? What shape? I can tell you that I had full length round battens and they were the cause of a lot of trouble. I don't think I ever got the whole batten to enter the mast slot evenly for the entire time I owned the boat. Also, being round they took up too much room in the mast, were barely more narrow than the slot. After a sailmaker changed the battens to flatter and more flexible partial length battens things got better - but not to the "Like" area.
There have been many posts on the proper angle of the boom for smooth furling. I didn't play with that much.
And there's the furling technique. Yes, the boom should be on the Port side so the sail winds in without having to bend around the slot. Since the typical breeze I would sail in was 15 kts. or more, the opportunity to wind it in with little flogging was nearly impossible for my wife and I. One technique I didn't employ very much was to unwind the "Outhaul" while simultaneous winding in the furling line. I would usually let a few feet out the wind that in. But it was difficult at best.
Then there's halyard tension. Too much or too little can be a problem.
You don't have to love the in-mast furling. A stack pac of one variety or another and a low friction track is an alternative.

Rick486 · Mar 17, 2021

tb_gb said:
I have a 1999 Hunter 380 with an in-mast roller furling main. The boat was extremely lightly used....the main is the original one...now at least 22 years old, assuming the main was brand new when the boat was made. It still has a lot of it's original stiffness, but it is obviously old. When I bought the boat the main was extremely hard to get off...stuck about 2/3rds the way up the mast. I finally did...had some minor repairs done on the clew....and put it back on...pulling the halyard as tight as I could, knowing that was important, and then slowly rolling it in. Now I can only unfurl it about a third....stuck again.

My questions for the group....1) is this most likely an "old" main issue that can't be fixed with the current main? 2) if that is the case, can the main be "re-cut" making it smaller, but easier to furl......or do I need to start with a new main. 3) if it is ok, could this just be me doing something wrong?

I would appreciate any input anyone can give. When I go to the Hunter 380 review section people just "love"' their roller furling main. I am not even in the 'like" area, let alone "love" at this point.....but I would like to get there

What TFox said about having a sailmaker evaluate the sail.

I replaced my main in 2019 after taking it in to have the sailmaker evaluate it. He said it was the worst blown out main he had ever seen, and it was fouling in the mast. New main, no problems.

Also, there are adjustments to the main furler machinery which should be checked, preferably by a rigger, but doable by you if you study up on the Selden docs.

From my experience, very important to be on a slight starboard tack when furling especially. If you examine the mast aft surface, at least on my boat, the vertical slot is not symmetric. Furling on port tack introduces more friction into the process.

Best to spend money now and have a good operating system. I never had problems for 10 years until my main was "blown out". New main, back to no problems.

Paul Mermelstein · Mar 17, 2021

The boom position can be very important and an incorrect angle often has the sail hang up somewhere in the middle third of the leech, as you describe. Too much leech tension shows up as these hang ups and/or the need to put too much force in furling or unfurling. Many folks talk about adjusting the boom angle thru the topping lift, but I was shown the correct way to manage it by the folks at Annapolis Yacht Sales ten years ago and it's worked well since.

First, when either furling or unfurling, release the vang fully and let out the main sheet a good bit so that the boom can float up and down by the resulting natural tension in the sail leech. The weight of the boom is sufficient; conversely too tight a vang or sheet will put excessive force on it. Yes, the boom may sway port and starboard some but you can limit that by cleating the sheet and leaving enough slack so the boom can move. As others have said, face into the wind and leave a bit more boom on the port side. Also, I find that putting some back tension of the outhaul while furling helps keep some of the wrinkles out of the sail.

Try the above first before spending time and money on a sail maker or rigger. You still may need a new sail, but even with one you should consider employing the above process during operation. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Ralph Johnstone · Mar 17, 2021

Have you checked to see if the sail enters on the starboard side ?

Otherwise have had no problems in 22 years. In and out like liquid. As per @duality , just snug the halyard and your ready to unfurl.

Dave Groshong · Mar 17, 2021

If the halyard is 22 years old, it needs replacing, with Dyneema, we offer Samson MLX3.

Hunter 386 running rigging, sheets and halyards (rigging)

shop.hunterowners.com

In-Mast Roller Furling Problems

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