The jib on my 1986 Hunter 31 with Harken furler has dropped down about 12-18", which not only makes using it problematic, but also furling it. I don't see any halyard for this sail, so I assume it is somehow rigged to the forestay or mast. Does this mean a trip in a bosum's chair?
Jib Furler Issue
- Thread starter wufibugs
- Start date
- Status
Maybe. First find or check the jib halyard. It is attached to the head (top) of your jib. It should either be tied down to a cleat on the mast or lead back through a rope clutch in the cockpit, depending on the configuration. If it istaut, then you probably will need to go to the top of the mast. In general, there are four basic reasons why the Halyard would be taut and the jib loose: Jammed jib sheet, broken connecting pulley at the top of the mast, open or broken halyard shackle, (which connects the halyard to the head of the sail) or a broken or stretched luff line which is a sewed in rope that connects the bottom and top the portion of the sail that is connected to the forestay. the easiest and hoped for solution is that the jib halyard has worked itself loose and allowing the sail to drop down. Good luck!
because the sail needs to, at some point, come down, I am not aware of any sailboat configuration that would not have a mechanism to take it down. This is normally done with a halyard. Is there any chance the halyard- broken or otherwise- has disappeared into the mast?
Thanks, Lillivin. That is both good and bad news. I am going out this evening after work and determine whether we are talking about something jammed or separated at the mast, the halyard, or just something worked loose. Meanwhile I will humble myself before the the wind gods.
My previous boat had a CDI furler, and the boat's jib halyard was not used. Instead, the sail was hoisted with a relatively thin line (maybe 1/4") that I believe had the core removed from it to make it flatter. This line, instead of going from the head, through a block, and down to the bottom of the mast, instead was contained within the furling foil, was tied off at the furler drum, and was only a little longer than the forestay (so, in other words, there's no extra line present when the sail is up).
Lowering the sail involved tying a messenger line to this "halyard", so that when the sail came down (and the end of the halyard went up) you'd still have a way to re-hoist it.
If this is the case with your furler, perhaps this mini-halyard came undone and the end has worked its way up the foil a foot or so?
--Michael
Lowering the sail involved tying a messenger line to this "halyard", so that when the sail came down (and the end of the halyard went up) you'd still have a way to re-hoist it.
If this is the case with your furler, perhaps this mini-halyard came undone and the end has worked its way up the foil a foot or so?
--Michael
Richard -- I recently added a windvane to my H34 masthead, and one of the screws inadvertently went into the halyard. Until I fixed it, the halyard wouldn't budge. But it sounds like you haven't been up the mast so I doubt it's that. If you have a setup like what Michael just talked about, it sounds like a royal pain. Retrace your halyard, your 31 is about the same vintage as my 34 and my rope clutches sometimes slip. Also remember that you will probably have to roll the sail out before you can crank it back up.
Mark, that was exactly the inception of the problem. The clutch had slipped. Once the jib halyard loosened, and the jib dropped in the furler track, it somehow bound there. I had to go up the mast with some lube to get it started up the track again. All seems to be OK. Since dropping the jib is not done very often, I am thinking of putting a knot in the halyard at clutch to prevent slippage. Or is that a bad idea?
I tried that and it hung up in about the same place. I also don't know exactly why working from the top of the mast enabled me to guide it while a friend winched the halyard from below. I suppose it's the old story of taking a malfunctioning device apart, seeing nothing amiss, reassembling, and finding that it then works.
- Status