jib furler too hard to furl

[pwhite]

this problem has kept me out of the water for most of the summer so I am desperate for help before the weather cools too much. About 3 months ago my boat drifted into a covered slip while I tried to start the outboard. The forstay basically hit the roof about 3/4 the way up the stay and just sort of bounced off. There didn't seem to be any real damage but the sail was more difficult to furl afterwards. The problem slowly got worse so I replaced the extrusion. The sail was very difficult to get down. I noticed the old extrusion was severly twisted and figured a new one would solve the problem. After installing the new extrusion the jib was even harder to raise and became almost impossible towards the end. The sail is still very difficult to furl and seems almost impossible to bring down(I haven't had time to completely bring down the sail to investigate yet) I'm perplexed because the extrusion and the drum both rotated freely without the sail and the jib halyard move up and down the extrusion freely without the sail. The furling system is snapfurl by scheafer but at this point I'm thinking the problem must be elsewhere. Also if anyone reading this is in the DFW area and knows of some profesional help to fix problem let me know, I've called around the sailboat dealerships but have gotten little or no response.

 

[Mike4049]

SailKoat

I would try SailKoat, a lubricant meant for sail tracks, etc., to see if that helps bringing the jib up/down. However, I would be concerned with forstay damage/kink where you had contact. Can you get a good look at it without dropping the mast?Mike.

 

[pwhite]

kink in forstay

Thanks for sailkoat suggestion-will try that the next time I raise the sail. As far as a possible kink in the forstay it is too high up for me to see while boat is in slip but the extrusion slid up and down the forstay freely when I installed it and there was very little damage on old extrusion where the impact was.

 

[Mike]

Are these possible causes?

I'm not familiar with your furler, I have a CDI. However,is it possible that when you replaced the damaged foil,you didn't put the parts back together in the correct positions? Is the drum making contact with the turnbuckle? Another possibility is that your halyard may need a halyard retainer? Just throwing out some thoughts here.

 

[pwhite]

halyard retainer

Thanks, will look into the halyard retainer, I'm not familiar with that. As far as assembly, the only part I replaced is the foil which snaps over the forstay and fits into the drum, but I know the drum is free of the turnbuckle.

 

[Mike]

Halyard?

Another thought just crossed my mind. Is there a chance that your halyard is fouled or wrapped around the forestay somehow?

 

[pwhite]

halyard

A fouled halyard was one of problems I was sure was causing so much difficulty raising the jib because I noticed it wrapped around the forstay when I was ready to replace the foil and raise sail. Unfortunately I was thoroughly disappointed when I had cleared it from the forstay and still had the same amount of difficulty raising the sail. But something getting fouled inside the mast where the jib halyard runs is one of the only theories I have left. But that still doesn't explain why the halyard moved freely up and down the forstay before I loaded the sail.