I changed from a 2004 Hunter 33 to new e36 late last year. After sailing it for a number of times now, I am interested in opinions from the forum while I work with the dealer on these issues.
1. Main sail. I have a furling main with vertical battens. I find that with the main sheet pulled completely in, the leach is still not completely tight. Therefore I cannot completely get all the twist out of the main sail. It happens to be about the amount of twist I usually have but I thought that I should have the control range on the main sheet to pull the twist out if I really wanted to. At first I thought that the mast was rigged up with too much rake leaving less room for the boom to lower before touching the arch. However, the dealer said there is no rake for the mast and that we should look at having a sail maker come and trim the bottom of the sail off to give me the option of pulling the leach tight. I find it unusual that Hunter should have the size of the main sail wrong on a production boat. Any other e36 owners with this issue?
1. I would look to see if you have a Leach and Foot Lines to adjust. You should have these near the clew of the mainsail. If you don't the OEM sail you received should be sent back to the sailmaker to put in. I would also check the J, E and I measurements to see if the cut the sail right.
2. Variaprop. I have Variaprop (variable pitch propeller) on the boat and love the reduced drag when sailing. However, the helm starts to oscillate when engine rpm goes beyond 2000 and the helm wants to veer to starboard if I am not holding it down. My guess is that one of the blades in the prop is not balanced or pitching the same as the other two blades. Any other Variaprop owners with this issue?
I would make sure the engine is align to the prop shaft. If it is out of alignment you will get vibration. I would also check the cutlass bearing and strut to make sure they are aligned and installed properly. In addition, I would check the cutlass to make sure there is no play.
Sending the prop back to the manufacture to see if the blades are balanced is also a good idea.
3. Jib furler spool cover. This cover has a bad tendency to rotate with the spool when the spool gets close to full which results in the furling line wrapping around the cover instead of in the spool inside. I see that the line wants to wrap on the upper part of the spool so lowered the line guide before the spool but the same happens. Anyone out there with this issue and a fix? Anything wrong with forgetting about the covers?
Covered my others,, set screws. Also check the alignment from the last pulley to the drum to make the angle and horizontal entry into the drum is true for the line.
I have a special Harken doubleended mainsheet arrangement that led the mainsheet down on the two sides of the arch. It works great in that it does not interfere with the traveller movement as Hunter's standard arrangement would. Works good but I hardly ever adjust the mainsheet now that the twist that I want is always there.
I have the boomvang line come in over the coach roof on the clutch position where the mainsheet was on standard Hunters and that is great in controlling the boom when it swings outside the range of the traveller.
The vang also controls the top 1/3 of the sail when beating into the wind. Try tightening it a bit.
Oliver.
