main roller

[dtalent]

I know there's been a lot of conversation about this topic but this is a new to me 36CC with a roller furling main. Last week we tried to do our first sail ad got the main stuck to the point that we couldn't furl or unfurl the main. After looking at all the threads about this topic, I see I'm not alone. This weekend, I was able to free up the sail and was able to unfurl it 3x but not easily. I lowered the sail to make sure nothing was binding at the top. I cannot find a mfr of the roller so I 'm not sure whose website to go to for help. During our exercise yesterday, my dock neighbor came over and told me he has the same trouble with his roller main and I was watching another benny owner having the same issue while he was trying to unfurl his main.

it feels like the roller inside the mast is not concentric. Is it possible its bowed? I looked up the mast and it appears to have a slight prebend toward the aft.

my sail connects to the hook at the bottom of the furler at the fabric on the sail. A lot of advice at the dock, one point was that there should be a D ring or a penant between the sail loop and the furler.

 

[BigEasy]

Not sure who supplied the rig for your boat; however, US Spars in Gainesville, FL supplied the mast / furler for my 2006 Beneteau. There is much information on their website pertaining to rig tuning & the furler. www.usspars.com

Again, not sure what manufacturer supplied the sails; however, Neil Pryde Sails has supplied sails for most Beneteau's. There is also much information on their site about the furling mainsail as well as info about sail trim. www.neilprydesails.com

Some quick things to consider are:
Ensure that mast is fairly straight with minimal prebend aft.
Flush & lubricate furler bearings, as well as outhaul car.
Ensure there is sufficient tension on the main halyard
Check outhaul & inhaul lines. They tend to swell after 3-4 years service and bind on the
inside of the furler. May need to replace the lines.
I am presently having a bit of a problem with my vertical batten pockets hanging up
when first unfurling the main. After the season, I will have them checked out.
With older sails, the stretched fabric tends to create a "belly" in the sail that can cause it
to hang up inside the mast.
Also, consider having US Spars refurbishing the furler unit at a reasonable cost.
Ensure that the main sheet & boom vang have no tension when furling & unfurling.
Finally, Ensure that there is a bit of tension on the outhaul line when furling to
provide a tight sail wrap inside the mast.

Hope this helps....

 

[dtalent]

thank you for the reply. After looking at the US SPars website, i can tell that this is not the type i have. Good advice though as we did have the outhaul car hang up initially. We also played with the angle of the boom to keep minimal tension during the outhaul and tried to maintaiin the same degree of angularity during the furling process to eliminate tension on the car.

 

[MSN-Travelers]

Clean the worm gear brgs & replace the furler in-haul line

+1 to everything BigEasy said.

Unless the previous owner replaced the rig with non-standard parts, your in-mast main was manufactured by Z-Spar/US Spar.

There is a big difference between "no tension" on the zang & main sheet and minimal tension. The boom needs to be able to "float" when furling and when deploying the main.

Watch the foot when furling the main. The sail is cut to have the foot slowly climb inside the mast so the heavy foot material doesn't wrap on itself.

The furler worm gear bearings can be fouled with dirt if the previous owner didn't maintain them properly. My PO used to spray the bearings with liquid graphite so often that it got to the point where there was so much graphite buildup that the bearings could hardly move. Also make sure that none of the plastic "bearing balls" are missing from the boom car.

And when all is said and done, a blown main will result in a jam on deployment more often than not.

 

[cymeyer]

Re: Clean the worm gear brgs & replace the furler in-haul li

I just ordered a new boom car with a track that fits into the existing Charleston Spar track. The boom car has better bearings I am told. Similar to the design on boats produced about 2005 and later... Ordered from SparCraft.

 

[dtalent]

thanks everyone. i contacted Beneteau with the hull number and the mast is a Sparcraft. I called Sparcraft and was told to elevate the boom slightly from horizontal and make sure there was equal tension on the three points of attachment on the sail to the outhaul car. There's lot's of advice here and this weekend we will try a little of everything and let you know what worked!

 

[dtalent]

I just wanted to let everyone know hat I found multiple things wrong with the roller furling, the biggest was a double bowline that someone tied for the main halyard. Every time the roller mechanism turned, the knot would follow the roller and bind in the mast. I replaced the main halyard with a spliced halyard loop and its working free. Thanks to everyone. I attached a photo of the knot and you can see where it was chafing against the mast. Hopefully this helps others.

 

[cymeyer]

Great idea.
I bought a new jib halyard, but have not found the time to get it in.
I should also buy a new main halyard and get rid of the knot (which has worn down a little bit)....

 

[ladyskipper]

overall, does in-mast roller furling mains get a thumbs up, or down?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Usually very good reviews. The issues faced by these skippers has to do with maintenance and knowledge of the system they have on their individual boats. This is true on nearly every other sailing website in which I participate.

Maine Sail IIRC wrote up a dandy post recently: seemed all he had to do was spray McLube into the outhaul car and all of a sudden a client's furling main started working.

RTFM is always a good idea (F is for Funny ).

 

[cymeyer]

LadySkipper,

You will get mixed reviews on your question of thumbs up or down.
For me, I have been sailing for decades and will never buy another boat WITHOUT furling main. It makes it so easy to solo, reef, and it is very quick to put the sails up and down.
You will get purists who prefer classic main which is just a preference.

With Gusto

 

[DougM]

One vote here for a classic main! Never a problem in 30 years on four different boats. This one has a lazy bag.
The advantages are quick hoist, easy reefing, and easy stowing. I put the boat away for the season yesterday and to remove the main all I had to do was take out the battens, re-zip the bag and slide it off the boom.

 

[Scotty C-M]

Good points about how to use the furling mast, especially the boom angle. One other point is that on some systems (Charleston Masts and perhaps others?) the slot is slightly on the starboard side of the aft section. In other words, it is not symmetrical. As a result, it works slightly easier when I am on a starboard tack.

 

[ladyskipper]

not sure what you mean here, Scotty WHAT works better on a starboard tack? Aren't you into the wind while rolling in the mainsail? Help me!!

 

[MSN-Travelers]

“Into the wind” is a 45-60 degree arc for most boats. I find I get a tighter, more controlled furl when I have the bow slightly to port of the eye-of-the-wind (starboard tack). The slight wind pressure on the main reduces the tendency for the boom to flail back `n forth when the main is eased.

 

[ladyskipper]

Boat delivery Moss Landing,CA to S.F. Bay

Any tips for getting my newly purchased 27 ft 2005 Hunter from here to there? By truck, or delivery skipper? Any tips? Suggestions?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Boat trip

Any tips for getting my newly purchased 27 ft 2005 Hunter from here to there? By truck, or delivery skipper? Any tips? Suggestions?

Hi,

At this time of year, that can be a delightful trip. The summer winds are beggining to die down, although there's still fog in The Bay.

The trip:

Day 1: Moss Landing to Santa Cruz - maybe four hours

Day 2: Leave early, motor to Half Moon Bay - this is the LONGEST part of the trip, 42 nm IIRC. EARLY means DAWN, 0600. 42 divided by say 5 or 6 knots: do the math.

Day 3: Layover in HMB. Delightful place. You may have to get a 50 to 30 amp electrical cord adapter at the harbor master's office. A fewq nice restaurants around. Great layover place.

Day 4: 18 nm to The Golden Gate, 2 nm in from "MILE ROCKS" which are really two miles out (go figure!), and then wherever you need to go once inside The Gate.

Personally, having sailed here for the past 30+ years, I still get goosebumps when I sail under the GGB.

Trucking s*cks. You just don't need to do that. It's a great boat for that trip. We sailed our C25 to Monterey in 1994 and back from Alameda.

Sail her up.

Good luck.