Newbie to selden in mast furlin

RWSlater · May 7, 2012

I have a 42 Hunter with in mast also. I was told that your issue #1 is pretty normal. Previous owner describes it as "help" the outhaul. The other thing I was told is to make SURE the main halyard if very very taught when using the inmast furling. I'm sure folks here with much more experience with the inmasts will chime in also. I'm new to it also, so will follow this thread

Ron

sailor420 · May 7, 2012

Kevin,
I have never had any problem with the in mast furling on our 420. Here are some things that I do.
When furling I make sure there is tension on the out haul so that the sail is tightly furled and when unfurling I let the outhaul and wind do all the work.
On your issue 2 it sounds as if the continous furling line may have been replaced with smaller dia. line.

Nodak7 · May 7, 2012

Kevin,

This is my second boat with this system and I have experienced neither issue that you describe. However, unfurling issues usually are related to how it was furled. If it is a "sloppy" furling then the unfurling will be more difficult. Make sure you are on a slight port tack and have some tension on the sail as it is furled. If you get a pretty "tight" furl it will come out much easier.

Regarding your second issue I agree it sounds like your continuous line was changed out for a smaller diameter line or it is badly worn. In either case I believe replacing it would resolve your issue. I have never had this problem and certainly never had to "help" when unfurling the sail.

Congrats on the new boat and you will absolutely love the furling system when you get it straightened out!

Nodal7

Mikem · May 7, 2012

I have 466 with the same system...and love it. All the above comments are valid. Two more things. 1. When unfurling slack the mainsheet slightly. 2. When I first had the boat unfurling was a real chore, had to winch the outhaul and it just didn't seem right. I had the rig tuned by Brian Toss of Port Townsend (split the cost with another 460 just down the dock) and after that I could unfurl with one hand.

Scott B · May 7, 2012

Kevin, can you pull the sail out easily by hand? I had problems last year on my 33 and discovered that I could easily pull the sail out by hand on the clew, but the outhaul is stiff. I'm thinking I may have an issue in the boom with the outhaul itself.

Are you at BayPort or Wye. We're at BayMoorings. Probably see you on the water sometime.

Steve Dion · May 7, 2012

We experienced this with a boat several years ago. It turned out that the sail was stretched out and needed to be replaced.

You may want to take it to a sail maker for an assessment.

Jake N Eggs · May 7, 2012

Issue 2: Keep some tension on both ends of the continuous line and see if the line bites the winch drum. If it still slips and the line is original it could be that the outer cover is degraded and does not grip the winch drum. In that case the line should be changed. Mine is a 2006 and I am beginning to think about it requiring replacement.

Please note: If the line does not grab the winch drum properly there is a danger that the sail could unfurl in heavy winds if the winch is set to free. You will also have a hard time reefing.

Although I have always left the winch in free and tightened hard on the endless line to hold the sail in the furled position, I am going to start to set the winch to ratchet when I leave the boat due to the condition of the endless line. Believe it or not I already forgot to do it when we left yesterday. Doh!!!!!

Nodak7 · May 7, 2012

kevingreen5 said:
Thank-you for the good suggestions. I have tried everything that I did on my previous furling. I never used a winch to furl on my old boat and wondered whether this is normal with this size of sail.

Here is what I have already done to get to this point:

Greased the furling
Lubricates the boom car
Released the tension on halyard slightly.
Adjusted angle of boom to ensure equal Tension on luff and leech when furling/unfurling
Tried various tensions on outhaul when furling

On issue 1: The first jam occurs when the sail is pulled out 4 - 6 feet. I will try the other ideas mentioned and look forward to other suggestions.

On issue 2: I have requested my marina( Bayport) to find someone to splice a new continuous line. I think it is too dry/old. Maybe this will allow tighter furling and thereby easier unfurling.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. It is clear from your responses this can be solved and meet with my expectation of in mast furling.

Kevin

Kevin, I can tell your first problem (and probably primary) is loosening the Main Halyard! Once you get the sail up tighten the halyard very tight and then do not mess with it until you are ready to take the sail back down. Loosening the halyard puts wrinkles in the sail which will bind you up when furling the sail. The rest of the stuff I see no problem with.

If you compare the procedure to a furling Jib you do not loosen the Halyard on it before furling or unfurling do you. Normally they are put up and left until you are ready to remove the sail at the end of the season.

Nodak7

Nodak7 · May 7, 2012

kevingreen5 said:
I agree with your comments on halyard. My halyard is still tight, but it was too tight causing a jam in the mechanism at the bottom of the sail due to rack of the mast. The boat had the same issue when I took it for a test sail with previous owner. I had hoped greasing would solve the problem.

This is beginning to sound more like a problem with prebend on the mast. That could be your problem. To much bend and the sail will not deploy or furl correctly. The cut of the sail is associated with the prebend of the mast. If I remember correctly if the prebend is to much you might be interfering with the furling when the halyard is tight. And it should be tight all the time.

quadrille38 · May 7, 2012

Friends with a 41 found that after a few years of use the sail had stretched and would not fit neatly in the slot. Caused it to bind. The ended up getting a new sail.
They did find there are significant differences in slot sizes between boats making those with smaller slot more susceptible to the bind.

realkoalat · May 20, 2012

We have owned a Hunter 466 for 2 1/2 years now. We have had these same exact problems which have only gotten worse thru time. We just finished a complete disassembly on our mast to find the answers to our problem. As a result, I can tell you that there are many things involved in making this system work right and each one of the others respondances have touched on a part of it. But I want to suggest, it takes doing all of them correctly to make this system work.....which is not hard, once you understand what you need to do.

A number of respondences have commented that perhaps your continuous furling line is too old and can not grip the shieve. We were having the same problem before and after we had a brand new line installed which was exactly the manufacturers recomended size. So don't count on this being the quick fix.

To trouble shoot this, we had one person in the cockpit moving the furling line in and out. A second person was watching the shieve turn to see if the line slipped as it went thru the shieve. By using two people with one watching can answer that question for you. Turns out that replacing the eight year old line did not fix the problem.

We definitely agree with the person who said you need tention on the halyard when furling the sail in or out. That keeps the roll tight and smaller causing less binding inside the mast. But once it is furled, to keep the tention there will stretch the sail and greatly reduce the life of the sail. So once you return to port or do the final furrel for the day, release the tention.

The final solution to our problem was the bearings inside the mast furler were shot and to replace them was a great help. But loosening the main sheet is important as well as having a sail which still has it original shape. If it is stretched out of shape, it will bunch up about 8 feet above the boom and cause a problem at that level.

Good luck and know that there are a number of things which have to be just right to make this system work smoothly. Unfurtunately there probably is not one quick and easy solution. It is a ballancing act and getting knowledgable people involved is the best solution, because nearly everything mentioned here by the others was a contributing cause to our problems.

BJSSailing · May 21, 2012

Not sure about anyone else, but the sheet routing from the mast to the cockpit on my 380 is less than disirable. The jib halyard is right against the two main furling lines, which have to turn 90 degrees to go up to the winch that is on the mast. With these three right against each other, I think that is what is making mine hard to pull (both in and out).