The in mast furling on my boat is great except it takes real grinding on the winch to unfurl and furl. I looked carefully at the boom and a tech looked at it and we agreed: The boom end fittings were a poor choice by Beneteau.
The outhaul line comes back from a car on the boom, then does a 180 degree turn around the outboard boom end. The line runs over metal, not a sheave. The line goes forward inside the boom, then does a 90 degree turn down to the deck. Again, the line runs over metal, not a sheave. When I stand on deck I can pull the sail out easily. I grab the outhaul line where it comes out of the boom and pull down and it is ridiculously hard to pull the sail out.
Why the heck didn't Beneteau use boom end fittings with sheaves? Or is the mechanical advantage so little compared to the bare metal it wasn't worth the cost?
The outhaul line comes back from a car on the boom, then does a 180 degree turn around the outboard boom end. The line runs over metal, not a sheave. The line goes forward inside the boom, then does a 90 degree turn down to the deck. Again, the line runs over metal, not a sheave. When I stand on deck I can pull the sail out easily. I grab the outhaul line where it comes out of the boom and pull down and it is ridiculously hard to pull the sail out.
Why the heck didn't Beneteau use boom end fittings with sheaves? Or is the mechanical advantage so little compared to the bare metal it wasn't worth the cost?