Installing sails today and the main went on fine. Boat is on the hard with mast up.Started to pull jib up the foil and it seemed to be binding somewhere. The sail was approx quarter of the way up and I could not move the sail easily at all. I attemted to bring sail down, could not budge it. The wind started to get up and I was getting worried, remember boat on a cradle not floating. So I winched it the rest of the way up, I thought it was the lesser of two evils. I then furled sail ok and of course the wind abated. So any idears on why sail binding so much, I used the port side groove in the foil, cannot remember which used before. When I get launched next week I will have to see about getting sail down. Any tips on getting it down ?
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Sheave
Might be a problem with the sheave at the top of the mast. Halard could have jumped off or sheave could be broken, the nylon does wear and the cup edges sometimes break. Also try using track lubricant in the foil groove.
Might be a problem with the sheave at the top of the mast. Halard could have jumped off or sheave could be broken, the nylon does wear and the cup edges sometimes break. Also try using track lubricant in the foil groove.
Holy Cow!
Tony--NEVER bend your sails on when the boat is on the jack stands! This is one of the most dangerous things you can do on a sailboat. A guy in my marina did that a few years ago-the wind came up and literally blew the boat off the cradle into the boat next to it. Both boats were wrecked and he broke his back. Please promise us you won't do that again!
Jack
Tony--NEVER bend your sails on when the boat is on the jack stands! This is one of the most dangerous things you can do on a sailboat. A guy in my marina did that a few years ago-the wind came up and literally blew the boat off the cradle into the boat next to it. Both boats were wrecked and he broke his back. Please promise us you won't do that again!
Jackjammed jib
A broken or damaged sheave is one possibility. The other potential problem is a bend or kink in the foil. Did you have the mast down or could a bird have hit it. A good way to check is use your binoculars to examine the foil if the the mast is up.
A broken or damaged sheave is one possibility. The other potential problem is a bend or kink in the foil. Did you have the mast down or could a bird have hit it. A good way to check is use your binoculars to examine the foil if the the mast is up.
Sheave in my boat ...
Obviously a bent or kinked foil could cause this type of problem, butI had a very similar problem, though it was harder to pull the jib up than let it down. I bought the boat with the mast up. This fall, once the mast was down, I was able to inspect things. It turned out that the Isomat jib/forstay box has some damage, and the jib sheave axel was crooked, and the sheave had both jambed itself in the box, and self destructed. This was also causing damage to the halyard. The Isomat system has "drop in" sheave axels that slide into groves, and rest in little pockets. One of the side pockets on the jib box had been deformed downward and as a result the axel was not at all horizontal. This looks like it might have been caused by too much tension at some point in the past. This caused the plastic (crappy) sheave to jamb and rub against the inside of the box and eventually turn into a total mess. It required two strong guys to get the jib up! Rig-rite sells replacement parts, and I'm going to use an aluminum sheave this time. Chris
Obviously a bent or kinked foil could cause this type of problem, butI had a very similar problem, though it was harder to pull the jib up than let it down. I bought the boat with the mast up. This fall, once the mast was down, I was able to inspect things. It turned out that the Isomat jib/forstay box has some damage, and the jib sheave axel was crooked, and the sheave had both jambed itself in the box, and self destructed. This was also causing damage to the halyard. The Isomat system has "drop in" sheave axels that slide into groves, and rest in little pockets. One of the side pockets on the jib box had been deformed downward and as a result the axel was not at all horizontal. This looks like it might have been caused by too much tension at some point in the past. This caused the plastic (crappy) sheave to jamb and rub against the inside of the box and eventually turn into a total mess. It required two strong guys to get the jib up! Rig-rite sells replacement parts, and I'm going to use an aluminum sheave this time. Chris
Me too!
I had a similar problem last year. The jib was very hard to raise but I managed to get it all the way up. Unfortunately, the connection between the top two foil sections broke and separated. The jib jammed and had to be taken down by my yard using a cherry picker truck. Once they freed the stuck part of the sail, it glided down without and problem. This year I am going to lube the heck out for the bolt rope and foil track. I also agree that you should never hoist any sails when the boat is on jack stands.
I had a similar problem last year. The jib was very hard to raise but I managed to get it all the way up. Unfortunately, the connection between the top two foil sections broke and separated. The jib jammed and had to be taken down by my yard using a cherry picker truck. Once they freed the stuck part of the sail, it glided down without and problem. This year I am going to lube the heck out for the bolt rope and foil track. I also agree that you should never hoist any sails when the boat is on jack stands.
Land Sailing
Hi Guys thanks for the ideas, I'm thinking its likely the sheave, I'll slip up in the chair and check that out as soon as I'm floating. Yes I know the pitfalls of bending sails on the hard. My boat is on a cradle and if I do it its with less than 2knts of wind head on to the boat. Also never have the sheets cleated or clew attatched of the main to boom. If the wind does blow all of a sudden its only damage by flogging and not sailing off the cradle that would be my problem. Sails are to expensive to flog even a little.
Hi Guys thanks for the ideas, I'm thinking its likely the sheave, I'll slip up in the chair and check that out as soon as I'm floating. Yes I know the pitfalls of bending sails on the hard. My boat is on a cradle and if I do it its with less than 2knts of wind head on to the boat. Also never have the sheets cleated or clew attatched of the main to boom. If the wind does blow all of a sudden its only damage by flogging and not sailing off the cradle that would be my problem. Sails are to expensive to flog even a little.
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