Ratchet block recommendation.

[Ward H]

I believe the majority of boats on this forum are well under 40' and don't have electric winches. Experienced sailors know the key issues with a furler that is suddenly very hard to pull in. (halyard wrap which can damage the forestay and possibly lead to it breaking.)
Sailors with less experience and small boats, not so much.
The risks are much different than a using a winch to tension a main sail.

I believe many cautions like "don't use a winch on a furler line" aren't hard and fast rules. Rather they are meant to give a pause before doing so and are directed to less experienced sailors.

Just like "never use 5200 on a boat, it's devils glue". It does have it's uses but the caution is for the inexperienced user who doesn't think it through when grabbing a tube.

Back to the question of ratchet blocks.

Harken includes a 57mm ratchet block in its kit for furling blocks. (It can also be bought separately)
I mounted mine on the most forward stanchion of the push pit. It's about in line with my position along side of the helm. Works well.
I use a horn cleat to tie off the furling line. If I need more tension than the ratchet block provides I put a half turn on the horn cleat. I feel more secure having the furling line cleated off on a horn cleat than a cam cleat if a storm is brewing.

 

[colemj]

I believe the majority of boats on this forum are well under 40' and don't have electric winches. Experienced sailors know the key issues with a furler that is suddenly very hard to pull in. (halyard wrap which can damage the forestay and possibly lead to it breaking.)
Sailors with less experience and small boats, not so much.
The risks are much different than a using a winch to tension a main sail.

I believe many cautions like "don't use a winch on a furler line" aren't hard and fast rules. Rather they are meant to give a pause before doing so and are directed to less experienced sailors.

I agree with most points except being different than using a winch to raise a main sail (or any other generally accepted use of a winch). The examples of damage when using a winch to raise mainsails are legion and more numerous than winch damage of a furler. Torn luff tapes, broken battens, torn leeches, broken bolt ropes, snapped lazy jacks, headboards ripped off, tracks broken - many examples.

A properly installed furler cannot be damaged by using a winch to bring in a sail. The only real possible issues are halyard wrap and frozen bearings. A halyard wrap is pretty much impossible on a properly installed furler, and frozen bearings are going to require a winch to get the sail in anyway.

Even on a smaller boat, is one supposed to tell the young kid that they can't contribute to furling until they are bigger and stronger? Tell another adult who isn't strong or large enough that they can't use the furler?

This is more a general caution about using a winch for anything - not just a furler. And a furler is no different in this regard than any other use of a winch on the boat.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a winch on a furling line. Even on smaller boats, or even if it isn't strictly necessary.

Mark

 

[Tally Ho]

I think the key is to know how much force you are putting on your furler, and that is harder to feel when using a winch.

I was raising the jib on my old CDI furler in the spring, and it hard to pull it up. It is always a struggle to get the sail up, but this time was worse than usual. So, of course I put the messenger line that I have to pull down on a winch

I cranked on that thing, had the messenger line guitar-string tight, and firmly got the sail stuck about half way up the stay. Couldn’t pull it down or raise it. A few days later, I climbed the mast and found the wire halyard had come off the top sheave and it was wedged tight between the sheave and the housing. Luckily, I could get the wire out of the jamb without damaging it, but I didn’t do myself any favors cutting the wire into the housing.

The point is, you CAN do more damage using a winch and it is way harder to tell how much force you are applying to the furler.


Greg

 

[colemj]

The point is, you CAN do more damage using a winch and it is way harder to tell how much force you are applying to the furler.

I think the point is you made a mistake. It had nothing to do with using the winch in general. You even state that you had it guitar string tight and still continued. You don't get to that point with a winch without realizing you are doing it.

Winches are just tools. A dremel can do more damage than a hand file. An impact driver can do more damage than a hand wrench.

The original discussion of using a winch with a furler was on the furling line. Your example is a halyard. Do you suggest that a winch should never be used to adjust a halyard?

Mark

 

[Tally Ho]

Winches are just tools. A dremel can do more damage than a hand file. An impact driver can do more damage than a hand wrench.

Mark

Hey Mark,
I think we are saying the same thing (maybe my story wasn't the best illustration).

A winch can make a halyard wrap or similar issue worse way more quickly than pulling a furling line by hand…and that is my point.

Yes, I use a winch to raise my main sail (worse yet, I use a Milwaukee right-angle drill to raise it fast!).

Greg

 

[jssailem]

On my 390sqft foresail I use the Harken a 57mm ratchet block that was included with my MKIV 1 furler. Never have I experienced an issue. Even in 30knot winds you can pinch or head up and furl the sail without resorting to using a winch. Reef early it is safer.