His will be my first time pulling the main sail for winter. What is the process or concerns when dropping the sail?
Removing sail from inmast furling
- Thread starter fambarstow
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Dropped mine a few weeks ago singlehanded. Easy to do. Just lower the sail like you would a furling jib then line up the tack hook with the inspection port to access the sail tack by slightly turning the furler. I did find out that a screw had backed out of the locking tube (selden furler) allowing the tube to slide so this would be a good time to do an inspection of the furler before putting the boat up for the winter.
Good tip about locking tube. Complete instructions are in the original manuals that came with the boat. We find it easier to do with 2 people if there is any wind. One person at the mast and one in the cockpit taking care of the halyard and outhaul. Unfurl the sail, drop it, bring the outhaul car forward and disconnect the sail from the car. Run the outhaul var back to the end of the boom. Tie down the upper swivel to the gooseneck with a piece of light line so that swivel does not ride up the mast as the wind catches the halyard. Two people about 10-15 minutes including flaking and baging the main.
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