Roll that beautiful blue furler!

[Justin_NSA]

I think someone got it right when they mentioned the stretchiness without the core. My guess is it would furl better on a windy day than a calm day 'cause the line will be stretched and fit the drum easier. Just a theory

 

[Ward H]

When I furl my jib, I always leave it with 3 to 4 wraps of the jib sheets around jib. After that I still had 3-4 wraps of line on the drum. The de cored section of the line never saw any real pull other than putting the extra wraps of jib sheet around the jib. Maybe the last one or two turns wrapping the jib itself but at that point there is no real pull on the furling line.
So, stretchiness of the de corde line does not come into play when furling.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

This may be the issue.
When unfurling the jib, you should keep some tension on the furling line as it wraps around the drum. This will help it to wrap the drum neatly.
If it runs free and fast you can get overlaps or poorly wrapped line.

I was blown away when I saw how easily it unfurled. It had never done that before. After some thought I totally agree that some tension on the furling line will help the line spool up nicely and possibly even compress/stretch the line a bit.

90 degrees is a right angle. i.e. the lead from the furling drum is straight out, sighting from the center of the drum. Many boats have a problem fitting the first swivel block for that line due to not having the 'right' place to anchor that block. When it's led poorly, the coil on the drum will pile up against one end or the other.
To a certain extent, blame the boat builders for not designing the area by the forestay attachment a bit better.
And, as noted, do keep enough tension on that line when feeding it out that it does not flop around and produce an overlap and jam on the drum.

90 degrees in relation to the furler makes sense. I did a bunch of testing and there was significant improvement with the new position. I'm hoping tension and/or a new line resolve the issue completely

To add to Big Easy's post, old line can swell and the surface can be less slippery. Edited to add (line needs to be a bit slippery to roll on the drum neatly) Also note different line types/manufacturers may not be exactly 5/16. IE: New England Sta Set 5/16' is slightly smaller than their 5/16" VPC.

I had the same type issues on my O'day. Solved it buy installing new NE Sta Set 5/16" with the first 10' at the drum de cored. Most of the 10' was the permanent 4 wraps on the drum, laying nice and flat. The rest was well buried under cored line when the jib was out around 40%. There was no issue with loss of strength or stretch of the de cored section.
This was on a Furlex 100 Furler.

That's good to hear that a new line resolved the same type of issue on your boat. My line is definitely dry and has increased friction. What's the rule of thumb for furler line length?

 

[Ward H]

I have the length I used in my boat notes but won’t have access to them until next. If you still need the length shoot me a pm on Monday.

 

[dlochner]

That's good to hear that a new line resolved the same type of issue on your boat. My line is definitely dry and has increased friction. What's the rule of thumb for furler line length?

It will be the length of the boat plus the length of the foot of the jib plus some extra for the drum and extra to have something to hold on to furl the jib. The answer will be about two times the length of your boat.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Thanks everyone! I'll let you know what happens after making adjustments or replacing the line!

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I went out a couple of times over the weekend. Once we went out under main only due to high winds. The other time we went out there was light to moderate winds. I put a moderate amount of tension on the furler line as we pulled on the jib sheet. It worked perfect! I think as the uncord line stretches over time, it'll take up less volume. I'll also try reefing it in moderate winds to see if it's usable without it fouling. If that works I'll replace the line with 3/16 or 1/4 so it can withstand higher loads

Thank you for the overwhelming support and advice!

 

[Ward H]

If that works I'll replace the line with 3/16 or 1/4 so it can withstand higher loads

I hope you mean 5/16" line, 3/16" is a bit small to handle.
My notes show I used 60' of 5/16" Samson XLS Yacht Braid with the first 8' on the drum de cored.
Glad it is working better for you.