Hi all, We headed out for the first sail of the season over the weekend on the Patapsco River. Winds were over 10 knots and we were flying! While we were heading in, I tried furling the sail in. I had about another two feet of sail left to get in when the bloody roller furler stopped working. I went forward and noticed that somehow the line in the furler got tangled. I have no idea how this happened. Last year the same thing happened. When my "boat guy" looked at it he couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Unfortunately, both times my sail got ripped up pretty bad because not only would it not furl all the way, I couldn't get the sail down because my jib halyard is stuck. Looks like I'll be heading up the mass for that one unless anyone has any ideas? Yesterday (thankfully for my sake there was no wind...sorry I know that sounds terrible), I unfurled the sail and took all the line out and rewrapped it. It seems to be fine now but I want to prevent this from happening in the future, plus now I need to get my jib repaired….again! Any suggestions or ideas of what happened? Thanks for the help. This forum is the best. I've learned a lot from it! Thanks, Bryan Second Wind Hunter 30
@#$! Roller Furler
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Look at...
the furler line itself. Is it flattened? Is it the correct diameter (look at furlers on similar boats)? Is there enough of it to complete the furl? Also check that the nearest block through which the line passes is lined up correctly with the furler spool. If it is above or below the spool housing it will bind. Look at the installation manual if you have it or go on-line and look at the web site for your furler. Installation directions are usually found there. Good luck, Mike
the furler line itself. Is it flattened? Is it the correct diameter (look at furlers on similar boats)? Is there enough of it to complete the furl? Also check that the nearest block through which the line passes is lined up correctly with the furler spool. If it is above or below the spool housing it will bind. Look at the installation manual if you have it or go on-line and look at the web site for your furler. Installation directions are usually found there. Good luck, Mike
A couple of ideas
If the furler jammed with less than say about five feet of jib out, an easy solution to the immediate problem is to take off both sheets and manually wrap the sail around the forestay, and secure it with a bungee or just a piece of line. Then you can work on getting the jam straightened out without a flapping clew taking your head off. If your furler has a housing that makes it hard to see the whole drum, I recommend getting rid of it. This will make it easier to see the line and see what's going on. If your jam is near the end of the line, as it sounds like in this case, be sure you are putting tension on the furling line when the jib is deployed. If not, the drum will spin too fast and wraps can be expected. A good exercise next time, if it is fairly calm, would be to have someone stand on the foredeck and watch how the line goes on the drum as the jib rolls out - you may find it is feeding too high or too low. Finally, get the jib halyard fixed - it is a safety issue. Sorry the first sail of the year had a bad ending - hope things improve.
If the furler jammed with less than say about five feet of jib out, an easy solution to the immediate problem is to take off both sheets and manually wrap the sail around the forestay, and secure it with a bungee or just a piece of line. Then you can work on getting the jam straightened out without a flapping clew taking your head off. If your furler has a housing that makes it hard to see the whole drum, I recommend getting rid of it. This will make it easier to see the line and see what's going on. If your jam is near the end of the line, as it sounds like in this case, be sure you are putting tension on the furling line when the jib is deployed. If not, the drum will spin too fast and wraps can be expected. A good exercise next time, if it is fairly calm, would be to have someone stand on the foredeck and watch how the line goes on the drum as the jib rolls out - you may find it is feeding too high or too low. Finally, get the jib halyard fixed - it is a safety issue. Sorry the first sail of the year had a bad ending - hope things improve.
Thanks
Thanks for responding guys...I'll take a look at the halyard to see if it's wrapped. I don't think it is but I have been known for being wrong before (just ask my wife)!
Thanks for responding guys...I'll take a look at the halyard to see if it's wrapped. I don't think it is but I have been known for being wrong before (just ask my wife)!
furler tips
Bryan: Another RF tip: When you unroll the sail, keep slight tension on the RF line. This will help the line roll onto the drum without kinks, etc. Also ditto Mike's post. That last block determines where the line lays on the drum. I think your problem is in the unrolling part. That line has to make a neat spool on the drum or you get a big mess when you pull on the line. It's like a backlash on an old open face fishing reel. RS
Bryan: Another RF tip: When you unroll the sail, keep slight tension on the RF line. This will help the line roll onto the drum without kinks, etc. Also ditto Mike's post. That last block determines where the line lays on the drum. I think your problem is in the unrolling part. That line has to make a neat spool on the drum or you get a big mess when you pull on the line. It's like a backlash on an old open face fishing reel. RS
A couple things...
I got a new furler line last year because the old one was a little short and old. Based on some tips I found here, I de-cored the part of the line that goes on the drum. The new line wraps on the drum a lot nicer, and takes up less space on the drum. If you get it stuck again, you could do some 360s to wrap the sail around the forestay. It might look funny driving around in circles, but it could save you some repairs. Kevin
I got a new furler line last year because the old one was a little short and old. Based on some tips I found here, I de-cored the part of the line that goes on the drum. The new line wraps on the drum a lot nicer, and takes up less space on the drum. If you get it stuck again, you could do some 360s to wrap the sail around the forestay. It might look funny driving around in circles, but it could save you some repairs. Kevin
Final Thought
There may be too much furling line in the drum. With the sail wrapped, I would make sure there's no more than 3 or 4 loops around the drum. If there's more, "un-feed" the line 'till there's just a few wraps left around the drum. Otherwise, you are prone to jamming. I've never heard of a RF halyard "jamming," so I have to ask the painfully obvious question, for which I apologize in advance. Are you sure the halyard's jammed? It may well be that the sail is just pinched in the slot somewhere. I'd free the halyard and monkey with the sail a bit at the dock before going up - but that's just me I'm afraid of heights. Let us know how you make out.
There may be too much furling line in the drum. With the sail wrapped, I would make sure there's no more than 3 or 4 loops around the drum. If there's more, "un-feed" the line 'till there's just a few wraps left around the drum. Otherwise, you are prone to jamming. I've never heard of a RF halyard "jamming," so I have to ask the painfully obvious question, for which I apologize in advance. Are you sure the halyard's jammed? It may well be that the sail is just pinched in the slot somewhere. I'd free the halyard and monkey with the sail a bit at the dock before going up - but that's just me I'm afraid of heights. Let us know how you make out.
Jib Furler Issues
The only time my jib furler did not work properly was when the jib halyard slacked off without me noticing it due to a bad rope clutch and the tack shackle on top of the furler jammed on top of the furler unit. Once I re-tightened the halyard, it was fine. Maybe you have furler issues.
The only time my jib furler did not work properly was when the jib halyard slacked off without me noticing it due to a bad rope clutch and the tack shackle on top of the furler jammed on top of the furler unit. Once I re-tightened the halyard, it was fine. Maybe you have furler issues.
Back stay tension
Check your back stay tension. Roller furling owners manual all specify a taut headstay. To tighten up your headstay, tight the backstay.
Check your back stay tension. Roller furling owners manual all specify a taut headstay. To tighten up your headstay, tight the backstay.
Check those little screws...
What kind of furler do you have? Ours did the same thing - did some of what was mentioned. When those 2 little screws came out it was a mess! Worst part was paying 2 bucks apiece and a fortune to ship them. No problems now. Great sail all weekend. Flew around the bay and enjoyed those cool boats from the Volvo race.
What kind of furler do you have? Ours did the same thing - did some of what was mentioned. When those 2 little screws came out it was a mess! Worst part was paying 2 bucks apiece and a fortune to ship them. No problems now. Great sail all weekend. Flew around the bay and enjoyed those cool boats from the Volvo race.
My two bits
Everybody pretty much covered it earlier, but the one thing that usually fails on a jib furling system is halyard wrap. It is an easy fix with the installation of a halyard retainer which creates the desired angle of the fair lead of the jib halyard to the head of the jib or genoa so that it cannot wrap around the forestay. But, it sounds as if your problem is on the bottom end in the drum. As one chap suggested, you must keep slight tension on the furling line when pulling out the sail so that it rolls up clean and tighter in the drum. If it rolls up loose, it can jam. That is an owner operator problem that is easy to prevent. Also, too much line, as suggested could contribute to your problem. Other problems with furlers are poor or old bearings, or simply an antiquated system that wasn't great to start out with. I recommend Furlex. I think it is the best system out there and I have installed them all and repaired them all (and Furlexes simply don't need repair unless the owner screws them up somehow). That's my two bits.
Everybody pretty much covered it earlier, but the one thing that usually fails on a jib furling system is halyard wrap. It is an easy fix with the installation of a halyard retainer which creates the desired angle of the fair lead of the jib halyard to the head of the jib or genoa so that it cannot wrap around the forestay. But, it sounds as if your problem is on the bottom end in the drum. As one chap suggested, you must keep slight tension on the furling line when pulling out the sail so that it rolls up clean and tighter in the drum. If it rolls up loose, it can jam. That is an owner operator problem that is easy to prevent. Also, too much line, as suggested could contribute to your problem. Other problems with furlers are poor or old bearings, or simply an antiquated system that wasn't great to start out with. I recommend Furlex. I think it is the best system out there and I have installed them all and repaired them all (and Furlexes simply don't need repair unless the owner screws them up somehow). That's my two bits.
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