Roller Furling Main ?

[Jorge Cela]

I am looking to buy a Hunter 34 with roller Furling main and I am concern with problems to roll the main sail out or in in emergency situations.I have tried two boats and both had problems with the sail getting stuck and not been able to move the sail out or in. I appreciate any comments about similar experiences and ways to solve this problem.

 

[Paul Bednarzyk]

Furling main

Jorge, I haven't had problems with the furling main on my 380, but the firsy thing I would check is the main halyard tension which should be fairly tight. Just a thought.Paul BednarzykS/V Knot Again

 

[Les Blackwell]

No problem with my furling main

We've have had our H 380 for just one year and the only time we had problems with the main was when the dealership showed me how to unfurl it. And they jammed it good.But in the time since, we've not had a problem. I let the two (in and out) jam cleats loose and pull on the outhaul. Out comes the sail--generally with little effort if the wind catches it. All I have to do is tighten the outhaul while going into the wind.In reverse, I take the "in" furling line around the winch, relase the outhaul and start cranking. It there is little wind, I can sometimes just pull it in by hand--no winching.Reefing is great--just let out as much main as you want and cleat down the outhaul; generally I then take up on the "in" furling line to get a flat shape.That's about it. I don't see how one could get in trouble unless you do it the way my dealer said which I won't tell you about.....Best wishes.

 

[dave young]

Furling main easy to operate

My furling main is easy to operate, but you have to operate it right to reduce or prevent the possibility of jamming.Be sure to keep tension on the outhaul when furling in, and tension on the furling lines when unfurling so the sail does not get loose and potentially fold over and jam in the mast.Also, I found that having the topping lift tensioned helps to reduce the strain by taking the weight of the boom off the leech - this is in addition to easing the main and vang makes furling much easier.

 

[Tom M.]

BOOM OR MAST ???

First of all, The 34 Hunter is a flying machine, with a very high aspect, dbl spreader rig, roller furl in the mast would be like sailing it with a dbl reefed main, NO LEECH CONTROL, if it's through the boom, then it would be better to go with longer battens. the choice is yours, make sure you know what you're getting into !