Sail adjustment on In-Mast furling Main

[Weasel]

We have a 2004 331 with the in-mast furling main. It is very hard to flatten the sail when the wind pipes up and we usually just roll some of the main up. There should be a way to flatten the main with out having to resort to shortening sail at 15 Kts. We have tried to secure the line to unfurl the sail furling line and tighten up the furling line but this may put undue stress on the furler. Any suggestions?

 

[Weasel]

We have a 2004 331 with the in-mast furling main. It is very hard to flatten the sail when the wind pipes up and we usually just roll some of the main up. There should be a way to flatten the main with out having to resort to shortening sail at 15 Kts. We have tried to secure the line to unfurl the sail furling line and tighten up the furling line but this may put undue stress on the furler. Any suggestions?

 

[Greg]

just a thought

Just a thought,when you originally unfurl the main, try to control the furling line such that you can get some outhaul tension on the foot of the main in the first place. If you simply let the furling line fun free as you outhaul, you will have too much shape, as you have noticed. So, work the outhaul and the furling line together to create the desired amount of mainsail the gets "let" out of the mast. I find it more annoying to have to roll up a bit of main later to get the flatter shape. GregB323

 

[Greg]

just a thought

Just a thought,when you originally unfurl the main, try to control the furling line such that you can get some outhaul tension on the foot of the main in the first place. If you simply let the furling line fun free as you outhaul, you will have too much shape, as you have noticed. So, work the outhaul and the furling line together to create the desired amount of mainsail the gets "let" out of the mast. I find it more annoying to have to roll up a bit of main later to get the flatter shape. GregB323

 

[Brian B321]

Seems unusual

It seems like a good time of year to take the sail into your local sailmaker and get his opinion of the sail. Maybe the sail is just "bagged" and your just not going to flatten it.Strikes me as pretty unusual situation - as normally, rolling furling mains are about as flat as they come - and furling a sail would often increase the draft not reduce it - as the foot and leach remain tight - any draft gets compressed into a smaller and smaller area of square footage Having said that - I sail with a pretty loose headstay and about 4" of pre bend on the mast - when I crank on the backstay adjustor the bend in the mast increases to about 8" ( yes I have inmast furling) Regards Brian

 

[Brian B321]

Seems unusual

It seems like a good time of year to take the sail into your local sailmaker and get his opinion of the sail. Maybe the sail is just "bagged" and your just not going to flatten it.Strikes me as pretty unusual situation - as normally, rolling furling mains are about as flat as they come - and furling a sail would often increase the draft not reduce it - as the foot and leach remain tight - any draft gets compressed into a smaller and smaller area of square footage Having said that - I sail with a pretty loose headstay and about 4" of pre bend on the mast - when I crank on the backstay adjustor the bend in the mast increases to about 8" ( yes I have inmast furling) Regards Brian

 

[Gerald]

B331 RF main

We also have a B331 shoal draft with RF main.Our average winds last year were 22-28 knots apparant and we carry full sails up to 22-24 apparent with no problem. After that we reef the genoa first and then over 30 knots apparent we reef the main by dumping the traveler and mainsheet and then easing the outhaul and then taking up on the RF line and if needed retighten the outhaul if we have let out too much.The boat is basically underpowered so what little main we have is needed most of the time. If your main was really blown out you would be getting fold in sail when your furl it and it would probably be jamming coming out a lot of the time.Also, if you have a 3 blade fixed prop or even the 2 blade fixed prop to some extent you will round up under full sails sooner than you should in higher winds, switch to a max prop and it removes that drag and really eliminates this issue.I have sailed and raced quite a bit through the years on 7 different boats and I really like the B331. In a lighter air area I would probably go with the B321 because it is so much lighter, but like my friend who has a B321 said the B331 addressed and fixed all the problems he had on his B321.

 

[Gerald]

B331 RF main

We also have a B331 shoal draft with RF main.Our average winds last year were 22-28 knots apparant and we carry full sails up to 22-24 apparent with no problem. After that we reef the genoa first and then over 30 knots apparent we reef the main by dumping the traveler and mainsheet and then easing the outhaul and then taking up on the RF line and if needed retighten the outhaul if we have let out too much.The boat is basically underpowered so what little main we have is needed most of the time. If your main was really blown out you would be getting fold in sail when your furl it and it would probably be jamming coming out a lot of the time.Also, if you have a 3 blade fixed prop or even the 2 blade fixed prop to some extent you will round up under full sails sooner than you should in higher winds, switch to a max prop and it removes that drag and really eliminates this issue.I have sailed and raced quite a bit through the years on 7 different boats and I really like the B331. In a lighter air area I would probably go with the B321 because it is so much lighter, but like my friend who has a B321 said the B331 addressed and fixed all the problems he had on his B321.

 

[larry w]

I usually snug up

the outhaul line with a winch after rolling out the main on my OC400. That doesn't place any strain on the cranking part of the furler. Then tighten the vang very tight and bring the traveler up a little. That sail is then flat as a board.

 

[larry w]

I usually snug up

the outhaul line with a winch after rolling out the main on my OC400. That doesn't place any strain on the cranking part of the furler. Then tighten the vang very tight and bring the traveler up a little. That sail is then flat as a board.