Removing your genoa
Gaute, removing and replacing the genoa is easy. The toughest part will be running it back up and it's really not all that hard. I'll try to give you some intructions on how to do it. Removal: 1. Pick a time where you expect it to be calm for a while. Any wind will make it difficult to handle the sail 2. Unfurl the sail 3. Remove your jib sheets (sometimes I leave them on until the sail is down, you can use them to control the sail if there is a little bit of wind) 4. Release the halyard (it should be located on the mast) 5. Pull the sail down onto the deck 6. Untie the halyard and retie it onto the bow rail or some other convenient place (don't allow it to fly free or you may have trouble retrieving it) 7. Remove the 3 shackles that secure the sail to the furler 8. The sail is now on deck and ready to be removed from the boat (this is the toughest part since it's rather cumbersome to handle it)(Also be careful to touch metal frequently while dragging the sail across the deck as it can generate quite a bit of static electricity. Care to guess how I found that out? Ouch!) Re-installing it 1. Clean the track on the foil (the groove that the sail runs up on the furler) You want to buy the tool to do it with, which is simply a small piece of sail with a luff rope and two loops one on either end. West Marine carries them. You apply a small amount of lubricant, supplied with the kit, attach your halyard and a downhaul to the loops then run it up and down a few times. It will clean and lubricate the track. Also note if you don't do this hoisting the sail will be difficult once you get about half way up. 2. Reattach the 3 shackles to the sail and furler and tighten them good and snug 3. Tie the halyard to the shackle on the head of the furler using a bowline knot 4. Run the halyard from the base of the mast through an available set of blocks back to the winch on the portside cabin top in the cockpit. (you may have to temporarily remove another halyard to do so 5. Hoist the sail as far as you can by hand, then take apx 3 wraps around the winch and crank her up, yes it does get hard to do the closer it gets to the top. (you'll need to have someone at the base of the sail keeping the luff rope in the groove. Beneteau supplied a small "U" shaped tool to do the job but I don't know if you have it so it's best to have a helping hand)) 6. Tension the sail so it's tight enough there are no baggy areas along the luff. Do not over tighten it though. If you do you'll see the sail stretch along the luff. When you've done it properly the luff, or leading edge, of the sail should be smooth, with no wrinkles or stretch marks. 7. Re-attach the jib sheets, furl the sail and put everything back in it's proper place. 8. The next time your sailing check the leading edge of the genoa to make sure it has a smooth appearance. Sometimes after re-hoisting you'll need to retension it. I'm hopeful I covered everything well enough for you. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Good luck. Mike
I'll keep you all posted on the fixes and results oh and if there are any problems taking it down or up