I have a 97 376. A year ago it became difficult to unfurl and then furl the main. After some conversations with sail makers, etc. I was told that the main was getting old (12 years) and that it was probably bunching on unfurl an furl. I bought a new main from UK Sails Miami, but still have the problem. With the main sheet and vang on hard and the boom horizontal, the main will unfurl a short way, then jam or stop. On releasing the outhaul and then continuing to furl, it will then unfurl a few feet with really strong winching suddenly open unfurl a few feet, etc. It continues this way until eventually it unfurls , but with real difficulty. Furling is the same. I believe the bearings in the furling drum are ok and lubricated. This is such a problem that I can't really sail the boat. I know the new main is slightly heavier cloth and it has four spreader patches as well. Any thoughts from anyone would really be appreciated. This is a huge problem for me. Thank you John Anderson 865-384-5962 mobile or forum respond.
serious fulring problem
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When I bought my Hunter 410, I had the same difficulties. My solution is to keep a little tension on the out haul when furling the main. It seems to make for smoother wraps and thus eliminates the bunching. Another, thing that I did was add another few inches of Sunbrella to the UV protection, so I did not have to furle the main as far into the mast. My third action is to make sure the sail is not bunched before I start to unfurl. Good luck.
You are probably aware of this, but: When I furl the main, I'm sure to have the boom at an angle. It's pretty noticable - perhaps 20* rise? Release the boom vang, and the main sheet. Also pull in some topping lift if you have one. This makes the sail "fit" better when rolling up. This should make the sail un-furl easier also. This has been discussed quite a bit on other threads on this site, so perhaps you can find other references also. I remember references to it going a bit smoother on starboard tack? Good luck.
Very Very Tight
Are you making sure the sail is being held tight with tension on tthe outhaul and watching the sail as it goes in very tight and no bunching of the sail.
You think the bearings have been lubed but i would try lubing it any way,the only thing is you need to watch to see sail get furled in and check to make sure no bunching or wrinkels are going on the sail as it enters,I would also try to make sure the mainsheet and boom is down so the sail is kept tight as you furl in and any thing so no wrinkling of tthe sail it needs to ggo in nicel and tightly wraped into the mast.
I never use a winch to ffurl out or furling in it with some type of tension kept on the out haul as you furling and that is the whole trick keeping the sail nicely evenly wraped into tttthe mast.
Once you get it stop jaming than when out sailing and furling in the sail tack off the wind and let the wind applie the tension as you furl it in.
Nick
Are you making sure the sail is being held tight with tension on tthe outhaul and watching the sail as it goes in very tight and no bunching of the sail.
You think the bearings have been lubed but i would try lubing it any way,the only thing is you need to watch to see sail get furled in and check to make sure no bunching or wrinkels are going on the sail as it enters,I would also try to make sure the mainsheet and boom is down so the sail is kept tight as you furl in and any thing so no wrinkling of tthe sail it needs to ggo in nicel and tightly wraped into the mast.
I never use a winch to ffurl out or furling in it with some type of tension kept on the out haul as you furling and that is the whole trick keeping the sail nicely evenly wraped into tttthe mast.
Once you get it stop jaming than when out sailing and furling in the sail tack off the wind and let the wind applie the tension as you furl it in.
Nick
Check the tension on the luff extrusion. I had problems furling my main towards the end of last season. Found out the locking sleeve and lock screw had come loose allowing the tensioning screw to turn. resulted in the luff extrusion flopping around inside the mast.
I'll echo Ken's answer from recent experience.
Over the winter I took my 10 year old sails to a sail loft and told them that I expected they would find a belly in the main because I was having the same problems described by the author of this thread. They called me when they had the sail laid out on the loft floor and said the sail was in great shape and no significant belly existed. They said the extrusion will flex too much when not properly adjusted. They recommended I adjust the tension on the mast furling extrusion. I followed the Selden manual instructions on doing so and the problem is gone. It was a surprisingly easy process. The sail has to be removed to do the adjustment, but since I had not yet put the sail on the extrusion, it took me no longer to do the adjustment than the three times I read over the instructions. I only did the hand tension adjustment. Here's a link to the Selden manual on how to do so: http://www.seldenmast.com/_download...56380&download=8013095&filename=595-059-E.pdf
Over the winter I took my 10 year old sails to a sail loft and told them that I expected they would find a belly in the main because I was having the same problems described by the author of this thread. They called me when they had the sail laid out on the loft floor and said the sail was in great shape and no significant belly existed. They said the extrusion will flex too much when not properly adjusted. They recommended I adjust the tension on the mast furling extrusion. I followed the Selden manual instructions on doing so and the problem is gone. It was a surprisingly easy process. The sail has to be removed to do the adjustment, but since I had not yet put the sail on the extrusion, it took me no longer to do the adjustment than the three times I read over the instructions. I only did the hand tension adjustment. Here's a link to the Selden manual on how to do so: http://www.seldenmast.com/_download...56380&download=8013095&filename=595-059-E.pdf
John, I would check your furling bearings. Have they been lubricated recently? The bottom one can be done easily but the top one is sealed. Something you might want to look into. There are good instructions on how to do this in the manual. There are also a couple of Postings in here on on to do it. Including a suggestion for a small grease gun to help with the project. Good luck!
Probably get howled down for this suggestion but it's worked for me. Furling main into mast a well covered issue, furl sail tight, keep outhaul tension etc but one trick I've learned on my 33 with Selden mast if the sail, for some reason wont exit the mast, by pulling the opposite side of the continuous furling sheet (unfurling side) assisting the furling mechanism to rotate (unwind) the sail then exits the mast with no issue. In little wind outhaul tension may still be required but with some breeze the sail exits mast quickly.
One other thing to check. I have same boat and had problems with the in-haul line jumping the track on the worm gear (in-haul mechanism). You can visually see this happen. In this instance, it would bind and release, bind and release as you tried to bring the sail out (sort of how you described). It also made the out-haul effort difficult.
If this is the case, I have a solution that worked for me. If you lower the in-haul block that is attached to the boom about 2 feet (stainless chain) it provides a much lower angle for the in-haul line to feed into the worm gear. This has stopped the problem I had with the line jumping out of the track.
If this is the case, I have a solution that worked for me. If you lower the in-haul block that is attached to the boom about 2 feet (stainless chain) it provides a much lower angle for the in-haul line to feed into the worm gear. This has stopped the problem I had with the line jumping out of the track.
Bretster, Sounds interesting, would it be possible to get a picture of your modification?
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