Stuck new genoa on Harken furler

[ricksoth]

So I had a Harken furler installed last winter and a new sail was hoisted in May '22 at the start of my Puget Sound sailing season. Yesterday I tried to remove the sail from the foil and the thing is stuck. The halyard is completely loose (off the mast winch), so either halyard is stuck it the masthead sheaves or the sail is stuck in the foil.

When I put the sail up, it was stiff being new and took a few up-and-down sessions to make hoisting it easy. My memory is that it hoisted without issue.

I'm wondering if I should rig some type of block below the bow to run a line from the sail tack down below the bow and then back to a winch to enable a bit more pull than I can do with my hands. This inherently sounds like a bad idea, but maybe it only needs a little encouragement.

I'm old and I don't go up the mast - so before hiring a rigger to assist this situation, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[jssailem]

I experienced a similar event with a new sail in the furler. The sail had a ripple in the cloth. Needed to grab the sail and physically pull it down.

Another potential is that the screws securing the foil segments may have loosened and now are binding the sail.

 

[dlochner]

If there is the least bit of wind the sail can bind in the track. As @jssailem said, it may need to be physically pulled down.

Also check the back stay tension. It may be helpful to ease it or tighten it.

Next season, before hoisting the sail, clean the tracks lubricate with a dry lubricant like McLube. McLube is expensive but a little goes a long way. I inherited a can when I bought my boat 9 years ago, still have it.

Check Practical Sailor, a few years back they did a couple of articles on cleaning sail tracks on genoas and mainsails.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Another possibility is that you have a halyard wrap above the upper furling swivel. That happens if the halyard is loose while furling or unfurling the sail.
If that’s the case, someone needs to go aloft to clear it.

 

[FastOlson]

One basic bit of info: what is the furler luff groove sized for and what was the luff size on the new sail? This has been pretty well standardized in the last 20 years or so, but when buying a new sail "assumptions" are dangerous.
I spray MacLube on the genoa luff every season as it gets hoisted. While lowering it, gravity is on my side... not so when raising it. Hoisting takes some muscle on the line tail.

If there is a halyard wrap or anything else amiss at the top, use you binoculars to study it. High $$ smart phones also have good telephoto lenses these days, too.

About going up the mast, I do that still, altho now in my 70's, but I get some young person or a friend with a big battery drill motor equipped with a 'winch stud' to do the hoisting labor!

Good luck!

 

[kappykaplan]

I spray MacLube on the genoa luff every season as it gets hoisted.

 

[ricksoth]

Sailmaker suggested pulling down with the winch on the tack and shaking the foil. Worked like a charm and the whole thing was on the foredeck before I could grab the halyard. Definitely will get McLube for next year.