I have an Ericson 29 with a bit of an odd roller furling gear (brand name unknown). There is a wire in the luff of the genoa and the sail and wire spin independent of the headstay which is a few inches forward of them. I'd happly replace this system with something more conventional, but the darn thing works so well I can't justify the expense. My question is this; Should I keep lots of tension on halyard when I leave the boat at the slip? If I take off some tension the rolled sail droops a bit and moves to and fro a little in the wind, and I have to remember to tighten it up before going out again. Anyone have a clue?
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As a matter of priciple
I always slack my headsail halyard when docked. I have Harken furling which is different but I think it can't hurt to have a bit less tension when it is not being used. My opinion based on absolutely no science...
I always slack my headsail halyard when docked. I have Harken furling which is different but I think it can't hurt to have a bit less tension when it is not being used. My opinion based on absolutely no science...
Tie up the sail
Jim, When I leave the boat, I take about a 4' line and tie around the furled sail. This is small insurance that the furler does not unfurl should the furling line get loose. I have seen sails beat up pretty bad because the wind caught them just right and opened the sail enough to flog itself. I also make sure that the sheets have atleast 2 full wraps around the furled sail. I let the dock side sheet loose so that it does not hinder boarding. The sheet away from the dock I keep tight so the wind can't open the sail. As far as the halyard, You have a wire luff and I would leave it tight. It won't stretch the sail and will minimize possible damage by the wind. r.w.landau
Jim, When I leave the boat, I take about a 4' line and tie around the furled sail. This is small insurance that the furler does not unfurl should the furling line get loose. I have seen sails beat up pretty bad because the wind caught them just right and opened the sail enough to flog itself. I also make sure that the sheets have atleast 2 full wraps around the furled sail. I let the dock side sheet loose so that it does not hinder boarding. The sheet away from the dock I keep tight so the wind can't open the sail. As far as the halyard, You have a wire luff and I would leave it tight. It won't stretch the sail and will minimize possible damage by the wind. r.w.landau
Leave it tight
Jim, I had a similar wire luff genoa for about 14 years. I always left it tight....never any problems. You don't want that sag you mentioned. Instructions for extrusion based furler systems usually state to remove tension from the jib haylard when not in use, the purpose being to ease the tension on the upper swivel bearings. Kevin
Jim, I had a similar wire luff genoa for about 14 years. I always left it tight....never any problems. You don't want that sag you mentioned. Instructions for extrusion based furler systems usually state to remove tension from the jib haylard when not in use, the purpose being to ease the tension on the upper swivel bearings. Kevin
Have same type of furler
We have the same type of furling unit on our 1976 Oday 25. Ours was made by Schaefer, and it works great! (We keep ours tight to avoid having the sail move around in the wind and to avoid having the drum contact the deck.... --- also keep a sail tie wrapped around the furled sail when the boat is moored...) Sean
We have the same type of furling unit on our 1976 Oday 25. Ours was made by Schaefer, and it works great! (We keep ours tight to avoid having the sail move around in the wind and to avoid having the drum contact the deck.... --- also keep a sail tie wrapped around the furled sail when the boat is moored...) Sean
Jib halyard tension
When my roller furling was installed, the rigger showed me how much to slack the halyard when parked, and it was very slight - in my case, on a 30' boat, maybe 2". He said it was to take the load off the plastic ball bearings to prevent the wind from vibrating flat spots on them. He said over time, the balls would tend to vibrate their way onto a flat spot and then aggravate it. I took it as one of those things not worth getting into and have always eased it off. As a consequence, I frequently sail out forgetting to tauten it up.
When my roller furling was installed, the rigger showed me how much to slack the halyard when parked, and it was very slight - in my case, on a 30' boat, maybe 2". He said it was to take the load off the plastic ball bearings to prevent the wind from vibrating flat spots on them. He said over time, the balls would tend to vibrate their way onto a flat spot and then aggravate it. I took it as one of those things not worth getting into and have always eased it off. As a consequence, I frequently sail out forgetting to tauten it up.
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