Want "Special" Instructions for Roller-Main

[Jack]

We have a H-380 with roller-furling main and jib and are unclear about the proper trim for maximum performance on this rig. We've been told that the roller-main is a 'different animal' than the standard B

 

[Larry Watkins]

Roller furling trim

Jack and Sharyn; I have a roller-furling main on my Beneteau, and here's what I've found out. Since the sail has no battens, be prepared for some loss of performance, but not enough to worry about, unless you want to seriously race. The vang is very important and is used to control leech tension. But, and this is a key, it must be released before you roll the sail up or the sail won't roll. In addition, place the boom slightly to port when rolling the main in or out, the sail feeds through the slot better. Also, you'll need to have the traveler slightly higher to windward than standard mains. In light air, ease the outhaul a little for more shape, and don't forget to ease all halyards when putting the boat to bed. That's what I've found, hope it helps, good luck.

 

[Don Guillette]

Want special instructions for roller main

I really have little experience sailing with the roller main. I've only been on one boat equipted that way and it was for a short sail in light air. I read Larry Watkins comments and I know he knows what he is talking about. Larry is a friend of mine from Long Beach and we both belong to Shoreline Yacht Club. He used to have a C30 before he moved up a bigger boat and is a successful racer. If Larry reads this maybe he'll invite me for a sail so I can see how the roller mains actually work.

 

[Jack]

Thanks, Larry

Thanks for the advice, Larry. I'll give your suggestions a try the next few times I'm out. To date, I have not used the vang tension much to control the sail shape as we've mostly been experiencing extremely light air.

 

[Jay Eaton]

Installation

I, too, have a new H380 and this is my first experience with the roller furling main. Keeping the crew in the cockpit is a great feature of this system. However, I had trouble furling the main. Two other items are important to make the furler work properly. One, the main must be installed on the furler so that it remains flat against the furler when it is rolled up. Key to this is installation of the tack - it is not obvious; you need to take a turn on the furler after you install the tack to see that it remains flat. Second on my boat, I discovered that the "blue" continuous furling line was threaded through other control lines causing friction (and chafe). I loosened the forward seahood (it cannot be totally removed because of the cable to the deck mounted solar panel)and re-reaved the other control lines.