Westerly Centaur help!

[darcher]

Last summer I purchased an old Westerly Centaur. I am retired and new to sailing. Although I “successfully” sailed last summer, I ran into some difficulties, one of which was trimming the mainsail. Each time that I raised the mainsail or trimmed it when the wind came up, I had to have assistance. Furling the main sail on the boom was difficult in that I had to have help removing the tabs from the slot, and the sail tended to wrap forward, which necessitated corrections and re-adjustment. It took four hands and the process was very slow. I am 65 and fairly agile, but this process made me feel like the bungling beginner that I am, and for safety I need to speed up this process. (I have to confess that I never took the batten boards out.) I will be attending a sailing class this summer, but I do not know if this will be addressed. Are you a Centaur owner? Could you answer just a few questions? I promise not to be a pest.


Dave Archer
archdave@gmail.com

 

[Ross]

First off you must keep the bow to the wind, Next as you drop the sail push folds left and right as the sail comes down. Then starting at the aft end of the boom pull the sail taut and put a tie on about every 3 feet.

 

[BobM]

Head to wind, as Ross said, but the main sheet must be free so the boat isn't sailing around on you. I suggest you hit www.youtube.com as there are a ton of great short video sailing lessons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4RMfK1tdPs for example

 

[Ted]

Westerly Centaur help

I'm pretty sure most of the older Westerly Centaur's have roller boom furling. With this setup, the main is rolled around the exterior of the boom. The problem lies with the fact that there is no way to apply tension to the clew of the sail after it is reefed. The foot of the sail tends to want to work it's way forward on the boom as it is loaded. They are not very efficient reefing systems. I would suggest converting to slab reefing if you don't already have it. My brother has a Centaur and he is converting to slab reefing this season.

Were you having difficulty raising the main because the luff slugs were binding in the mast slot? If so, spray some McLube (dry lubricant) on the slugs and mast slot. Never use a liquid lubricant as it will collect lots of dirt. For a quick fix, rub candle wax on the slugs. It will make a big difference if that's where the friction is coming from. You might also want to check your mainsail halyard sheave at the masthead to make sure it is turning freely.

 

[BioAndy]

Dave,

I own a 1974 Westerly Centaur and assume you are referring to the factory configured rotating boom for reefing the main sail. In short, it's not a good system for the reasons you mentioned and the resulting sail shape with a completed reef. Also you're unable to use a boom vang with the sail furled around the boom.

An upgrade from that factory system to a slab reefing system would require reefing points or cringles to be installed on your main sail (if not already there) as well as hardware for the reefing control lines. Control line routing and hardware selection is dependent on how your other rigging is set up, (and budget). This would improve your ability to take a reef more quickly/easily and and result in optimal sail shape.

Weather you're rolling the boom or slab reefing, you need to maintain sail shape by keeping the furled foot of the sail properly tentioned.

Andy