Why I don't have in mast furling.

Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
easing the sheet and slacking the outhaul
This is a key!:clap: It frees the sail to be furled as cut.

I also release the boom vang, which allows the boom to barely "float" when furling. This action lets boom angle match the sail cut angle and puts minimum sail diameter in the mast. See this post#31 for pictures...
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...st-piece-of-crap-furling-system.175976/page-2

Before learning the vang release. I was forcing the furling of the sail foot into the mast and maximizing the furled sail diameter. If your sail has a 90° cut, then the vang release has little effect.
Jim...
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
This is a key!:clap: It frees the sail to be furled as cut.
I also release the boom vang, which allows the boom to barely "float" when furling. This action lets boom angle match the sail cut angle and puts minimum sail diameter in the mast.
Jim...
Since we have no hard vang (boo hoo) our topping lift is set to the correct furling angle, a hair off 90º.
 

viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
Bought a 2000 H380 with furling mast. The H380 is tender with its very tall mast (as tall as larger Hunters with more ballast and beam), needs more frequent reefing so its not overpowered. Its tenderness almost kept me from purchasing it . Another H380 owner pointed out that with the furling mast, reefing was not that much of a problem for him and the price was very good for the boat. So in this case w/o the furling mast, I would not have bought this model.

And yes I have read all the stories of furling problems and made sure to have the sail reworked/conditioned. The reality is 90% of newer boats used for cruising on the market have furling mast.

And yes I like the lazy part of not having to put sails away. If its not easy, it does not get done or is not used is my motto. If it takes more crew, will be used less. Lots of boats (most) at the dock on even the best of days. Too much work on Sail boats perceived or otherwise is a major reason why sail boat sails are down and there are a fraction of builder left.

I have added lots of labor saving and safety devices 9and backup devices)... all add complexity, all make it easier to enjoy the experience, and all will mean more problems and maintenance.

Heck, I don't care about .25 knots less while cruising, I'm not racing. If I did I would add a feathering/folding prop... no Davits and solar panels. I may even keep my 110 Genoa at LT that so its a working jib much of the time...

And as I researched furling masts, most of the problems were operator error or sails that had lost their shape. So expect problems with them and prepare for them, and they will happen far less often.

And as far as safety.. this would not have happened if the boat had a furling mast...LOL


Regards,

Viper
 
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Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
sailed from little shark river to booth key with 15 to 25 knot wind and boy thank god for inmast easy reefing made it easy for sure and on mooring ball now in booth key and windy for sure
nick
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
It"s not being lazy its being able to reef on the fly and traveling with a 36 catalina and classic sails and after seeing me reef with my inmast today he said he wish had inmast.
nick
 
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Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I have never owned a boat with IMF, but sail on a friends H33 with IMF.

- I like IMF for infinite furling, which can be done on the fly easier than my traditional sail with 2 reef points.

- I don't like IMF as it requires help to bend it on, going up the mast, and it can be finicky (whether due to a baggy sail or improper technique).

- I like my traditional main sail for its simplicity and for the fact that I can bend it on by myself. I have lazy jacks for assisting in dropping the sail by myself and a sail bag for putting the sail away, which I really love.

- I don't like my main sail because I usually wait too long to reef because my set up is not very efficient. My sail is not loose footed, which I would like. My sail does not have full batons, which I would like.

Sometimes I think a newer Hunter with a B&R rig (no backstay) and very large, full roach, flat top traditional main sail with full batons would be ideal.

Greg
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
- I don't like IMF as it requires help to bend it on, going up the mast,. Greg
I don't see the difference. I can feed the sail into the foil as I heave on the halyard; both are located at nearly the same place on the mast. Sure it's faster w/2, but I live on island time anyway, so all speeding up the job would do is get me to the bar earlier. It's a lot easier than raising a furling jib as the halyard is nowhere near the tack of the jib.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I don't see the difference. I can feed the sail into the foil as I heave on the halyard; both are located at nearly the same place on the mast. Sure it's faster w/2, but I live on island time anyway, so all speeding up the job would do is get me to the bar earlier. It's a lot easier than raising a furling jib as the halyard is nowhere near the tack of the jib.
As I said, I don't have one, but my 2 buddies with Seldon spars on their Hunter 33's have to go up the mast to install their main sails. They help each other, but I don't think they can do it alone.

Greg
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
As I said, I don't have one, but my 2 buddies with Seldon spars on their Hunter 33's have to go up the mast to install their main sails. They help each other, but I don't think they can do it alone.

Greg
I'd love to know why. There's no difference between my Hood Stoway system and my jib system, except the proximity to the mast.
 
Feb 11, 2017
9
As I said, I don't have one, but my 2 buddies with Seldon spars on their Hunter 33's have to go up the mast to install their main sails. They help each other, but I don't think they can do it alone.

Greg
Like I stated earlier, I had in-mast furling for 13 years and 30,000 NM. I never had to go up the mast to deal with the mainsail, for any reason.

Steve
 
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Sep 20, 2006
2,912
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
As I said, I don't have one, but my 2 buddies with Seldon spars on their Hunter 33's have to go up the mast to install their main sails. They help each other, but I don't think they can do it alone.

Greg
No idea why they would have to go up the mast. I install mine every year by myself all from the deck and cockpit.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Ok. I don't know why they go up the mast or why it takes 2 of them, but that is how they do it.

I like the idea of IMF, but since I am not in the market for a new boat at the moment, a moot point for me.

Good to know that going up the mast is not a requirement. One of the H33's does not have a spinnaker halyard, so he never puts his jib up until after the main, because he needs the job halyard to go up up the mast for some reason.

Maybe he is putting his wind instruments up. I will ask him when we splash boats in May.

Greg
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
The only time it took 2 was when I was installing a new main sail. The sail maker took a journey up to inspect the slot of the inside furling tube or foil, for damage. The only time UP.

The reason for 2 was to connect the head shackle to the main halyard and the foot shackle to the furling drum swivel.

It is a royal pain to do this thru my tiny access plates on the mast and not drop the shackles.

Tip: I stuffed some paper towels inside the mast to prevent loss of shackle parts to the mast base.
______
Each season I mark the fixed halyard position, lower the sail and water flush the self lubricating, stainless steel swivel bearings. Then haul it back up to the "sweet spot" for halyard tension. (1 person job done from cockpit)
_____
I think IMF is a Safety device for my boat.

Jim...
 
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capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
I think IMF is a Safety device for my boat. Jim...
I wholeheartedly agree! I certainly don't miss the old days of being on the foredeck in water up to my waist and the wind blowing whatever jib I'm trying to hank on or off out of my hands and into the sea.
IMF is even better. Nobody up on deck with the boom swinging violently to and fro, trying to furl the sail as it flogs in the wind. And no lost halyards!
 
Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Or, and especially with an attached foot, one could use the topping lift to haul the aft of the boom and sail up together to be parallel to the mast
THANK YOU! I've come up with many creative solutions in my life, when pressed, but I'm not sure if I ever would have thought of this. You have given me one more tool in my tool bag to use if the need arises. I think, before doing so, I would get a line around the sail to help control it while raising the topping lift, just to help keep it from ballooning out as it is slackened.
I should mention we don't have IMF, but that is not to say that a halyard can't get jammed at the top and require a creative solution to douse the sail.

Not to highjack the thread, but I am considering a behind-the mast furler for our mizzen. We can't do IMF on the mizzen if we wanted to (which I don't), because we already have our main engine exhaust in there (we have a "dry exhaust" up the mast, and a closed cooling system that circulates coolant inside a tank in the keel). But, I do like the concept of furling like the headsail does, and behind-the-mast would give us that. So, my questions are: recommendations on furlers (about a 45' mast, above the pilothouse), and would that imply loose footed? Could it even be done without a boom at all, and just sheeted to the mizzen traveler?

An additional question, of a different sort. We also want to convert from our current mainsail (see thumbnail to left), to a mizzen staysail from the top of the mizzen mast to the base of the main mast, with a furler just like the headsail. This was actually the builder's intended sailplan, but the PO opted for the current rig. We would like to change it back for ease of sail handling - ALL sails on furlers! So, the question is, likewise, could we eliminate the boom that is currently the main boom, and again just sheet the mizzen staysail to the current main traveler that is atop the pilothouse, without the boom? I'd love to get rid of that weight of these two heavy booms! I don't know what impact this would have on sail shape or power, but certainly the genoa is our most powerful sail as currently rigged. But, it is 750 sf, so...

I'd appreciate your thoughts.
 
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capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Not to highjack the thread, but I am considering a behind-the mast furler for our mizzen. We can't do IMF on the mizzen if we wanted to (which I don't), because we already have our main engine exhaust in there (we have a "dry exhaust" up the mast, and a closed cooling system that circulates coolant inside a tank in the keel). But, I do like the concept of furling like the headsail does, and behind-the-mast would give us that. So, my questions are: recommendations on furlers (about a 45' mast, above the pilothouse), and would that imply loose footed? Could it even be done without a boom at all, and just sheeted to the mizzen traveler?

An additional question, of a different sort. We also want to convert from our current mainsail (see thumbnail to left), to a mizzen staysail from the top of the mizzen mast to the base of the main mast, with a furler just like the headsail. This was actually the builder's intended sailplan, but the PO opted for the current rig. We would like to change it back for ease of sail handling - ALL sails on furlers! So, the question is, likewise, could we eliminate the boom that is currently the main boom, and again just sheet the mizzen staysail to the current main traveler that is atop the pilothouse, without the boom? I'd love to get rid of that weight of these two heavy booms! I don't know what impact this would have on sail shape or power, but certainly the genoa is our most powerful sail as currently rigged. But, it is 750 sf, so...I'd appreciate your thoughts.
We have exterior RF on our mizzen and it's OK. As we sail very well as a sloop, the mizzen isn't often used and the exterior RF rig is suitable.
As for turning your boat into a staysail ketch, I've sailed a few and they are dogs. I would suggest you reef more and keep the power of the Marconi main, rather than going for the ease of handling as a staysail ketch, if you want to sail rather than motor to windward. It also puts a great deal more stress on your mizzen, as a sheeting position for the main topsail.
It's easy enough to find a couple of used booms or even make them out of wood (see the SeaRunner construction manual by Jim Brown), if you want to lighten things up a bit.