I've been researching many forums and would like to hear some of your opinions. This is our first winter with the in-mast furling here in Maryland and we have been finding conflicting views on what to do. Here is what I have found.
Leave it in because it is too much of a hassle to reinstall.
Remove only every 2-3 years to clean/inspect.
When you remove the sail, the internals of the mast makes an annoying noise.
What are your views? If removed, does the rattling of the parts in the mast damage anything.
Thanks
It is not that difficult to remove and put back up. I have done it both ways, left up and removed.
If you decide to remove, you can take some steps to minimize the rattling in the mast (annoying noies). I have connected a line to the main halyard to keep tension on it to keep from banging around inside ther mast.
Here are some Links that might prove helpful:
[URL="http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:RKY6-jNDn3oJ:www.neilprydesails.com..."]Link 1[/URL]
[URL="http://www.charleston-spar.com/us/main.asp?url=http://www.charleston-spa..."]Charleston Spar[/URL]
Allan Rex
# 2216
Allan,
Thanks for the links. I went down yesterday and removed the sail. Very easy to do. Hardest part was folding it by myself. It took me 5 times longer to fold than to remove from mast.
But the noise from the foil in the mast was unbelievable. I'll try your suggestion as well as others I've found searching elsewhere. I'm particular interested in the one where you feed (3) 3ft pipe foam on a line attached to the halyard.
Allan
I simply hoisted the topping lift up the mast via the mainsail feed. You need to haul it about two-thirds of the way up and keep it fairly snug, via the outhaul. Also, take care when feeding the mainsail back in later: it is very easy to tear the bolt-rope. The feed arrangement for the mainsail is nowhere near as forgiving as the jib feed.
Hope this helps.
Paul and Heather Griffiths
Sarah Sue C36 Mk11 #2220
Mandurah, Western Australia