There have been a number of posts about furling mains, among them mine. I have continued to have a problem with the main "bulging" in the slot and jamming about 10' up the mast when I unfurl it. I have found with this problem that it helps if you "pull and release... pull and release" when "hoisting" the Main rather than applying steady pressure. When it does jam, I "unstick" it by furling it back up under tension and it pulls the jam out.
That being said, I wrote to US Spars about this and here is their response should it prove helpful to anyone:
Well, let's start with the basics. How old is your sail? I ask this, because it sounds as if your sail may be starting to slightly stretch, in which happens when a sail gets quite a bit of use and age. The center or belly of the sail will tend to stretch and in turn cause the sail to want to overlap on itself while being furled in or out of the mast slot. Does this sound like what is happening in your case? If your sail is the issue, you will need to take it to a local sailmaker and have them restitch and tighten the sail up. If the sail isn't the issue, then you might try replacing the main halyard if it is aged, because the same as with the sail...if the main halyard gets enough ware it will tend to want to stretch more than it normally would. When this happens, the main halyard will stretch and drop the main halyard head sail swivel, in turn slightly dropping the sail and causing the overlapping that you are experiencing. These are the two main causes of the issue that your having. Hopefully this will help to resolve your issue. If it doesn't and you need more assistance, don't hesitate to contact us directly.
Best Regards,
Shaun H. Sales Manager
U.S.Spars Inc.
Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
I found that raising the end of the boom with the topping lift to 15 or 20 degrees solved the problem. The main now has equal pressure on the foot and leach.
Marc Nachman
s/v Whispering Eye
Catalina 36 Mk II #2201
SFM, WK, M35b
s/v Whispering Eye
2004 Catalina 36 Mk II #2201
SRFM/WK/M35b
St. Petersburg, FL
Hi,
I have not had any issues with in mast furling, and its over 3 years old.
When you furl it in, do you keep plenty of tension on the outhaul?
This should ensure it is tightly furled in the mast. We do not even adjust the vang or boom angle. It just goes in and out.
You mentioned the main halyard. In normal use you should not need to touch this. Unless it has stretched, and needs a tighten up once in a while.
Is there somebody else close by that can watch your technique and make sure you are doing it correctly?
Cheers
Sent from my Android Tablet
Cat375 - Rock The Boat - Hull 54
Lake Macquarie - NSW - Australia
I find it interesting that there is such controversy in regards to the mainsail not either being deployed or retracted properly and causing problems with our in-mast convenience. Our boat is a 2001 and we have owned and sailed it for four years and have not once had a problem.
A friend of mine had a continual challenge of his sail not wanting to be deployed on his Catalina 32 and once he lifted the end of the boom ever so slightly the problem was solved.
It's probably a valid point that if your sail is older you might develop some bagginess in the middle and that would prevent it from working properly.
Most new boats at the boat shows nowadays come with the in-mast furling and is a big improvement over what has been used for decades, er, I mean centuries.
Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B
Believe me when I say I've been thru all the different iterations of boom angles, tensioning the halyard, replacing the car bearings (though that helped some), etc.
For those who say they've had their boats 3-4 years or so, do you take your main off the boat during the off season? It's been a few about 6 years but it seems to me that I didn't have any problems until I took mine off, then reinstalled the next year. This would suggest that it's an adjustment problem except for the fact that I've tried every adjustment anyone has suggested. The sail stretching is the one thing I had not considered and is not as easy to fix.
Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
It should go in and out by hand easily, if not, you are doing something wrong. Funny enough these same things will cause your battened main to jam also (not to mention the fun of lazy jacks).
So here's what "I" have done wrong: :)
- Boom angle made it very difficult to pull the main out - release or tension the boom vang to get the boom angle right.
- Main sheet too tight made it difficult to pull the main out - release the main sheet
- Lack of tension when furling led to a jam when trying to deploy. To resolve this you should "furl" the sail tightly via the furling line and then pull it out.
My mainsail is 13 years old and furls just fine. I do find that having the wind to starboard tends to help roll it up nice and tight. Rolling it up heading directly into the wind with the sail flailing has led to not furling tight and jamming.
Never force it. You should only need a winch for when you are reefing. I always reef the main first. With my wing keel, heeling is slow.
It is fantastic to be able to reef the sail from the cockpit and put the sail away in 30 seconds.
2000 C36 MKII 1825
[QUOTE=pierview;20125]For those who say they've had their boats 3-4 years or so, do you take your main off the boat during the off season? .[/QUOTE]
We don't have an off season. We sail all year round (probably why we are so good at it!). So the main has never been off the boat. Other than tighten up the halyard a few times, I have never had to touch it (vang never gets adjusted either.
[QUOTE=KnotDoneYet;20126]It should go in and out by hand easily, if not, you are doing something wrong.
I do find that having the wind to starboard tends to help roll it up nice and tight. Rolling it up heading directly into the wind with the sail flailing has led to not furling tight and jamming.
It is fantastic to be able to reef the sail from the cockpit and put the sail away in 30 seconds.[/QUOTE]
I always keep tension on the outhaul line, this ensures you have a nice tight furl. A flapping sail is not conclusive to a tight furl.
Yes, my mates are jealous of my quick main - both setting it and packing it away. All from the safety of the cockpit.
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Cat375 - Rock The Boat - Hull 54
Lake Macquarie - NSW - Australia