Occasional roller furling jam at the top

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bdeliman
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Joined: 8/24/15
Posts: 44
Occasional roller furling jam at the top

I get an occasional roller furling jam at the top. It appears the jib line starts to wrap around the roller. The line is tight, so that does not appear to be the issue. Any recomendations, maybe changing the schackle configuration, or hoisting the jib slightly higher so the schackle is closer to the jib block at the top of the mast, less line to wrap ?

Bill Deliman

Bill Deliman

Vivacious 2
1989 Catalina 36, Tall Rig, Wing Keel, m25xp
Atlantic Highlands, N.J.

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Channel Islander
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Joined: 10/8/11
Posts: 378

Hi Bill, the first thing to do is make sure that the roller top and bottom is properly cleaned and lubed. Then, some owners install a halyard deflector or other hardware to prevent the wrapping. Here's a link to a good description of the problem and some solutions , and here's a quote from that page:

"A halyard wrap is the term used to describe the situation in which the headsail halyard winds itself around the forestay, ultimately causing the forestay to fracture. The fundamental cause is that the angle between the forestay and the halyard is less than about 10 - 15 degrees, which provides insufficient lateral force to the upper swivel to keep it stationary when the furling line is pulled. It is then easier for the halyard to wrap around the forestay. However, the same problem will occur if the headsail is furled or unfurled with the halyard loose, even if the angle between the two is sufficient. A furling line should never need to be hauled in with a winch. Always check the cause of the problem if extra force seems to be necessary.

In most cases the halyard sheave and the forestay terminal are fairly close together, meaning that the stay and halyard are almost parallel at the top swivel. There are two principal means by which the angle is increased, either a diverter or a deflector. A diverter is a bullseye fairlead riveted to the mast some way below the halyard sheave. A deflector is a small wheel with its own bearing, fitted above the top swivel. Both increase the angle between the stay and halyard, ensuring that the upper swivel remains stationary."

You should be able to find such hardware at any large chandlery.

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

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Haro
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Joined: 11/7/14
Posts: 442

Bill,​ I had that same problem. The head on the jib has not been installed prperly.
Go to the link below and download the manufacturer installation instruction and visit page 11.
I am unable to upload this 3.4 MB file as the max files size allowed here is 2 MB.
In my case the installed had neglected  to install the pendant that came with the jib. That would raise the Upper Swivel to closer to the top fo the furler foil.

https://www.schaefermarine.com/our-products/manuals-docs/​
 

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KevinLenard
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Joined: 1/28/15
Posts: 224

Wow!  Excellent advice.   I've been having similar issues, mainly with our gennaker halyard sheave coming into contact with the furling upper swivel and the gennaker halyard interfering with the furling (the bail welded onto the lead edge of the foil up top should be longer, or I have a shackle that isn't long enough -- another issue on the long list of "wish I had more hours in the season...").  I will look into a pendant for the genny to lower it out of the way by 6", or some other way to extend the gennaker halyard sheave further out/away so it isn't coming into contact with the furling.  (Will have to do this when the mast comes down.)

Kevin Lenard
"Firefly"
'91 C-36 Mk. "1.5" Tall Rig, Fin Keel, Hull #1120, Universal M-35 original (not "A" or "B")
CBYC, Scarborough, Lake Ontario, Canada

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