Can't Bring Down My Roller Furling Jib...

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

Try as I may, I can't seem to bring down my jib. It somehow feels snagged up at the top of the mast. Any suggestions for bringing her down without having to climb the mast?

[Oliver L.]

Blondie-Dog,

we had the same problem. Turns out the aluminum profiles were riveted together, and the rivets were blocking the top bearing. Try turning the furler left and right and pull intermittently - we finally found a position where it would slide...

Lots of luck...

Oliver

[delmarrey]

Loosen the halyard and go sailing.

That seems to work when one doesn't want it to.

[TOM]

we had the same problem . The screws that secure the foils had come loose so the furler was catching on them as we tried to pull it down. You realy need to go up the mast and have a look . If you are scared of heights do what i do ....send the wife up.

www.byamee.com

[knothead]

Originally Posted by S/V Blondie-Dog

Try as I may, I can't seem to bring down my jib. It somehow feels snagged up at the top of the mast. Any suggestions for bringing her down without having to climb the mast?

What make furler is it?

[bill352]

Have you had it up and down before? Sometimes the installer leaves the foil too short and the upper swivel rides up over the foil and jams when you raise the sail. If this is the case, you might luck out by alternately pulling on the halyard and the luff, but success is not likely and you'll be chewing up the top of the foil and making it worse if it doesn't come right away. Somebody needs to go up there and take a look.

Best seat in the house if you're not scared of heights.

[roverhi]

The top swivel on my ProFurl got jammed on the foil. Had to bring furler down, beat the swivel off and replace the top section of foil. My ATN Mast Climber has really paid for itself a hundred times over.

If you don't want to climb the mast, try delmarey's technique and see if a little shaking and slatting out sailing will coax it down. Still doesn't put you in the clear as you should find out why the sail is hung up.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by S/V Blondie-Dog

Try as I may, I can't seem to bring down my jib. It somehow feels snagged up at the top of the mast. Any suggestions for bringing her down without having to climb the mast?

Get out your binocs and get a really good look at the top of your roller furler. I will tell you -- absolutely -- do NOT force it.

See if your mast has a halyard restraint to keep your halyard from wrapping around your forestay. That can completely wreck your forestay, and what you are describing can be a symptom of that.

Don't ever force a headsail if you have a roller furler.

[ReMetau]

Do you know what kind of furler you have?

Ours was a Famet (just not replacing it) which does not have a swivel since it uses a built in wire halyard. We some problems taking down the jib due to the tack being a little warped and which case I loosened the forestay a little and played with jiggling it around as we tried lowering the jib which thankfully worked for us.

[barnakiel]

I had this issue countless times with Profurls. Somehow this manufacturer failed to adress an obvious issue over a 20 years or so turn of production! Now that Wichard got them, maybe they will improve?

Go up the mast see what happened. Use two halyards to secure your harness.

b.

[david samuelson]

Are you sure you let go of the correct halyard? It happens ! !

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. And I do indeed apologize for my belated response to the various questions asked of me.

For simple truth of the matter is that I'd "hit the wall" insofar as sailing was concerned and had elected not to deal with any of my boat maintenance issues for the sake of my mental outlook at the time.

(A low checking account balance can have that kind of an effect on a sailor.)

In any event bringing down my jib had a very simple solution. It simply involved first and foremost unfurling the jib to its fullest extent, then untying the sheets, and only then gently pulling the jib out of the roller furling track.

Easy peasy, nice and easy...

Oh boy, don't I feel dumb. Yippers! I be but a barstool sailor!