Inmast-Furling Disaster

[daddle]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

...have a look at the attached, taken mid-Channel. Nope, in-mast furling mains just don't perform, they suck, they are for push-button poseurs, not sailors!
Attachment 18369

Heh. That's good speed on main-only. Fun! But of course a beam reach is hardly a test of anything. I wish I could find a 20kt breeze, not attached to a squall, in the South China Sea.

[Pete7]

DH, was the photo taken on the way home? great speed though 20 knots of wind would have us well reefed down.

Our trip also didn't quite go to plan. An hour S of the Needles on the Thu evening, Viv was badly seasick. Faced with another 11 hours at night or turn back we came back into Lymington. Quite suprised really, I have seen her cook a meal in conditions that have kept me topsides. It wasn't rough at 15 knots but a nasty channel chop set up an uncomfortable montion and I wasn't feeling too good either. We left early Fri morning and with some tablets had an easy crossing to Alderney and From Alderney to Guernsey on the Sunday.

Interestingly we had our inmast main jam. Seems late at night on the Thu I had rolled it away with a crease which increased the diameter on the roller so jammed. We did this downwind rather than coming head to wind as we normally do, also the kicker was loose allowing the boom to rise. However winching it in and then back out solved it thankfully.

Shame about the weather last week but we had a quiet crossing home yesterday sun bathing all the way.

Pete

[Dockhead]

Oh, we had great weather other than one or two days of downpour when we were snugly moored up in Cherbourg. No complaints at all, and we had plenty of wind both ways contrary to all of the forecasts. The photo was made on the way back, St. Vaast -- Studland, 70-odd miles in 9-odd hours, a pace for a 200-mile day, by far the fastest passage I've ever made in any sailboat. We were indeed well reefed as we were close-hauled almost the whole way and the wind was mostly 25-ish.

On the way down we were on a beam reach, and had every scrap of canvas up even up to 25 knots.

Oddly, we never saw another pleasure boat. We had to dodge one ship on the way down and two on the way up, but the ship traffic was also less dense than what I imagined. Just a big wide ocean, mostly.


Concerning jamming in-mast furlers I think we now both know-- don't let the boom come up when furling. For the rest of the trip I was very careful to keep some tension on the leech and the system never worked so well.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by daddle

Heh. That's good speed on main-only. Fun! But of course a beam reach is hardly a test of anything. I wish I could find a 20kt breeze, not attached to a squall, in the South China Sea.

Ha, ha. Well, it's not main only (I wish!). That would create intolerable weather helm in our boat in 20 knots of wind. We had the yankee reefed to the first mark and the staysail furled, having just been through a squall. A minute later the staysail came out and we unreefed the yankee.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Vasco

In six seasons of winter cruising I have yet to have a problem with my in-mast furling.

Reminds me of the joke about the guy who jumped off a ten story building yelling - so far, so good - all the way down.

[Auspicious]

Dockhead - I think you figured out who had helpful advice. Kudos to Bash, Vasco, and hummingway for what I see as good advice.

I suggest in the future keeping more tension on the outhaul as you furl the main so the wraps are tighter and you don't have fabric to jam in the slot. Also check your main halyard tension.

[night0wl]

I had this trouble too...usually when other people were on board the boat. Its then I learned that most of my guests were opening up the main halyard spinlock, then quickly tightening it back down. In the meantime, though, the halyard became loose which allowed the sail to wrap in on itself when it was time to furl.

With in-mast systems...the tension on the main halyard must be tight tight tight.

So now, I'm the only one that unfurls the main

[muskoka]

Dockhead,

You might have already got this sorted but we had years of trouble free in-mast furling and we always:
- before furling, tension the boom vang to keep the leech tight;
- and, kept a slight amount of tension on the outhaul to furl tight
and prior to sailing I'd tension the main halyard. I'd also jump up on the coach roof and pull the first bit of the sail out manually to start things off.