Roller furler keeps wrapping around forestay

[glasshopper77]

Hi all, first post here. We are new to sailing, took an 8 week sailing class and have now purchased a 1973 Cat22. We have been out sailing 4 times now on our own, strictly in light winds.
The problem I am having is the roller furler (which is old and looks cheap and I can't even find a manufacturer name on it) keeps wrapping around the forestay during furling and un furling...
I was told by some local guys (here in Wisconsin) that I don't need the forestay as I have a roller furler but that to me seems dangerous not having a forestay.
Maybe I have it rigged up wrong, I don't know this is my first sailboat.
Any and all help would be appreciated!!
I will post pictures of my setup asap.

Thanks,
Peter

[CFS Klopas]

I think we need more detail, like where is the wrapping taking place and which part is wrapping. The roller furler is supposed to wrap around the forestay in a certain manner.

Attaching a roller furler with no forestay means a quick death to your mast. I hope those Wisconsin guys are powerboaters.

[glasshopper77]

The roller furler is wrapping around the forestay at the very top. Once it is unfurled it doesn't wrap, just wraps around the forestay at the beginning of the unfurl.

[sanibel sailor]

Pictures are critical. Is there a foil? Metal or plastic? There are old (ancient) systems that are free flying, not attached to the standing rigging. Doubt you have a similar new one. Are you referencing a halyard wrap where the hoisting rope gets twisted around the furler?

[glasshopper77]

First time attaching pictures. Hope this works.
The very top of the furler wraps around the forestay while unfurling.
I'm wondering if the furler itself is too loose??

And, I know the furler isn't furled very good, it was a little breezy yesterday when we were trying to fix it....

[Moontide]

Is there a separate forestay? Most furlers have the forestay run up inside them, not outside. Maybe just installed wrong.



If just the halyard wrapping then might be missing a part that prevents this, depending on the brand.


Bill

[Moontide]

Just saw the pictures. I would say it is definitely installed wrong. Either that or just the first time I've ever seen one installed that way.


Bill

[glasshopper77]

The foil is maybe a hard plastic? Not sure. Foil is shaped kinda flat with a groove in the middle. In this groove there is a line running inside this groove. The foil is white colored.

First time we unfurled the furler wrapped around the main halyard, mostly cause the main halyard was just kinda flopping around. I tightened up the main halyard and it hasn't wrapped around that anymore, but now it wraps around the forestay.

[Sailmonkey]

You have a CDI flexible furler.

Headsail Furlers — Cruising Design International

The headstay is inside of the furler, the other wire you've got there is in error. but you'll need to tighten the turnbuckle on the furler stay.

[Kenomac]

Easy... your upper furler bearings are dry, filled with dirt and need to be cleaned and lubricated, which is why your upper furling drum won’t turn. WD40 works good to clean them, then you’ll need a spray lithium grease to lubricate. Simply lower your jib, detatch the sail, then spray the cleaner into the bearings as you spin the drum. Hold a rag under the drum to catch the dirt as it comes out, then repeat with lubricant.

This routine maintenance should ne done once or twice a year.

[WSMFP]

That looks like a CDI furler that had an internal halyard (this is what's holding the sail up) and it looks like it's also rigged to hold the entire furling to the mast head.

So that is 100% installed incorrectly. The furling should rotatate around your forestay instead it's installed behind it.

[sanibel sailor]

It is not the upper swivel that is the problem. Look at the toggle below the drum. The install is botched! There should be either a substantial gap between the furler and headstay or no second headstay. Find an experienced local sailor to look at it in detail. Should be an easy and inexpensive fix.

[Nicholson58]

I recommend you invite a rigger to look. If your rig has not been inspected for a while this is good insurance and may spot bad stuff before disaster. This will also get your rig tuned to proper tension including the fore stay and furler. You will learn a lot. The furler looks very loose but hard to tell by photo.

We had our rig inspected at haul out this June in Trinidad. Two cables on the mizzen had fish hooks. I knew this. Backstay lower ferrule cracked. Bad ferrule on each upper shroud. Best $1200 bucks ever spent.

[sanibel sailor]

Where are you located? A lot of big boat sailors here. You can buy a C22 for the $1200 riggers bill. Difference in scale and severity of forces and anticipated use between a Catalina 22 and a 58 footer suggest different approaches.

[WSMFP]

This explains how it should be rigged.

https://www.sailrite.com/PDF/FF1_Manual.pdf