sails stuck in mast furling help

[Haute Boat]

Mack sail also told me to pour boiling water onto the furler(where you can see the lines wind around). Then Pull out a little....Pull in a little....continue doing this. Boiling water, pull out, pull in. It works!!! The salt crystals form and it becomes like a lock.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Haute Boat

Mack sail also told me to pour boiling water onto the furler(where you can see the lines wind around). Then Pull out a little....Pull in a little....continue doing this. Boiling water, pull out, pull in. It works!!! The salt crystals form and it becomes like a lock.

Your talking about washing the bearings? If so I agree, warm to hot water maybe with some vinegar, the salt can really bind the bearings up.

As mentioned the boom needs to be up abit, the sail isn't a triangle, back of the vang if it's rigid and lift the boom with the topping lift. Depending on what the setup is try unwinding at the mast of while someone holds pressure on the outhaul. Even if it's rolled up loosely it should be still come out. If it jams a little bit of don't force it just wind it back in a little and go again.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Augi

Just curious, what happens if the reverse happens? You need to reef with a squall coming with 50 knots winds and the in mast furler is jammed so you cannot lower the mainsail.

That's what knives are for.
Try keeping that "perfect tension" furling your in mast furling in these typical conditions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8DbUm_XmMc

[sailu2]

I have had the same problem tried all the above suggestions but to no avail. In desperation I losened the main uphaul and tried pulling down the sail in a controled way while continuing pulling out the sail, worked first time. If the sail is rolled losely it should slide down without a problem and once clear of the pressure point the sail will come out without a problem.
Good luck hope you don't get caught again.

[sailcrazy]

Our Bamar inmast furler used to do the same thing. Our m/s would "windowshade" on itself about 50% of the time when we tried to pull it out. Could not find the problem, so I found a 1"x1/8"x18" Alum bar, rounded the edges, and used it as a poke to stuff the double and triple overlap back into the mast cavity as we pulled it out, then in,then out, etc......and finally it would let go and deploy. We lived with the issue for several years, retired and left the Philippines and started to sail for the Caribb. One day it jamed hard coming out. We pulled and rolled back in-with no success. After some time I got fed up, pulled a little harder than I probably should have(with the winch), heard a loud "pop", and the whole M/S came down on us. Turned out the upper swivel bearing had 3 bearings in it, 1 was totally frozen, 1 was ...really stiff, and the 3rd had just frozen up-and I had just pulled the 2 halves apart by pulling on the outhaul! We were out of the Philippines by then, with NO help around except us, and had just left Athens, Greece headed west. We returned, found a sail loft in Athens, and in a day and a half they had found and replaced all 3 bearings and had it completely rebuilt and repaired. That was 6+ years ago, and(knock of wood) we have not had a single issue with the system since. FWIW, with just the 2 of us on board, I would not have anything BUT an in-mast furler for the Main, and roller furlers on the H/S and S/S! But then we're cruisers, not racers.

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Augi

Just curious, what happens if the reverse happens? You need to reef with a squall coming with 50 knots winds and the in mast furler is jammed so you cannot lower the mainsail.

The problems typically occur when you try to pul the sail out (and the mast is too full of sail, and the sail too loose). Usually there are no problems furling the sail back in. Reefing a non-furling sail in 50 knot winds could be more problematic. Early reefing recommended in both cases.

I have however sometimes had some small problems with the endless furling line being so dry and slippery that it doesn't immediately have sufficient friction to start furling the sail in. In a 50 knot wind it would probably be wet and I would not have that problem. Or maybe in a 50 knot wind it would require also much more friction. If it all fails, I would still have the option to go on the deck and drop the sail down.

[Aaarrgh]

All previous suggestions are good. The last one I was successful freeing up included:
Halyard tighten
Back & forth on main
Wiggling boom
Silicone spray on all possible moving/sliding parts (even sail fabric)
Back & forth on main
Tighten & loosen halyard
Eventually main inched out until the halyard gave up about 2 inches of hidden slack, and all was good.

I think the root cause was the main halyard loosing tension for some reason, at some time. It could be that someone accidently took tension off of main halyard, and not re-tensioning it. Loose halyard, left alone, the main just relaxed, and settled into the residual space in the mast. It was a lengthy, frustrating ordeal, but gentleness, patience, a couple of dock mates with cold beer got the job done... as is the case in many similar situations.

Aarrrgh!

[blueazimuth]

In mast roller furling? Love it or hate it. If an in mast roller furling system is set up correctly, and always used correctly, it can be a fine piece of gear.
But if not, it is a bear, and always earns a no confidence vote.

Imho, this is the time to call in the professional rigger - a rigger who both knows and is experianced with your system.

[Aaarrgh]

Once you get it loose, roll it up FIRMLY!
Not too tight, just firm.
And post signs
"Anyone caught messing with this system will be shot, and thrown overboard"

[JPA Cate]

Hello Freedom12, welcome aboard CF.

We have sailed on OPB's with in-mast furling, and those sails require careful handling or they get jammed. We have seen some of those sails being cut away in boat yards, and riggers working on the furlers, at $100-150/hr. If your sailing will be close to services, find and dandy, but if you are planning on long passages, you may well be better off with slab reefing. Your choice, of course, but there may be an expensive, inconvenient, and possibly scary learning curve with the furling, that the simplicity of slab reefing avoids.

Ann

[sand6000]

All of these comments are a very good reason to go for "in-boom" furling.

[Eder]

Originally Posted by Augi

Just curious, what happens if the reverse happens? You need to reef with a squall coming with 50 knots winds and the in mast furler is jammed so you cannot lower the mainsail.

It doesn't happen when furling...and if you decide to reef at 50 knots well...lol

[moguzhanoguz]

Did you unfurl by the boom car ? If you can unfurl by dragging from the sail itself then check the sheaves in the boom visually. After I replaced my sheaves now it unfurls easily. Also use the wind . Try to unfurl the sail when you get the wind 90 degrees from starboard (place your boom to port side) (this method is useful if your system furls anti - clockwise . If not then get the wind from port side and place your boom to starboard side). Hope this helps.

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

Originally Posted by Augi

Just curious, what happens if the reverse happens? You need to reef with a squall coming with 50 knots winds and the in mast furler is jammed so you cannot lower the mainsail.

Well, I’d furl the headsail, start engine, head into wind, and work it as best I could. I get a knife ready as well I suppose. For what it is worth my sail jams were just about all on the out haul effort. Not 100% but most were situations where I could bring sail back in but just not further out.

[sailcrazy]

Interesting...all the comments about all these issues when trying to furl an in-mast system. We've had our boat, and the in-mast furler now for 20 years.....and NEVER had an issue bringing in the M/S! Getting it out....yes; but not back in. And we've often waited to long, had the big seas and winds, and then decided to reef. We have never had to go into the wind to furl, and never had an issue, whether it's a partial or full furl. Now the H/S, in a big seaway and wind, can be a different thing, but our M/S has NEVER been an issue. I will say, however, we do pay attention to the condition of our sails, and when the M/S gets badly blown out/baggy....we get it fixed/replaced. We're now running a Tri-radial cut synthetic main,with a little bit of a hollow leech...with no bagginess at all. It's 7 years old, and our only problem is that it's still stiff and hard to rerigg after the summer hurricane season layover/haulout. Seems to me there are way to many nay-sayers posting "bar-talk" about all the "problems" of an in-mast furler.....without any actual personal experience to back it up! And a boom furler.....now there's a case that(as we've heard) DOES require everything to be adjusted just right to work correctly. I've never had one, nor sailed one.....but have sure heard the stories at the bar. The only negative issue I can attest to, regarding in-mast furlers, is the M/S can not be cut to be a performance sail...you miss the extra leach sail area and battens are an issue(we don't have any). But, for a cruising boat, who cares!