Learned a lesson - furler reefing gone bad

[Alex_V]

Lets rewind a few months back… while sailing a new to me Sabre 34T from Annapolis to Wilmington I found a loose stainless screw by the tow rail. It was a small screw that I first thought belonged to one of the stanchions. I looked and looked, but didn't find where it could of come from. Well, its a small screw - not going to sink the ship. I tossed it in the spares bin.

Fast forward to yesterday. My girlfriend and I were out sailing on Lake Lanier in 20 - 30 knot winds that hurricane Michael brought to Atlanta. Was not going to reef the main, but the oversize Genoa was going to be reefed at about half point maybe less. Well, that was the plan as I carefully eased out the furling line. Tied it off, and was ready to roll.

To my great surprise the Genoa all of a sudden rolls out fully. I get confused with the sail numbers, but its a large sail with lots of overlap with main. Crap, that is not going to be good. I reach for the furling line to see if I can quickly bring the sail in. Crap again, it didn't come loose on the cleat as I assumed, and it was all the way out. Nothing on the furler drum to quickly bring in the sail.

Not good again, as things are now getting a bit dodgy. Gusts are really heeling the boat. Anna is way past her comfort level behind the helm. We don't even have life vests on, or teathers, or jacklines since this was going to be an easy lake cruise.

Genoa sail is either flapping violently with 1" sheets beating things up, or healing "Hobo" way over. Crap, I though again, as I heard the sound of toaster oven hit the floor in the galley. With a bunch of other semi secured items below. First thought was not to panic, we are on a local lake, not out in the open ocean, but still it wasn't very good to have a stuck oversize Genny catch wind in 30 knot gusts. This was suppose to be a pleasant sail with my girlfriend, not this f@cking debauchary.

It was time to formulate a plan so I can save face in front of the woman. Lets start with safety items, and put on life vests that I asked Anna to retrieve from below. Heave to for a minute to catch my breath and calm things down. I haven't practiced that move often enough, but it worked.

So, I am on a lee side of the lake with a shallow spot on my port side. This is not hurricane winds, but it doesn't feel very good either. Either way, I need to bring the Genoa in.

Not sure if there was a better way to handle this (open to ideas), First, I cranked up the motor for more control. Headed towards the opposite side of the lake balancing gust of wind and sail luffing, just at that fine edge where things were manageable. Hid behind one of the islands, turned the boat around to run with the wind direction, which felt much calmer by the way. Went to the bow and hand rolled the sail. Rest was easy money.

The inspection at the dock revealed that the loose screw from a few month before was one of three screws that connect furler drum to the rest of the furler mechanism. Once the other two screws came loose there was nothing to stop the sail from unfurling out. Easy fix, and it is all now repaired.

Lessons learned:
A. Wear life vests, never know what can go wrong.
B. Relying on a reefed furler sail is for sure convenient. But things can go wrong. Next time in moderate winds I am taking down the oversize Genoa for a smaller Jib.
C. When **** hits the fan, take a pause and don’t rush things.


P.S. I did manage to impress Anna by staying calm. Not sure how I pulled that off, thinsg were past my comfort zone.

[StuM]

Congrats. That's good seamanship!.

[thinwater]

Good job!



Remember, you can always just haul the sail down the way racers do. We get so used to furling we forget that it is still a foil. Rolling by hand is not always going to work.

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Good job!



Remember, you can always just haul the sail down the way racers do. We get so used to furling we forget that it is still a foil. Rolling by hand is not always going to work.

I did consider that. But last time I took down the Genoa in calm winds at the dock it was a hand full. Perhaps there is a better technique to do that.

For a split second I did consider letting the sheets loose. But that would of been a mess.

New things to learn.

[JPA Cate]

thinwater, of course you're right, but most boats don't have lacing to keep the sail on board once it's down, so the OP would need to think about sail ties, and lifeline lacing.

Alex V, agree you did well. You might consider loc-tite for those screws, or check them before each outing, part of your pre-start checks.

Ann

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted by StuM

Congrats. That's good seamanship!.

Thanks. I am just not impressed how I disregaded a loose screw that was the start of the whole problem. It was just a loose screw that didn’t seem all that important.

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

thinwater, of course you're right, but most boats don't have lacing to keep the sail on board once it's down, so the OP would need to think about sail ties, and lifeline lacing.

Alex V, agree you did well. You might consider loc-tite for those screws, or check them before each outing, part of your pre-start checks.

Ann

Ann, I JB welded those screws in. )) no more loose drum on my watch ))

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Alex_V

I did consider that. But last time I took down the Genoa in calm winds at the dock it was a hand full. Perhaps there is a better technique to do that.

For a split second I did consider letting the sheets loose. But that would of been a mess.

New things to learn.

Your plan solved the problem and seemed like it was appropriate for Lanier but if this happened in open water dropping the jib would be the best or possibly the only option.

In that situation I would head the boat into the wind, keep the sheet tight and drop the jib inside the lifelines, rolling and bundling it as it falls. Once all is under control you can loosen the sheet, pull the clew forward, stuff the sail into the bag and tie it down to the pulpit.

[billknny]

Blue Loctite is part of the instructions on pretty much every furler that uses set screws like this to lock the foil to the drum. It is not something to be "considered", it is required for a proper installation.

JB Weld will hold the screws in... even when you need to take things apart. It can also get pushed in ahead of the screw and make a mess. Not the right tool for this job.

[Suijin]

I dunno about your boat but my main has a reef in it by the time I see 20 knots if I’m not off the wind. The old saying applies: the time to reef is when you first think of it...or sooner. Makes the boat easier to handle and it’s the harder sail to take in generally. Do it first.

One option when dousing a jib with a broken furler is to open the bow hatch and stuff it in as it comes down. Gets it out of the wind and the foredeck clear. You can sort it out when things calm down.

As for furling it by hand at the bow in heavier wind, it can often be easier and faster heading into the wind, just off the wind. While it will be flogging like mad and a noisy unnerving racket with whipping sheets, it’s unloaded and quicker. YMMV depending on boat and conditions.

[Alex_V]

Keeping the sheets tight on a big Genoa with a big overlap on main sail would of not straighten it out. I do understand the idea, just don’t think it would of been an easy one to make happen.

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted by billknny

Blue Loctite is part of the instructions on pretty much every furler that uses set screws like this to lock the foil to the drum. It is not something to be "considered", it is required for a proper installation.

JB Weld will hold the screws in... even when you need to take things apart. It can also get pushed in ahead of the screw and make a mess. Not the right tool for this job.

JB weld was used to lock things in. Threads were stripped on the old holes in the drum. For the time being it seemed like a right tool. But I agree with your point.

[Snowpetrel]

Good work, without room to run off and blanket the sail your options are limited. Dropping it on the deck is one option, Hand rolling it up is another. Handy to have a preplanned way to hand roll any furler. I've had good success with a correctly sized bit of wood jammed into the space between the tack lashing and the foil, but this may not have worked in your case.

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I dunno about your boat but my main has a reef in it by the time I see 20 knots if I’m not off the wind. The old saying applies: the time to reef is when you first think of it...or sooner. Makes the boat easier to handle and it’s the harder sail to take in generally. Do it first.

One option when dousing a jib with a broken furler is to open the bow hatch and stuff it in as it comes down. Gets it out of the wind and the foredeck clear. You can sort it out when things calm down.

As for furling it by hand at the bow in heavier wind, it can often be easier and faster heading into the wind, just off the wind. While it will be flogging like mad and a noisy unnerving racket with whipping sheets, it’s unloaded and quicker. YMMV depending on boat and conditions.

Heading into the wind was a mess. I would take your advice next time I have a smaller jib that I can stuff into the bow hatch.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Alex_V

Keeping the sheets tight on a big Genoa with a big overlap on main sail would of not straighten it out. I do understand the idea, just don’t think it would of been an easy one to make happen.

Not sure what you mean by straighten it out. Keeping the sheet snug (not bar taught) while dropping the sail will keep it under control and keep it from blowing over the side. The idea is to let the head of the sail fall inboard of the foot, letting the foot kind of form a large pocket to catch the sail.