Difficulty Furling Genoa

[Bellinghamsailo]

If you have rollerfurling and lose your forestay and have to remove the rollerfurling to repair it at sea like I did, a pack of sailclamps (sailclamp.com) are very helpful to be able to attach the sails to the forestay.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Annie in WA

I agree with Vasco. We have a profurl and it is harder to furl our genoa than I would like, but with our setup I think it's normal. Our previous profurl was also not an easy furl. It helped to make sure the furling line had as fair a lead to the cockpit as possible and depowering the genoa helped.

On our pro-furl, the set screws that keep the foil in place loosened and let the foil slide down into the base making it almost impossible to roll it in. Taking the sail off, repositioning the foil and re-tightening the set screws fixed it.

[Bellinghamsailo]

Originally Posted by Group9

On our pro-furl, the set screws that keep the foil in place loosened and let the foil slide down into the base making it almost impossible to roll it in. Taking the sail off, repositioning the foil and re-tightening the set screws fixed it.

I had exactly the same problem trying to beat into a stong headwind into the small harbor of San Juan del Sur Nic. Before that happened the Profurl worked great and we never had to slack the halyard. After repairs we sailed through the Panama canal and up to Florida with no problems furling.

[Liunatic]

On our new-to-us old Catalina (with NO knowledge of prior repairs) (and keep in mind we are total newbs to sailing) we have noticed our roller furler is difficult to furl. After reading these postings I will get out the binocs and check out the situation up top, but when taking a close look while at the dock this weekend the line inside the drum -- actually attached to the drum -- wraps around the drum about four times, and then is tied with a knot to a line that is larger in diameter, and it is this larger line that exits the drum and runs to the cockpit.

Is this something that is done? -- I mean, this has been done on our boat, but is it something that SHOULD be done? is the more appropriate question.

[jstevens]

Sounds like the PO bought a line for the furler that was a few feet too short so added the smaller line on the drum. That in itself should not be a problem (since it appears to be working).
What make and model furler do you have?

John

[Liunatic]

Hi John --

I don't know the make, I hope to go to the dock after work and I will check that out and get back to you.

I don't quite understand your post about a short line. Do you mean the line going to the cockpit? If so, it seems to me you would add line at the cockpit end and not inside the drum. The smaller line inside the drum is probably only a foot or so long. And the problem we do have is when we are pulling on the line to the cockpit (sorry, not sure of the proper name for that) it seems to build so much tension that you can't pull it anymore, but is we wait - literally - like 30 seconds, it will ease and we can pull it again. Please note, we have not sailed in strong winds yet, so all of this is under very light-wind conditions.

I will take some pics when I get to the dock, maybe those will be helpful.

thanx

[nigel1]

That kind of sounds like it could be due to halyard wrap. The halyard is twisting around the forestay, and then while you wait the 30 seconds, the top swivel slowly rotates to remove the wrap.
Best thing to do if you can, is to get to the top of the mast, and have someone unfurl the sail then furl it while you watch what is happening at the top of the stay.
Second best option, drop and remove sail from the foil.
Secure the top swivel to the furling drum with say a 4 foot length of rope (secure it to the shackles that the sail tack and head normally secure to). Set the halyard tight, and the work the furling line. Check the upper swivel is working properly,and no tendency for the halyard to try and twist around the stay
It could be something simple like crud in the upper swivel, usually fixed by pouring hot water into the top swivel to remove the crud (usually salt). That top swivel should be able to spin freely.
As to the larger furling line being fitted, could be that the PO considered it necessary. I'm intrigued why it is tied to a smaller line at the drum, perhaps the fitting/hole in the furler for attaching the line is too small for the larger line.
Some pictures could be useful

[jstevens]

I'm just guessing about the PO adding line on the drum. One foot either way shouldn't matter so maybe the attachment point on the drum required a smaller diameter line. Again just guessing about this.
The symptoms you describe sound like halyard wrap. The halyard at the head of the sail maybe wrapping around the headstay when are furling the sail (pulling the line out of the drum). The wrap creates the resistance on the furling line. When you release the line the halyard unwraps and you can pull in more line until the wrap stops you again. You can check for this by observing the halyard and swivel at the mast head when you are furling the sail. If halyard wrap is happening you may be able to mitigate it by easing or tightening the halyard a bit. The furling swivels at the top and the bottom of the sail may also be binding do to dirt or wear on the bearings. I think this was discussed in earlier posts in this thread.

The common cause of halyard wrap is not enough of an angle between the halyard and the head stay. If you can't fix the problem with halyard tension and the swivels are fine, then a retaining block may be required.

John

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Liunatic

On our new-to-us old Catalina (with NO knowledge of prior repairs) (and keep in mind we are total newbs to sailing) we have noticed our roller furler is difficult to furl. After reading these postings I will get out the binocs and check out the situation up top, but when taking a close look while at the dock this weekend the line inside the drum -- actually attached to the drum -- wraps around the drum about four times, and then is tied with a knot to a line that is larger in diameter, and it is this larger line that exits the drum and runs to the cockpit.

Is this something that is done? -- I mean, this has been done on our boat, but is it something that SHOULD be done? is the more appropriate question.

Good morning Liunatic,

Having smaller diameter line on the drum for the first 4 or 5 turns means that all of the rest of the line will fit on the drum. We actually removed some of the core from ours so that all of the rest would fit. I suspect the same logic may be behind your lighter line followed by the larger. Or, as suggested above, there wasn't enough line for rolling it up in higher winds, and instead of splicing a tail on the line, made the "tail" on the drum to get the length, and still be able to furl it.

FWIW.

Ann

[Liunatic]

So here is a pic of the line and knot in the drum. The tail of the knot is wrapped in black tape, so it might be hard to distinguish.

Obviously the other pic is the top of the sail.

If anything looks out of place, I would be happy to hear about it.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Liunatic

So here is a pic of the line and knot in the drum. The tail of the knot is wrapped in black tape, so it might be hard to distinguish.

Obviously the other pic is the top of the sail.

If anything looks out of place, I would be happy to hear about it.

Can't really tell much about the drum and furling line, but the setup at the masthead is quite ok: good angle of halyard to foil, short distance between halyard restraining fixture and the swivel... just as it should be! No chance of halyard wrap there.

JIm

[nigel1]

Something looks a bit wrong at the top swivel, looks like the swivel has not lined up with the head of the sail (a turn out), so the top swivel might not be as free as it should be. Worth while dropping the sail to take a closer look.

Edit: Maybe not, is that a short pennent between the head of the sail and the swivel??

[ShaktisBoy]

Im with AnnT on this. Im guessing the core was removed from the first few feet of furling line. This is common.

[jstevens]

As Jim Cate posted, the angle of the halyard to the forestay is not a problem. You have a retaining block to pull the halyard away from the forestay. So this cannot be a source of a halyard wrap. However, dirt or wear on the bearings in the upper swivel could cause halyard wrap and the difficulty with the furling operation. Dirt or wear in either the upper or lower swivel could also cause the problem.
You need to observe what happens at the top of the furler and determine if the halyard is indeed wrapping around the headstay.
Once you have eliminated halyard wrap as a source of the problem, then the swivels need to be checked. Possibly they only need cleaning with fresh water and detergent.

John

[carstenb]

something doesn't look exactly right at the very top furl. any chance you could be furling the sail in the wrong direction? That would give that untidy top furl. don't laugh - I've seen it done.

certainly you need to drop the sail, clean (and lubricate if the manufacturer recommends it) the top and bottom bearings.