Endless Furling Line for In-Mast Furling

[Dockhead]

I broke the splice on my 12mm endless furling line for my in-mast furling main a couple of weeks ago while on passage -- when that halyard got into the furler, posted about in another thread.


So I took another piece of 12mm double braid and made a new one. But I'm having two problems:


1. The splice was unsatisfactory. I have done this before but forgot how I did it, so found a splice somewhere, and struggled with that for hours. The problem was that at some point I needed to get a cover inside another cover WITH the core in place. If that is possible somehow on new rope, it certainly was not possible on the slightly used piece of rope I was using. I realized that I don't need the splice to be anywhere near full strength (it's a blessing that the other one came apart when it did), so I ended up slicing just the covers, but now there is this slack piece with two covers spliced together and no cores, which feels wrong. What is the best splice for this application?


It need not be full strength at all, but it must be constant diameter.





2. The new rope is really slippery on the Selden furling drum. The other one wasn't. Should I be using a special type of rope for this, or should I take sandpaper to it, or what? Oddly it worked fine in the rain when it was wet, but when dry it worked only when I kept a lot of back tension on it, something hard to do and requiring gloves and two hands, making single handed furling impossible.




As usual grateful for all tips!

[Kenomac]

Is it possible at this point to replace your manual furling mechanism with an electric motor? Our Hood furling mast is easy peasy to use with the electric drive and manual emergency crank. If it’s possible, this would simplify things for you.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Is it possible at this point to replace your manual furling mechanism with an electric motor? Our Hood furling mast is easy peasy to use with the electric drive and manual emergency crank. If it’s possible, this would simplify things for you.

Yes, I prefer electric furlers on a boat which anyway has electric winches (4 in my case). Simplifies the deck arrangement a lot, easier to use short handed, etc.


But I don't think I'll have this boat that much longer so wouldn't spend the money to make this change. Creation of the electrical system to support it would be a significant expense -- getting heavy cables through the deck, etc. etc. The gear alone costs something like €15 000 and I doubt installation would be much less than €10k. Definitely not worth it in my case; the endless rope system is actually quite all right, and its simpler with less to go wrong.



Where it might be worth it is in a new build where you can leave off the deck gear required for running the rope, and perhaps save a winch.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Splicing old line is tough going. It helps to wash the line first in cold water with fabric softener. Then when you are about to splice, wet the section of line you are working with.

A shorter length of bury will help if full strength is not needed. Also, Selma type or tubular fids are useless. They are too thick. A wire fid is better in this application.

SWL

[Benz]

Marlow (and others, no doubt), make a special line for continuous-line furlers, it's called MGP Furler. It's designed to maintain a constant diameter when spliced, and had technora as part of the cover so it grips the drum nicely. It's easy to splice when new, but you must use the recommended splice technique. It's cheap enough that a spare bit wouldn't be bad to have on hand, especially if going remote.

[sailr]

Look on youtube.com and search endless rope splice. It will give you step by step instructions on doing a endless splice.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Is it possible at this point to replace your manual furling mechanism with an electric motor? Our Hood furling mast is easy peasy to use with the electric drive and manual emergency crank. If it’s possible, this would simplify things for you.

That hardly seems like sailing !

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by contrail

That hardly seems like sailing !

It works for us.

[bobfromcanada]

Our Hood in-mast furling uses the endless furling line system. And, yes, its cover into cover (the core cuts cut out). I do have the instruction sheet (somewhat confusing) for making the splice and can send a pdf copy to you. Just PM me your email address. BTW, making the splice is an annual event for us since we have to cut the splice to remove the mast for winter storage.

[Jim Beck]

Is it a Selden mast? If so, call Selden in Charleston, SC. They can advise.

[Mark Thurlow]

The splice is easily found on YouTube a simple cover into cover with the core removed. Top tip is to stitch the centre of the slice with 5 or 6 stitches at the middle join of the covers and just before the points you cut the core. Helps it keep shape. Over time friction will increase negating the need when knew to over pressure the real ease side.

[bobfromcanada]

OK, I got a PM from the original poster suggesting I post it in the thread. I didn't think I could do this until I looked at the 'advanced' post options. So. here goes. If it doesn't work, I'll email it to him and let him post it.