In-mast Main Furling Tips

[Juho]

We had some occasional minor glitches with our old, maybe a bit baggy mainsail, but there have been no such problems after we bought a new mainsail.

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by johnny666

....Any tips for mast furling main to ensure a good furl (no jams !!!) appreciated.........ie; pressure or no pressure on sail, if pressure, port or starboard (subject to direction the sail furls), vang on, vang off, halyard tension, etc.

Ditto what others have said but add my detailed procedure with some additional comments:

Furling main sail into the mast:

1. Center the main.

2. If you have a Selden mast the revolves anti-clockwise when furling in. In that case, put the boat on a “starboard” tack, with the wind slightly forward of the beam. That way, the sail will feed in and around the furler; on a port tack the full height of the sail would be dragged over the sail groove in the mast, adding friction and fluffing up in the mast.

3. Next, ease the mainsheet and boom vang.

4. Then ease the outhaul a little and either pull or winch the “furl in” line start to furl the sail into the mast while maintaining a “slight” tension on the outhaul (this is also referred to as “feeding the outhaul”).

5. Always look at the sail as you’re furling, so you’ll be able to notice issues as they happen, and not after you’ve, say, wound an inch-thick clump of sail through a half-inch gap. If your sail has vertical battens, make sure the first batten is parallel with the mast when it enters, and if you’re reefing, leave the batten just outside the mast groove. Don’t keep too much tension on the outhaul, as this will drag the foil aft in the mast and bend it, causing the sail to rub against the inside of the mast, again causing friction.

6. If you’re having problems using the continuous furl in line to furl, don’t be afraid to furl the sail at the mast with the reefing winch —try it sometime, it is remarkably easy. If you are having to do anything different, like raising the boom or hopping on one leg while praying to the god of furling sails, it’s worth looking at your system in detail for problems.

7. Once the sail is in the mast go to the mast and turn the reefing winch to “rachet” to mitigate the risk of the sail inadvertently being unfurled in heavy wind or while docked.

[chrisr]

seen quite a few comments here about being on the correct tack when furling, so the sail comes in on the right side.

our electric in-mast furler can (i believe) roll up clockwise of anti-clockwise...ie when the sail is fully rolled out, either direction of rotation will start rolling up again. button operation might be confusing (reverse) but that's no real problem

can anybody think of any reason why such operation would not work or be problematic ?

cheers,

[SaltyMetals]

All good advice. I have anti-clockwise furling w vertical battens. Used to be a bit problematical w the old (baggy) sail but now never ever jams with the new sail. I agree that itis best to furl with gentle wind pressure on the sail while on starboard tack so that the sail feeds directly through the slot onto the furling drum. Some gentle tension on the outhaul when furling in order to get a good wrap. A few items not covered which you might like to play around with until you get the perfect settings

1)Halyard tension. Just enough to get the horizontal folds out of the sail when fully opened, but no more than this. When leaving the boat for a while relax the halyard. It helps to make a mark on the reefing line for the tensioned position and the relaxed position. If you relax tension too much you risk the loop at the tack dropping off the hook inside the mast so do not over do it.

2) Mast Bend: I find that a little bend is OK. Max half the depth of the cord. My rigging is a masthead rig with no adjustable backstay so once set with the standing rigging it stays like that the whole time. What you are aiming to do with mast bend and halyard tension is to avoid pressing the furled sail too hard against the slot about half way up the mast.

3) Stopper on the boom traveller: Surprisingly the position of this can make a lot of difference. I have moved my stopper back to about halfway along the boom. This will result in a more horizontal pull on the sail when you are unfurling. It really can make all the difference between jamming a lot of the time and never jamming at all.

4) Secure the tack: in addition to putting a cable tie on the hook to stop the loop dropping off when you relax the halyard tension i put a few turns of a strong thread around the sail and the drum, just above the tack loop and below the the point where the rope slot starts. This avoids the bottom of the sail pulling out of the slot in strong winds when the foot of the main is under a lot of tension

Best of luck
Andrew

[nortonscove]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Keep a little tension on the sheet when furling up. But not too tight.

Avoid furling up in a blow. Furl up in advance. If the winds get above 15kt consider reefing. Use the Genoa with the sheet as far aft as possible. A lot of times in heavy weather I sail with Genoa alone.

IMHO inmast furlings are for day sailing, not offshore.

Someone should inform the folks at Rassy and Oyster.

The thing with all inmast seems to be researching the system you have a sticking with their protocol. I spent the first year listening to what others have written but that simply added to my frustration. Upon reading the literature for my specific system it all came together. I can furl in just about any winds as long as I'm oriented so I'm on the starboard tack.

[nautilee]

I have found my in-mast furling very reliable and forgiving.
You must have well cut and not bagged out sails.
My first mainsail had 3 thin vertical round battens and worked well.
My current mainsail has no battens and , again, furls and unfurls easily.
Keep tension on the outhaul when furling and ease the tension on the main and the vang.
To highlight how forgiving in-mast furling is, the boom sheared off the mast at. the gooseneck fitting, and landed on the deck, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and also at night. The main was fully out when this occurred. It was possible to use halyards and winches to lift the boom at the gooseneck and pull it back relatively close to the mast, whilst at the same time hauling on the furler to wind the main back in to the mast as quickly as possible. It needed to be done quickly and with no finesse as once the boom was lifted off the cabin top it was not secured at either end and swung wildly at both ends. The sails were relatively new so were not stretched when this occurred. The good news also was that the main survived this little episode with absolutely no damage to it, as did the furler.
And the boat is not small - 46ft and was short handed with a geriatric female skipper and a young and totally inexperienced male crew. Once the halyards were attached to the boom all the hauling in was done from inside the cockpit for safety reasons. The boat and furling system were 2008 vintage and 9 years old. So, you can overthink and worry about furlers but as long as you are sensible and use the tips outlined by others above, you should have no issues.
Enjoy - in boom furlers make sailing so much easier and more enjoyable.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by nortonscove

Someone should inform the folks at Rassy and Oyster.

The thing with all inmast seems to be researching the system you have a sticking with their protocol. I spent the first year listening to what others have written but that simply added to my frustration. Upon reading the literature for my specific system it all came together. I can furl in just about any winds as long as I'm oriented so I'm on the starboard tack.

re my post further up, i still can't understand why you must furl / unfurl in the same directions. once our m/sail is fully deployed, it will roll up either clockwise or anti-clockwise.

seems to make no diff whatsoever. keep unfurl button depressed, drum keeps rotating, and sail starts to furl in (on the other side)

so if on port tack, i'd furl the sail in anti-clockwise direction. if on starboard, furl in a clockwise direction.

of course if the sail is part furled, you are locked in to continuing to furl in that direction...but that's no big problem

cheers,

[David B]

Originally Posted by johnny666

Hi ...
Any tips for mast furling main to ensure a good furl (no jams !!!) appreciated.
ie; pressure or no pressure on sail
if pressure, port or starboard (subject to direction the sail furls)
vang on, vang off
halyard tension
etc

From our experience:

In-mast should be furled with the sail on the outside of the roll, not coming across the slot. i.e. if it rolls CCW, then the sail should be on stb when furling. Look at the slot in your mast, and you should find it is biased in that direction.

Of course you don't want to be on a run or broad reach when doing so. Ideally the sail should not be deflected around the edge of the slot, but plenty of times we have furled in significantly less than ideal situations.
Moderate tension is important to get a tight furl, but not so much that you start getting excessive wrinkles.

Big winds are no issue. We have sailed in Force 9 plus with a little bit of sail out (like a storm tri-sail), and adjusting that reef is OK, as long as you are careful.

If there is going to be a jam, then it is most likely when un-furling, and because the sail is bunching up behind the slot due to a loose furl, or an overly stretched sail. Jamming going in? Well, that is a mechanical issue with bearings etc.

We didn't choose in-mast, but have very quickly grown to love it, and sail a lot more because of it. Ours is Selden by the way.

[Alita49DS]

As https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ind-86420.html has written, the comforting thing about in-mast furling is that, generally, if there is a problem caused by a tuck it will impact on getting the sail out. Not back in. That is because the tuck james against the slot.

If that happens, in my experience the best thing to do is go up to the mast when the wind has died down and gently pull the tuck out from the bottom/foot of the sail by hand. Force can just jam it more.

In terms of maintenance, check not only the mast but also the sheave at the end of the boom. I had mine disintegrate as a result of UV last year which made things quite exciting.

[chrisr]

we find (on the rare occasions that we get a jam) that rocking backwards and forwards on IN / OUT buttons, while keeping firm pressure on the leech, pops it out pretty quickly

no worse than getting batten ends jammed on lazy jacks...

cheers,

[mqbenedict]

This topic is always a fun read with lots of ideas and I've certainly benefitted from many of these recommendations.

One item you might check is the top-of-the sail mechanism to which the halyard and sail attach. I was having trouble with my sail 'barber-poling' so that twist was almost always introduced. At the dock on windless day, I pulled the sail out, lowered it and found a mud dauber had built a nest at the top of the mast in the rotating mechanism. I guess they enjoyed the view, but it didn't do the motion any favors. Lots of flushing and lubrication followed.

Happy sailing,
Mark B
Beneteau 323 'First Draught'

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by nautilee

I have found my in-mast furling very reliable and forgiving.
You must have well cut and not bagged out sails.
My first mainsail had 3 thin vertical round battens and worked well.
My current mainsail has no battens and , again, furls and unfurls easily.
Keep tension on the outhaul when furling and ease the tension on the main and the vang.
To highlight how forgiving in-mast furling is, the boom sheared off the mast at. the gooseneck fitting, and landed on the deck, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and also at night. The main was fully out when this occurred. It was possible to use halyards and winches to lift the boom at the gooseneck and pull it back relatively close to the mast, whilst at the same time hauling on the furler to wind the main back in to the mast as quickly as possible. It needed to be done quickly and with no finesse as once the boom was lifted off the cabin top it was not secured at either end and swung wildly at both ends. The sails were relatively new so were not stretched when this occurred. The good news also was that the main survived this little episode with absolutely no damage to it, as did the furler.
And the boat is not small - 46ft and was short handed with a geriatric female skipper and a young and totally inexperienced male crew. Once the halyards were attached to the boom all the hauling in was done from inside the cockpit for safety reasons. The boat and furling system were 2008 vintage and 9 years old. So, you can overthink and worry about furlers but as long as you are sensible and use the tips outlined by others above, you should have no issues.
Enjoy - in boom furlers make sailing so much easier and more enjoyable.

Was this a Hood/Formula Stoway furling system by any chance?

TS

[jr_spyder]

Originally Posted by chrisr

re my post further up, i still can't understand why you must furl / unfurl in the same directions. once our m/sail is fully deployed, it will roll up either clockwise or anti-clockwise.

seems to make no diff whatsoever. keep unfurl button depressed, drum keeps rotating, and sail starts to furl in (on the other side)

so if on port tack, i'd furl the sail in anti-clockwise direction. if on starboard, furl in a clockwise direction.

of course if the sail is part furled, you are locked in to continuing to furl in that direction...but that's no big problem

cheers,

Chris, I was with you about this until I learned that different masts are made different ways. I have a Hood Stoway and the slot is symmetrical on both sides and allows the main to furl on either side. So you can optimize the side you're furled on for less chaff (don't let the canvas lie on the metal). Some masts (Seldon for one I think) have the slot slightly off to one side so you can only furl in one direction. If you went the other way the canvas would definitely be resting and dragging along the edge of the slot. Don't do that. So as said a previously the first thing to understand is your mast maker's tips.

Because I can furl either way sometimes I start out on a new and windy day needing a reef or two, but from the previous say I left the main "on the wrong side" in its slot. In this case I unfurl the sail all the way out and then reef back in on the optimal side, especially if I know I'll be holding that particular tack for most of my sail.

As for another tip: listen! The sound of the outhaul line moving through it's blocks and the sound of the mast furler doing its job will tell you almost all you need know about proper tensions and effort. This takes a while to learn but once you have it it might be the most important input while you're also trying to steer the boat, watch traffic, keep guests onboard, etc.

I never expected or asked for a in-mast furler but it came on my boat. I'm now very pleased I have it.

[chrismn]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

A lot of times in heavy weather I sail with Genoa alone.

That doesn't unbalance the boat and give you lee helm?

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by jr_spyder

Chris, I was with you about this until I learned that different masts are made different ways. I have a Hood Stoway and the slot is symmetrical on both sides and allows the main to furl on either side. So you can optimize the side you're furled on for less chaff (don't let the canvas lie on the metal). Some masts (Seldon for one I think) have the slot slightly off to one side so you can only furl in one direction. If you went the other way the canvas would definitely be resting and dragging along the edge of the slot. Don't do that. So as said a previously the first thing to understand is your mast maker's tips.

Because I can furl either way sometimes I start out on a new and windy day needing a reef or two, but from the previous say I left the main "on the wrong side" in its slot. In this case I unfurl the sail all the way out and then reef back in on the optimal side, especially if I know I'll be holding that particular tack for most of my sail.

As for another tip: listen! The sound of the outhaul line moving through it's blocks and the sound of the mast furler doing its job will tell you almost all you need know about proper tensions and effort. This takes a while to learn but once you have it it might be the most important input while you're also trying to steer the boat, watch traffic, keep guests onboard, etc.

I never expected or asked for a in-mast furler but it came on my boat. I'm now very pleased I have it.

yes, our slot is central so sail can roll either way. there is also a plastic strip along the edges, so the sail does not rub on the metal

cheers,