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turkish6 · 03-09-2007, 18:22

Hello everyone.

My father and I are new to sailing and we we recently purchased a used 2001 sail boat. It has a inmast furling system. My question is regarding the easy of pulling the main sail out and in. It is a big hassle to pull the sail out and in. It really requires a lot of force. Are they are all like this or is there potentially something wrong with ours. thank you

stevemac00 · 04-09-2007, 10:02

Nobody has responded so I'll give it a go. I've had in mast on previous (Beneteau).
It should go in and out very easily as long as your headed into the wind. Things to check. More information is required for diagnosis.
If in-haul and out-haul are led aft, see if it's easier to work pulling at the mast.
Is out-haul winding around post correctly?
Is the out-haul block pulling mostly in the horizontal plane (or pulling down on the sail)?
Can you use your hand and grab the leech of the sail and pull it out yourself easily?
If none of those help you then remove the sail. Perhaps your furler is binding. When sail is off can you easily turn furler by hand?

Vasco · 04-09-2007, 11:45

turkish,

Your inmast furling is not working right. First you should know how to furl and unfurl. For unfurling, head up into the wind, ease the sheet, ease the vang,grind the outhaul while keeping some tension on the furling line. Furl the same way except grind the furling line while keeping tension on the outhaul.

If it's not working right there may be many reasons, too much halyard tension, dirty outhaul car, dirty furler or crapped out furling line. Check halyard tension. Wash the furler and outhaul car. Lube the outhaul car and boom with teflon spray (McLube). Watch the sail as it furls making sure there's no creases. Correct tension helps when furling. You may have to replace the furling line. Hope this helps a bit.

turkish6 · 04-09-2007, 14:33

Thanks for the replies. I am furling in and out just like you said. I will check the things that you mentioned this weekend when I am back on the boat. The one thing that we both noticed that the halyard was very tight.

stevemac00 · 04-09-2007, 14:39

Ah, well that's wrong. The halyard cannot be so tight as to distort the furling hub into a curve.

First loosen the halyard then when you're sailing snug it up just enough to straighten the sail luff. Was this sail cut for this furler?

turkish6 · 04-09-2007, 19:01

we bought it used. so i am not sure if it was cut for it.

Weyalan · 04-09-2007, 19:23

The general consensus amongst the sailing fraternity is, I believe, that in-mast furling sucks monkey balls. Not only is it prone to problems (yours being a typical example), but you tend to get less than stellar sail shape, to say the least, exacerbated by the fact that you cannot have useful battens. I know that none of the above is of much use to you in your current predicament, but there you go.

turkish6 · 04-09-2007, 20:36

honestly if this is how all inmast sails are I don't see what the hype is about. I hope this weekend I can resolve the issue. I will you guys updated.

cruiser_pete · 05-09-2007, 09:52

I was having similar problems with my in-mast furling. I was making the mistake of having the sheet and the vang too tight when I furled the sail. This caused the sail to furl in a manner that resulted in problems when unfurling. I now make sure that the sheet and vang are eased prior to furling. This has resolved all of my problems. I can usually un-furl without the help of a winch.

Pete

Vasco · 05-09-2007, 11:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weyalan

The general consensus amongst the sailing fraternity is, I believe, that in-mast furling sucks monkey balls. Not only is it prone to problems (yours being a typical example), but you tend to get less than stellar sail shape, to say the least, exacerbated by the fact that you cannot have useful battens. I know that none of the above is of much use to you in your current predicament, but there you go.

I have had inmast furling for three years now. I love it. Most of the problems cited are because of inexperience resulting in improper use. As for sail shape I find it very adequate for my cruising grounds where much of the time I'm reefed anyway. The best part is when I get to an anchorage I'm sitting in the cockpit having a drink when my buddies with their old fashioned rigs are flaking sails and putting sail covers on.

turkish6 · 05-09-2007, 14:26

i keep my sheet and vang loose as well. it happens even with them both eased. another thing i remembered about it. usually about 1/2 way out i can unfurl it by hand. it's still rough but i can do it. once i am more then 1/2 out i defiant;y need the help of the winch.

Weyalan · 05-09-2007, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasco

I have had inmast furling for three years now. I love it. Most of the problems cited are because of inexperience resulting in improper use. As for sail shape I find it very adequate for my cruising grounds where much of the time I'm reefed anyway. The best part is when I get to an anchorage I'm sitting in the cockpit having a drink when my buddies with their old fashioned rigs are flaking sails and putting sail covers on.

I don't doubt it has its place. Personally, no, not with a barge-pole.

FWIW, with a decent set of lazy jacks, a stackpack and battcars, those with old fashioned rigs would probably be done faster than you!

Amfivena · 05-09-2007, 19:57

We have a furling main. We had all kinds of problems until we fiddled with the mechanical advantage of the line that unfurled the sail. Once we fixed that problem we could furl and unfurl virtually by hand - only reason to use the winch is it drops lines in a neater pile and takes 1 hand. Make sure the truck that enables furling is at the end of the boom. So the furling line runs from the winch to boom at the mast base, to the end of the boom and back to the clew.

A new line can't hurt furling effort either.

I apologize that I can't write more info, but we're in major sailing withdrawal due to a baby.

edit: I'll second keeping the halyard looser than you might otherwise be inclined to do.

turkish6 · 08-09-2007, 19:28

Just got back from the boat. I loosened up the halyard because it was really tight. when i did this i was about to unfurl almost all the way out with very little easy. like the way it should be. but the last foot was impossible. it would not budge. I didn't force it. when looking at the sail it seems as thought the sail needs to be raised another foot. but when I pull the halyard but it won't budge at all either. then i noticed at the very top of sail at the tip the sail is bent on itself. I believe this is my problem. If it is. how do I fix it. should i lower the sail all the way down while at the dock?