Reduce slack in the tack of in-mast furling main?

[George_SD]

Hi all,
Got a Beneteau 323 recently. One thing that is comming up on the trips is that the tack of the in-mast furling main has some slack in it, which causes is to bow out a little when fully unfurled. The problem is that when it's time to reef or fully furl it - that crease needs to be tucked in manually by hand in order for the sail to go in and not jam.

I'm trying to figure out a way to tighten that corner (tack) so there is no slack in it. I'm still new to this and inspecting how it is rigged up and where that corner is connected, but so far have not found a way to pull that bit of slack out.

Does anyone know how this can be done?

[JPA Cate]

Increase the main halyard tension. You'll have to get the slack out for it to roll up properly. Incidentally, that sail looks pretty tired.

Ann

[George_SD]

Thanks for the response Ann.
The sail material itself is pretty decent, but that corner does look tired.

[JPA Cate]

Fair enough.

Ann

[sail sfbay]

Ditto JPA Cate.................

[sailcrazy]

Looks like the sail bolt rope has come out of the furler. You may need to drop the sail, rethread the bolt rope into the furler and rehoist....and then tighten the halyard so there is no slack.

[RONHARDIN]

What is the age of the sail? If it is 5 plus years and been sailed in heavy wind it could need a re-cut back to original specifications. My sail looked the same, tried everything and end result back to the sail maker and now in and out with ease.

[Mplight]

We have a Hood Stoway in mast furler, end of last year we noticed same issue, turns out the threaded ‘pin’ at top of foil had sheared, the ‘pin’ screws into the foil and into a bearing which sits in housing on top of mast. Had to drop mast (Keel stepped) and remove sheared pin from furler, and replace- I’m not sure what your set up is, but too of foil should be examined.
We have a turnbuckle at bottom of foil that is adjustable- we had hoped that was the issue- unfortunately not. I can provide images if you have similar set up. Good luck

[jeff356]

Had the same issue with my fairly new sail if the main halyard was not tight enough or had slipped.

As a note I am talking with my sail provider as the bolt rope is not present in the lower 18", a I think that would really help in the foot tension when the outhaul is adjusted. I know it is present above the slot, just looks like it was never there but could be and have enough room for the sail tack to go all the way to the slot and back feed the lower luff with the bolt.

Jeff

[SV__Grace]

Have you tried tightening the halyard or is that too obvious? Always start with Occam's Razor...

[Dockhead]

Give the OP some credit. Of course he's hardened the halyard.


That's a mast bend issue; I've had it on my boat. That happens with too much prebend. Slack the backstay a bit or harden the forestay.

[thunderhoof]

It is also possible that the mainsail luff has stretched so that the shackle on the halyard is "two blocking" i.e., butting into the masthead block before the luff is tight. No way to fix that except to take the sail down and shorten the luff.
...unless the shackle and what is attached to it takes up too much length. There may possibly be a snap shackle attached to the masthead swivel that can be removed.

[George_SD]

Hi all,
These are some great suggestions, I will try them out and see if it can be resolved without needing to re-shape the sail or the loop used to connect it.

[philcun50]

Could be the splice in the halyard. The splice is very stiff and won’t go through or around the sheave. The sail has probably stretched also. I replaced both the headsail splice and mainsail splices with halyard hitches. Just google halyard hitch to find out how to do it. Only problem you may not have enough room in mast as it’s a fat knot. Short but fat a opposed to the splice which is thin but stiff and long.

[David B]

Originally Posted by George_SD

Hi all,
Got a Beneteau 323 recently. One thing that is comming up on the trips is that the tack of the in-mast furling main has some slack in it, which causes is to bow out a little when fully unfurled. The problem is that when it's time to reef or fully furl it - that crease needs to be tucked in manually by hand in order for the sail to go in and not jam.

I'm trying to figure out a way to tighten that corner (tack) so there is no slack in it. I'm still new to this and inspecting how it is rigged up and where that corner is connected, but so far have not found a way to pull that bit of slack out.

Does anyone know how this can be done?

Yes, it's just the halyard tension. When the sail is up and working, you can cause damage trying to pull it on hard, but when you are rigging the sail from the deck, in no wind, you can think you have the halyard correct until you go for a sail .......

The friction of the bolt rope in the foil channel is the issue. Get the halyard onto a winch, and pointing into the wind, with enough wind to flutter the sail, that fluttering will jiggle the bolt rope enough to allow you to tension correctly. You should be fine after that.

Just a few points with in-mast:
When you furl, keep some tension on the outhaul, so that you get a reasonable furl around the foil in the mast. A loose furl will run the risk of the sail bunching up in the slot when bringing out again, and you having a jam.

If that happens, don't force it, but try bit by bit to get it wound back in again, then keeping a close eye on the slot, slowly unfurl - if you see some bunching happening, bring back in a little, then try again. With persistence and lack of brute force, most jams can be overcome, but having said that, proper furling should mean no jams (we've not had any in nine years touch wood).

The other potential issue is a stretched sail. In-mast sails are not as well shaped as a normal main for this very reason, and when they are stretched, you are increasing the risk of a jam.

Some say vertical battens are the answer - some say they are a problem. If/when the time comes for us to replace the main, I would want to do a lot more research before choosing that way.