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22-03-2021, 10:40
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Santa Rosa
Boat: Hunter 420 Passage
Posts: 81
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Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the best answers to this, and I'm glad to say I'm thinking of it before it happens to me. So far I have always had good performance from jib furlers on multiple boats, including when reefed in up to 40 kt winds.
So:
Is there a "right" technique for preventing headsail furler jams? So far I have always kept at least "some" tension in both furler line and working sheet when furling and unfurling.
And if one happens in heavy winds or while reefed, what is the best / safest way to deal with it?
Thanks!
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22-03-2021, 12:24
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Sailing Lake Ontario
Boat: Mirage 35
Posts: 1,123
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
I've always heard that a bit of tension on the furling line is important to ensure that it wraps cleanly - my experience on one occasion when I had new crew who didn't know this tends to confirm.
Luckily we were in light winds and a position where we could easily duck behind an island and drop the anchor. Then I let the foresail flap and spent most of an hour unrolling the furling line, one wrap at a time, so I could roll it up again.
Enough tension on the sheet to minimize the flap is nice, but any significant tension will make furling impossible.
__________________
Beam me up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life down here.
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30-05-2021, 16:33
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Nelson NZ
Boat: Current yacht:Alden 46, previous yachts:Cavalier 32, Joshua steel ketch -12m, Traveller 32,Rawson 30
Posts: 462
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
to OP:
I think you are doing all you can to prevent jams when rolling up the sail, i.e. a bit of tension on sheet as you bring in furling line. Also when you unfurl, its a good idea to keep a bit of tension on the furling line so it doesn’t get over-rides on the drum as it goes out.
If you sail for a long time in heavy weather with the sail reefed (which I don’t recommend as it ruins the sail’s shape), there is the tendency for the furling line under great tension to bury itself in the coils already on the drum and thus to jam. Under these conditions, its a good idea to periodically let a few turns loose and then haul them in again to keep the line free.
If you are in a situation where you need to get rid of the sail and can’t roll it all the way in or let it out, the only fix is to cut the furling line as it goes into the drum; the sail will unfurl (very quickly), and you’ll be able to lower it. Let the sail unfurl with the boat off the wind, then come up into the wind quickly and lower the sail onto the deck.
If you leave the sail up and its flogging wildly, there’s a possibility that the strains on the rig could cause a catastrophic failure bringing the rig down, so it is imperative to either get it completely furled or get it down!
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30-05-2021, 17:58
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Santa Rosa
Boat: Hunter 420 Passage
Posts: 81
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Thanks for the great explanation!
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30-05-2021, 18:13
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#5
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
The best prevention is to not have to much line on the drum.. I tend to rig mine so there's only 5 or 6 turns left on the drum when it's furled.. many of the boats I delivered had way to much on the drum which led to potential/actual jams when time came to furl in the Sail as the coils overlapped or slipped off the drum.
__________________
It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
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30-05-2021, 18:53
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Slidell, LA
Boat: Beneteau First 375
Posts: 447
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
It's also important for the furling line to have a fair lead onto the drum, that is, at exactly a right angle to the forestay. This helps prevent the furling line from piling up at one end of the drum - if properly led, the line will spool onto the drum like somebody was laying it by hand.
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30-05-2021, 19:01
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Bermuda
Boat: Heritage West Indies 36
Posts: 1,016
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Having sailed about 70,000 miles with ours and never experiencing a jam I feel I can say with some confidence what works for us. Of course, every boat is different.
1) low stretch line. Our furling line is quite skinny, so it loads onto the drum nicely. It is dyneema cored so that it does not work back and forth when partially-rolled in gusts. Stretchy lines get skinnier as they stretch. This compounded with the working back and forth buries the line in the coil on the drum, creating a jam.
2) the angle of attack from the forward-most block to the drum is important. The line should enter the aperture in the center and at 90 degrees.
3) contrary to popular belief we have not found it necessary to keep tension in the furling line while un-furling. There is enough friction (in the low-friction, Harken ball-bearing blocks) already that it's not necessary. However, I have found it necessary on boats that have stretchy furling lines.
4) contrary to some people's tactics, we find it vastly easier to furl while the headsail is blanketed behind the main (i.e. going deep down wind) than while going upwind with the sail flogging furiously. This is particularly true in heavy air, when furling a violently-flogging, very large piece of canvas by hand is a pretty sizeable challenge. The lack of flogging and jerking on the furling line when furling going down wind also makes for a smoother furl and more consistent coil on the drum.
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31-05-2021, 07:10
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Slidell, LA
Boat: Beneteau First 375
Posts: 447
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Quote:
Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe
4) contrary to some people's tactics, we find it vastly easier to furl while the headsail is blanketed behind the main (i.e. going deep down wind) than while going upwind with the sail flogging furiously. This is particularly true in heavy air, when furling a violently-flogging, very large piece of canvas by hand is a pretty sizeable challenge. The lack of flogging and jerking on the furling line when furling going down wind also makes for a smoother furl and more consistent coil on the drum.
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Could not agree more.
However, I do like to keep a little tension on the furling line when unfurling. (I am using plain Sta-set)
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31-05-2021, 07:23
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Santa Rosa
Boat: Hunter 420 Passage
Posts: 81
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Quote:
Originally Posted by boatman61
The best prevention is to not have to much line on the drum.. I tend to rig mine so there's only 5 or 6 turns left on the drum when it's furled.. many of the boats I delivered had way to much on the drum which led to potential/actual jams when time came to furl in the Sail as the coils overlapped or slipped off the drum.
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Makes sense but now you have me wondering, why not rig so that there is only 1 turn on the drum when furled?
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31-05-2021, 07:32
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#10
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Quote:
Originally Posted by doctorbill
Makes sense but now you have me wondering, why not rig so that there is only 1 turn on the drum when furled?
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Because if the sail ain't furled as perfect as possible when you set up your furling line you might just find your a couple or 3 turns short of fully unfurled.
__________________
It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
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31-05-2021, 09:02
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Santa Rosa
Boat: Hunter 420 Passage
Posts: 81
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Quote:
Originally Posted by boatman61
Because if the sail ain't furled as perfect as possible when you set up your furling line you might just find your a couple or 3 turns short of fully unfurled.
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Roger that.
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31-05-2021, 09:23
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Somewhere in the Gulf of Maine
Boat: THEN: Indefatigable Bristol Caravel #172; NOW: 42 makes of other people's boats (and counting)
Posts: 872
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Re: Preventing / dealing with jammed furler
Quote:
Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe
4) contrary to some people's tactics, we find it vastly easier to furl while the headsail is blanketed behind the main (i.e. going deep down wind) than while going upwind with the sail flogging furiously. This is particularly true in heavy air, when furling a violently-flogging, very large piece of canvas by hand is a pretty sizeable challenge. The lack of flogging and jerking on the furling line when furling going down wind also makes for a smoother furl and more consistent coil on the drum.
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^ This particularly true if you have a self-tending jib that's led to a traveler car. Unless someone is up top physically de-tensioning the sheet where it feeds up to the block on the mast as you furl, I've found it impossible to furl one. Which kind of defeats the solo or shorthanded advantage of a self-tending jib.
Unless I'm doing something wrong, blanketing that jib behind the mainsail is the way to go.
PS: I'll be on a Hanse 375 this afternoon for a sunset sail in a nifty breeze; anyone has better advice, I'm all ears.
__________________
We ran aground at 2300. Dad fired off flares all night, to no avail. In the morning, Mom called the Coast Guard and demanded to know why they had not responded. "But ma'm," came the abashed reply. "Yesterday was July 4th!"
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