Most cruising sized sailboats boats these days. Laelia is no exception. I regard it with deep suspicion. It seems like it has the potential to fail at the most inopportune times leaving the hapless user with a wildly flogging headsail and no way to get rid of it. Maybe I just don't know how to deal with it. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Saturday, I moved Laelia from Sausalito to Redwood City, CA - a trip of about 30 nm. Winds were forcast to be 5 - 15. They turned out to be 15 - 20 with gusts to 25. In the beginning, there was no wind. After a while I had 5 kt winds and I hoisted sails for a beam reach. Over the next 2 hours the wind increased steadily and I had my hands full steering the boat (no autopilot or windvane) and handing sails.
When I went to roll up the jib, I couldn't do it without altering course to where the jib was flogging - to the point that I feared it might come apart. I had the furling line on a winch but it was a slow, difficult job. Once I got it down to about 1/2 normal size, I could alternate between slacking the jib sheet and cranking in some furling line without having to let the jib flog. What was I doing wrong? All the accounts I read by lovers of roller furling talk about how easy it is do reduce sail with this setup.
By the time I reached my destination and finished rolling up the jib, it was so tightly wrapped around the headstay that there was not enough furling line to wind it up fully. The clew was still hanging out by about a foot. When I unwound it the next day to rewind it, I discovered that the UV protection strip was coming unstitched from all the flogging so I have some repair work to do.
My questions are the following:
1. How does one wind up the jib when one gets caught with a lot of jib up and a lot of wind? The forces were high enough during my experience that I worried about the furling line breaking.
2. If the furling line were to part when the wind is kicking up, it seems to me that one would be left with a huge sail flogging madly. Hopefully, one would be able to pull it down since it would be fully unfurled. Other ideas?
3. If the roller mechanism jams with the sail partially furled, what is the recovery procedure?
All told, I am sorely tempted to go back to traditional multiple jibs. I will most likely have to replace this one anyhow - it sets poorly and is cut so it requires the genoa cars to be moved as the sail is furled.
woo where to start
first i would check for to much sag in the fore stay,look up the fore stay when completely unfurled it should not sag more than a few inches
to much sag, then the rig might need tuning
have you got halyard rap ? halyard windind up with the sail when under load,might need a halyard divert er fitted
are the drum lines set at the right angle,are they winding up at one end of the drum under tension
in high winds try to use the main to put the Genoa/jib in the shadow of the wind then winch in
but it sounds like to much head sail sag check that first
all the best ocean pilgrim
Yup...
Too much sag and it won't roll. Kind of like trying to roll a warped stick on a flat floor. The proper sag looks like a few inches however I would bet it is more like 4" or so at the center loaded.
Dale
Are we talking about sag with no lateral pressure applied to the forestay? I have the jib off and when I sight up the furling foil with no loads on the forestay, it looks straight.
Hey Ralph
There are so many potential problems that you might have. First, when you let the genoa out do you keep some tention on the furling line letting it out slowly. If you let it out fast it could tangle in the drum. You should not have to use a winch to bring the sail in. It could be you are keeping the sail too tight as you are bringing it in. Second and worst of all, your roller furling might be worn out and need replacing. Some units have spots to oil them. Check that out. You should always move your cars forward as you reef the sail. You would also do that with changing sails to a smaller size. Also check all the blocks that the furling line goes through. If the sheaves are frozen or they are at a weird angle that would make a huge difference.
Good luck
Bill
Keep tension on the furling line when you roll out the sail. Loose line on the drum is probably the leading cause of difficult furling and jamming. If you don't keep tension on it as the sail rolls out, there will be slack line on the drum. When you try to furl the sail, especially under load, the line digs in to the loose line on the drum. This causes difficult furling or a jam.
Ralph- All of the above is right on the money. I have only been a "furler" for the past 10 of my 40 years sailing, and have dealt with all the questions you are facing. Practice makes perfect. However, when we bought Talaria 5 years ago, I noted that the furler with no sail on it moved less easily than my friends with much newer rigs. After struggling like you describe for a season, I rebuilt the old Stearns rig. (I assume you have the original furler.) What a difference!! Rig-rite has parts and instructions on their website. Using their disassembly instructions you can clean and inspect the bearings before deciding to rebuild. This supposedly should be done annually, but I doubt anyone does that. Mine looked to be 30 years maintenance free. It now works like everyone else's, but bear in mind that when the wind pipes up the loads get very heavy and there is no magic bullet. All of the tips above are ver important and the most important one to me is get the upper swivel as close to the top as you can. A halyard wrap up there is the worst. I have pennants top and bottom on my sails to accomplish this. Hope this helps. Don't give up on the furler.It isn't perfect but it really is a better way, and is an essential part of our geriatric-friendly sailboat. Jim
All of this has been quite an education. Thanks to all who replied.
My furler is a Harken. I have no idea how old it is. When I look down into the lower assembly, I see ball bearings that look to be discolored. Maybe it is time to do some rebuilding on this one.
Ralph,
The ball bearings in a Harken furler should Torlon® and they are brown in color.
Dale