best rope for roller reefing line.

[Leighb]

I notice with my roller genoa that after I have rolled away the desired amount, it always then unrolls the equivalent of a couple of turns.

I have to try and second guess it by rolling away more than I want to end up in the right place.

Could this be due to the reefing line stretching, or is it the sail winding more tightly on the furler under load? Possibly a bit of both?

The reefing line was supplied by Harken with the new furler, it is black with a red fleck and about 6mm. It looks like pretty standard braidline.

Might a more hightech non stretch material improve this problem?

What do other forumites use?

I expect a number will say - why have a roller genoa in the first place.

 

[earlybird]

A couple of turns equates to about 2 ft. on, say, a 4" diameter drum so I wouldn't think stretch is the problem, particularly as the line is already pre-loaded by the process of rolling the sail.
However, if the sail is rolled away rather loosely, then it will partly unroll as wind and sheets exert pressure. Could this be happening?

 

[Dan the man]

also,the rope tightens on the drum when under load along with the sail tightening around the foil, inmy experience.

 

[Leighb]

Thanks guys, I guess I thought that, just wondered what others experience may be.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I used to have problems with the furler jamming in stronger winds until I switched to a Dyneema line. Since then, it's worked. My thinking is that the little bit of movement due to stretch allows the line to pinch itself - sort of mini riding turn.

 

[haydude]

I notice with my roller genoa that after I have rolled away the desired amount, it always then unrolls the equivalent of a couple of turns.

That happens because when you unroll the sail you do not keep the sheet under tension, so the reefing line rolls slack around the drum.

Once you get the sheets under tension the slack is taken away with the sail further unrolling.

This can also get dangerous because when the wind gets strong and you need to reef, a slack line around the drum put under tension will most likely jam!

The type of line used does not make any difference although the diameter depends on the boat size. For a 34-40ft an 8mm line is advised.

Tip: when unrolling the genoa make sure to keep under tension the roller reefing line.

 

[Leighb]

Thanks for all the replies, we have been away for a few days hence no earlier comment.

I do always try and keep some tension on the line when we unroll, to the extent that SWMBO and I come close to a tug of war occasionally.

It is probably a feature, but I may try replacing with dyneema of the same diameter.

 

[Hoolie]

dyneema

We had problems with overriding turns jamming in the reel enclosure. No problem after replacing with thinner dyneema line.

 

[fergie_mac66]

shreads

have seen so many gennys shreaded by the clew flaping in stong winds. I always let a couple of turns of line go round the sail to stop any flap . Usually take sail off when leaving boat for more than a couple of days anyway .

Having said that agree with others you need to keep a bit more tension on line when rolling sail

 

[Ariadne]

I reduced my reefing line from 12mm braid on braid to 10mm Vectran (sp?). No stretch anymore and no jambing. We never let the sail 'run' out, we always let out under a bit of tension.

 

[ditchcrawler]

Another alternative is to take the core out of braidline for half its length.The thinner piece wraps around the drum and you still have a decent thickness for your hands.You can have more turns on the drum this way as well so you do not run out of line when wrapping tightly

 

[Kelpie]

Another alternative is to take the core out of braidline for half its length.The thinner piece wraps around the drum and you still have a decent thickness for your hands.You can have more turns on the drum this way as well so you do not run out of line when wrapping tightly

That would be an interesting idea for halyards too, would allow nice thick tails for handling but skinny cores to go through little sheaves at the masthead.
Can you only do this with standard braid-on-braid? If you did it with dyneema, would the 'core' be susceptible to unravelling, UV, etc?

 

[Lucky Duck]

Just a thought, but I found my Selden furler was more prone to 'foul up' if too much rope was wound around the drum. Every so often, and when I remember, I free off the jib sheets and unravel any surplus rope when the jib is furled away.

This is most pressing when changing down from the 140% genoa to the 105% jib.

 

[Stu Jackson]

It's not really worth the money for low stretch line. Keeping reasonable tension on it, without fighting with the mate, is the way to go, avoids overrides in the drum and works fine. Make sure you have a couple of wraps of the sheets around the sail, then you won't need separate lines. Cleat off the furling line when furled.

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Always try to leave at least three turns on a Furlex split drum,its very easy to pull the line out of the clamp if you do not have enough turns to take the load,and the number of revolutions required to furl the sail.
Last month spent a couple of hours perched on the bow in big seas off the Norweigian coast,trying to re-assemble a Furlex that had run out of line before it was fully furled.
First for me requiring life jacket harness and deep breathing for a relatively simple fix it jobe
Great sail there and back though
Cindy

 

[Ludd]

Not really helpful ,I know,but I have SCCR Roller reefing,stainless drum with captive stainleesss wire running to a captive wire winch on the cockpit coaming. Never a problem,and apart from the likely cost,don't understand why it isn't the norm. No rope lying about in the cockpit ,either.