Facnor Mainsail reefing

[FrancisRutter]

My 33 ft boat has facnor mainsail roller reefing. When unrolling, as the sail begins to pull out, a sliver of the next roll comes out into the slot and jams it, despite taking great care to roll it up tightly. It is neccessary to have someone at the mast to fiddle with it and to pull it out [in and out!]. This negates the object of having the sail controllable from the cockpit. Has anyone else met this problem and, if so, how did they deal with it? Francis Rutter.

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[riojasailer]

On a charter yacht recently we had the same problem - solved by unfurling while slightly on the port tack so that the wind kept the sail pressed against the edge of the mast rather than the roll of sail while pulling it out.

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[robp]

Yes I had this problem. Sorry to say that the answer was to buy a new main! Mine was baggy (cheap nasty standard sail from new) and that's what caused it to gather up in the slot. I did find that easing the halyard before furling helped before I replaced it. Also slightly less pre-bend in the mast. Finally, it would unfurl more easily if I grabbed a handful of sail as far above the clew as possible and pulled it out. (The anti IMF brigade will love this) but it was just a baggy sail.

Oh, one other tip I was given, which I haven't done yet! I think mine is Facnor with Z spar. Replace the outhaul car with a quality track and ball race car on the boom. If yours is like mine, the rear of the car tilts downward on the boom slot, jams and doesn't create a linear pull aft.

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[Talbot]

suggest that when you do buy your new main, that you have full vertical batterns, it makes a big difference to sail shape, and also helps to eliminate the problem that you seem to be experiencing. Furthermore it provides a repeatable reefing position. I have a maxiroach, but most sailmakers these days are able to make one suitable for your equipment.

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[robp]

Yes, I should have said that I replaced mine with Maxiroach also.

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[IanR]

Before you rush out and buy a new main

We have the same size boat with a Facnor.

2 things to check

1. Main halliard tension - too tight and the main takes a lot of winding in and goes in too tightly wound, too loose and the sail backs up

2. Boom height and outhaul lead. If the boom height is wrong then the sail will be too tight at one end of its furler. Again it helps to keep a little load on the outhaul when you are furling

You might like to experiment with a combination of the two on a quiet day, suggest not today though!

Oh and when you get the chance check the halliard at the top of the furler, last year our halliard was almost cut right through by the plastic cap on the top of the Ally tube pulling out of its rivets, not an easy thing to fix.

Ian

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