furler/reefer on the end of the bowsprit

BlackPig

BlackPig

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I'm fed up with the Whickem Martin furler that I have have on my Heard 23's jib (does not roll up tight when needed). I am considering putting a Plastimo
Jib Reefing - 609S on instead. Is there any problem fitting one with out the forestay?
 
Take a look at the Karver KH furlers.
Also, change the wire forestay for some dyneema 'Anti-tourque' rope. its made for this application and was developed for open 60's etc, It gives the sail something better to furl around, is easier to stitch too, and you can drop it furled.
Any continuous furler is an improvement.
 
Hi Blackpig, are your ball bearings in good order? If the actual sail itself is a bit baggy, maybe new furling gear should come second to getting the jib tightened up by a sailmaker? I have WM on the jib and can get a reasonably tight roll. Any pics?
 
I replaced the bearings when I started to get problems. The bottom rolls very tight the top is baggy. The wind then catches it and flogs it out. I mainly solo sail so can not have someone guiding it as I pull it in.

I have thought about trying to get just the track and bolting it to the WM system.
 
Funnily enough the wind has just pulled out the top of mine, I felt the boat sail up on to the buoy.
What I'm going to do is:

Remove the sheets from the clew

Lash the jib into the tightest sausage possible with some spare line,while standing on the end of the bowsprit.


Slacken the cockpit end of the furling line by about four feet.

Turn the WM drum, (the rolled up jib turning with it) so that about five turns more wire goes round the drum. (hopefully in the other direction to the sail)

Lash the drum to the bowsprit in that position.

Make fast the cockpit end of the furling line.

Re attach the sheets to the clew.

Unlash the sail and drum.

Pull on the furling line and it will put some more rolls in the jib, making it less likely to come undone.

You've probably tried that though..writing it out helped me to plan my moves anyway!
 
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Safer if you have a traveller! Mine, being of 'unorthodox' yankee-doodle-dandy design, has the WM furler shackled to the cranse iron.
 
Hi Jerry I would make one, unless you furling is 100%. You could use a rope with parrel beads on it to get you through this season. Travel is also useful for adjusting the balance of the boat when using smaller jibs.
 
Yes I would like a traveller, but my bowsprit is not only a funny shape, but also has massive cheekpieces with an additional anchor roller halfway along, so it's not an option. If she had a standard pole bowsprit I would already have done it! Luckily the bowsprit is relatively short compared to a smack or PC pattern boat, and it has a flat top, so not too bad to go out there.
I haven't had to drop the jib in heavy weather yet, still experimenting!
 
Have a look at the CDI flexible furler ,it's a strong plastic foil,allowing reefing and using the traveller too.
We use them on stowing bowsprits for that reason.
cindy
 
I've found that the trick to getting the Jib to furl on my 28 is to have the halyard make a triangle at the mast top. This will hold the top swivel and make furling easier. See photo.
5a4cb82e001baa82de38c337e993847e_zpsdea0c55a.jpg
 
BlackPig said:
I'm fed up with the Whickem Martin furler that I have have on my Heard 23's jib (does not roll up tight when needed). I am considering putting a Plastimo
Jib Reefing - 609S on instead. Is there any problem fitting one with out the forestay?
Click to expand...

Have you tried using a jib with a higher clew?
 
I've had exactly the same setup and problem: nice V in the halyard, luff as tight as I can get it, sail wound in as carefully as possible with a few extra turns to get some sheet around it, and it starts to unfurl and flog at the top. The solution for me was to replace the sail with one that had a wire rather than rope luff: it winds up much more tightly and it stays wound (in some quite high winds). Not so bad for me as the original jib was in a pretty poor state anyway and the replacement was an extremely good value second hand one, which took me about 2 years to find. Probably not so good as a solution if you have a good sail you don't want to replace (and if yours already has a wire luff then presumably that wouldn't work for you anyway). I have a staysail with a wire luff that similarly replaced a rope luffed sail that had the same problem, and it has also solved it. However, it's not a particularly nice sail, whereas the rope luffed one was. I am going to try getting a wire made up with eyes that is the slightly longer than the luff of my nice staysail. I'll lash the sail's head and tack to the wire, hopefully the extra length will allow me to stretch it tight, and then I can add small lashings down the length of the luff. There are convenient small holes where the piston hanks used to be. Obviously the wire then attaches to the WM and will hopefully work as effectively as having a wire luff within the sail. Fingers crossed!
 
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