Furling a Genoa in a strongish breeze

I found my Harken furled better with normal tension rather than slack in the halliard. other types may be different.
It was older and bit sticky. all ways the line. sometimes it didn't feed evenly onto the drum.

My new to me, boat has a furling system I have not yet used, Also a Harken. Just in the process of setting it up.
Just wondering. How does back stay tension affect its operation?
 
TQA said:
OOPS nobody told me to do this.

I seem to remember reading the Profurl manual all the way through and not seeing any mention.

Do others release the halyard tension first?
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Take the tension off but don't ease it out. Assuming you've got it on a clutch, take the tension on the winch and take any slack out. Pop the clutch then lock off the clutch again. Should be no more than an inch.
 
TQA said:
Turn down wind and get the genoa behind the main which should be all the way out. That will make it a lot easier to furl.
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And loosen the genoa halyard - if you'd tightened it to stiffen the luff, this won't help you furling it again - and also ease the backstay as that'll also tension the luff and furler.
 
we have to use the winch in anything over 20 kts. It's a big genoa (55m) and you would do your back in trying to furl it by hand in a blow. You have to be a bit careful not to put too much pressure on the line but you can normally feel a jamb through the winch handle. We don't loosen the halyard and have no trouble furling by hand in light winds. The best way to clear muck from the furling drum is to pour a kettle of boiling water through it.
 
All good advice above which should help ease furling in the future. One thing occurred to me: could the furling line have jammed itself a bit into looser turns on the drum? This sometimes happens if there's no tension put on the line when unfurling. This makes it dificult to furl because you get almost a riding turn effect in the drum which you have to pull clear before it revoves frrely. Only happens when the line needs a strong pull in the first place, as when furling in a strong wind.

Sometimes the only effective answer is to go forward and wind the sail up by hand, if you can get to the drum to revolve it. The jammed line frees easily with no tension on it.
 
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Out of all the info here, check the furling line very regularly. When it snaps at the foredeck in a gale and all sail comes out, it's not much fun!
 
robp said:
Out of all the info here, check the furling line very regularly. When it snaps at the foredeck in a gale and all sail comes out, it's not much fun!
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Duly noted...:D

Think in my case, it must be a line issue as the drum is nice and free when I test it. Going to try and create a smoother route and take out the sharp angle currently at the first guide.
 
Ripster said:
Duly noted...:D

Think in my case, it must be a line issue as the drum is nice and free when I test it. Going to try and create a smoother route and take out the sharp angle currently at the first guide.
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Yes the sharp angle will probably be the biggest culprit for friction! Also probably for chafe. What happens is, that when you luff up or the sail pumps, the furling line is constantly being yanked back and forth but it's not really noticed.

Good luck.
 
robp said:
Yes the sharp angle will probably be the biggest culprit for friction! Also probably for chafe. What happens is, that when you luff up or the sail pumps, the furling line is constantly being yanked back and forth but it's not really noticed.

Good luck.
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I slid mine up the pulpit stanchion from where it was fitted, to make a much gentler angle from the furler. It's also worth checking those little blocks for friction; they see a lot of sea water. A blast of Fairy liquid, a spill from the kettle and then a squirt of silicone lube works wonders.
 
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nigelmercier said:
The ones which take the line outside the stanchions look clever, have you got these?
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Those are the Harken ones,. we fitted them a couple of years ago, a bit pricy but definitely the dogs doodahs. Low friction, and keeps the reefing line off the side deck.
 
Furl on a broad reach.
Don't forget to ease the sheet as you go.
With a harken furler it is ok to winch, provided you are winching against the weight of wind in the sail, not a jammed swivel or a very tight sheet.

Beware of having too much rope on the drum. It can go slack and turns drop over each other, jamming it horribly.
Harken recommend a ratchet block on the furling line so it's coiled onto the drum under a bit of tension, it goes neater and is less likely to jam.
 
If I was specing a furler it would be the harken or maybe the profurl.... I wouldn't have another with a closed drum. The selden 100 is too damn fiddly and too easy to jam..
 
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