furling headsail gets stuck - rigger's explanation confuses us

[Burnham Bob]

a friend of mne has a furling headsail and a recently installed/assembled foil fitted by the boatyard. we got the headsail up no problem. he then took it down for some reason and when we came to raise it again it went up fine then stopped with a clunk at one of the joins in the foil near the top.

this we were told - when we questioned the rigger and the boatyard - was due to a fault in the sail and that the bolt rope end would need to be encapsulated by a sail maker. this seems curious as it went up last time and goes through all the joins except the last one. in our ignorance we assumed that the foil had somehow shifted and got out of alignment but we are assured it's the sail.

i did try flattening the bolt rope end with a pair of pliers but that seemed to make no difference. should we believe them that it's the sail?

 

[sailorman]

a friend of mne has a furling headsail and a recently installed/assembled foil fitted by the boatyard. we got the headsail up no problem. he then took it down for some reason and when we came to raise it again it went up fine then stopped with a clunk at one of the joins in the foil near the top.

this we were told - when we questioned the rigger and the boatyard - was due to a fault in the sail and that the bolt rope end would need to be encapsulated by a sail maker. this seems curious as it went up last time and goes through all the joins except the last one. in our ignorance we assumed that the foil had somehow shifted and got out of alignment but we are assured it's the sail.

i did try flattening the bolt rope end with a pair of pliers but that seemed to make no difference. should we believe them that it's the sail?

it will be the top swivel hitting something. what gear is it

 

[Norman_E]

I would not believe them. If the top end of the bolt rope passes all the other joints in the foil, why not the last one? I think they are just trying to fob you off and avoid fixing a problem caused on installation of the foil. One possibility is that the foil is assembled with Allen set screws, and if one has come slightly undone, or was not fully screwed home, the top swivel is hitting it and will go no further. Of course that is nothing to do with the bolt rope. Can you look with binoculars and see if the swivel has or has not passed the top joint. If it has then the bolt rope may be catching on a slight misalignment between foil sections. Either way it is a foil problem not a sail problem.

 

[Burnham Bob]

with just a line attached the swivel goes all the way up so we know its not that. we thought the same Norman_E!

 

[sailorman]

with just a line attached the swivel goes all the way up so we know its not that. we thought the same Norman_E!

recut the tape leading edge with a hot knife the lube the tape / groove with silicone spray

 

[Norman_E]

It is still a foil issue. I am assuming you have checked that there is no other cause, like a bit of damaged sailcloth or a repair catching in the feeder.

 

[Burnham Bob]

nothing catching, tried lube. the tape leadig edge (at least the top bit that goes upwards feeds in fine and then goes up easily until it catches.........when we take the sail down I'm tempred to ask my friend to get the sailmaker's opinion then ask the rigger again!

 

[john_morris_uk]

I suspect I would be going up in a bosun's chair to watch what is happening as the sail gets to the point where it stops. You could do a visual check of the foil groove before you hoist. The problem should be obvious to see.

 

[Davegriff]

Our roller reefing did the same last year. Turned out the top connecter had come undone allowing the joint to separate slightly and the bolt rope was unable to pass that point. Old Colnebrook roller reefing.

 

[LittleSister]

I, too, am sceptical of the rigger's explanation.

Can you borrow a sail from another boat to try to see if the same happens? If it isn't the sail, and it isn't getting caught lower down, it must be the foil.

 

[lw395]

I suspect I would be going up in a bosun's chair to watch what is happening as the sail gets to the point where it stops. You could do a visual check of the foil groove before you hoist. The problem should be obvious to see.

The only way.
If it's come apart slightly now, it may come apart fully soon, so it should be sorted.
It may also be a burr on the luff groove, which will damage the sail in time.

 

[Lakesailor]

I suspect I would be going up in a bosun's chair to watch what is happening as the sail gets to the point where it stops. You could do a visual check of the foil groove before you hoist. The problem should be obvious to see.

The only way.
If it's come apart slightly now, it may come apart fully soon, so it should be sorted.
It may also be a burr on the luff groove, which will damage the sail in time.

Yes. The rigger obviously isn't going to go up without some dosh and you have to rely on his explanation after that.

Can you attach a strop to the head of the sail to separate the head and the swivel. Then the swivel passes the joint first and then the leading part of the bolt rope afterwards? Not sure if it would help you diagnose the problem, but may isolate the problem and wouldn't take long.

 

[sailorman]

Yes. The rigger obviously isn't going to go up without some dosh and you have to rely on his explanation after that.

Can you attach a strop to the head of the sail to separate the head and the swivel. Then the swivel passes the joint first and then the leading part of the bolt rope afterwards? Not sure if it would help you diagnose the problem, but may isolate the problem and wouldn't take long.

some early Hood seafurl has issues with the roll pins working out of the foil / joint if not assembled correctly thus stopping the top swivel from passing the joint

 

[Davegriff]

I should add that when our top joint loosened, it didn't affect the swivel which passed the joint perfectly normally. However, when I gave the genny a good hard hank, the bolt rope came out of the slot and continued up to its proper position. Actually sailed back to our mooring like that with no ill effect.

 

[Jamesuk]

Get up in the bosons chair!!


If the headsail gets stuck half way on the boat I'm on its because the back stay tension has been eased creating a bend in the extrusion.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

If you have a slack forestay and you have an adjustable backstay try whacking that up to get some tension on the forestay.


Edit; Snap

 

[LadyInBed]

As above, close visual inspection is the only way forward.