Furling Line Question.

[rotrax]

We have a serious heavy Motorsailer. It sails like a brick in light winds with the OE rig of in mast furling main and Hoyt Boom self tacking jib. Following the post by Laminar Flow who seriously improved his Colvic by increasing the SA/D I have added a Code Zero on an additional furler. I used a secondhand but good Facnor furler on a new forestay. I used 26 metres of 8mm braid on braid as furling line, the drum end thinned for three metres by removing the core.

It is too long! It builds up on the drum and causes friction. It is a big sail, about 175%, and requires lots of turns to wind it all in.

Do you think 6mm would be strong enough as a furling line or must I use dyneema?

Anyone with similar experience. We are a relitivly weak crew, both mid/late 70's but have a power winch for most sail control. Only Port side Outhaul/sheeting of the Code Zero is by a manual Lewmar 45. The Code Zero does work very well and will only be used in light conditions.

Will 6mm Braid on Braid be strong enough"

 

[Daydream believer]

You will not be using the code zero reefed, so the furling line will only be used to furl. To do that you can ease the load on the sail, so that there is limited load on the line. When you are not using the sail you can either lower the setup ( if it is on a torque line), or tie a sail tie round it to avoid it unwrapping when not in use- A sensible option anyway. There are lots of different qualities of 6mm line & you need one with a fairly good SWL. Not necessarily dynema.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’d suggest you have the wrong furling system for a Code 0, and have found out why we don’t use a drum based system for ours, instead an endless loop type. Ours is a Karver 1.5, for a 480sq ft code sail. The foot is too long for a jib reefing system.

 

[rotrax]

A Code Zero on a drum furler is a factory option for our boat and other larger IP's.

It works fine apart from the line build up on the drum, which we will address shortly.

The factory option is 20K dollars.

I fixed mine up for 5K Stirling all in.

Plus, of course, a strong, but thinner furling line!

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I guessed that is why you have the setup you have. 6mm line may well cure your current problem, but will be hard on the hands. But it will also be fairly cheap. Don’t bother with dyneema, as DDB says, the load is limited, you’ll not be relying on it to hold the sail part furled, like you would a jib.

 

[rotrax]

I guessed that is why you have the setup you have. 6mm line may well cure your current problem, but will be hard on the hands. But it will also be fairly cheap. Don’t bother with dyneema, as DDB says, the load is limited, you’ll not be relying on it to hold the sail part furled, like you would a jib.

We have a Lewmar 40 Powered Winch for all sail handling, except Port side outhaul and trim, so not too much of an issue.

We have used the Code Zero several times and it performs very well.

Off Cowes last Friday, against an early ebb, going East, we had 4,4KTS speed in 8 KTS true from the port quarter.

That will do for me-we weigh close to 17 Tons with full tanks and the cruising gear on board.

Thank you again for the advice . I shall order a good 6mm line with a high SWL.

 

[mikegunn]

Before replacing the existing 8mm furling line I would suggest that you remove another 7 meters of its core. That should significantly reduce its build up and also ensure that the first 10 meters of line lay flat on the drum. This reduces the chance of turns collapsing which can result in a seizure.
Mike

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We have a Lewmar 40 Powered Winch for all sail handling, except Port side outhaul and trim, so not too much of an issue.

We have used the Code Zero several times and it performs very well.

Off Cowes last Friday, against an early ebb, going East, we had 4,4KTS speed in 8 KTS true from the port quarter.

That will do for me-we weigh close to 17 Tons with full tanks and the cruising gear on board.

Thank you again for the advice . I shall order a good 6mm line with a high SWL.

That’s a good speed for a boat like yours, the sail must make a fair difference. The reason we now have one is for short handed sail handling. We also have an asymmetric kite, but rarely fly it except racing. I’d get it out, probably, if we had 50 miles to sail with the true wind well aft of the beam. But we all know how rare that is. The code 0 is our light wind ‘go to’ sail.

 

[Supertramp]

One of the challenges with heavy boats is to avoid carrying too much sail as the wind rises, unless you really are 100% confident of furling sails in 30knts!

I use a hank on Solent jib and am considering adding a furler, but there is a simplicity to being able to drop the thing in an instant.

Your system sounds OK and decoring is a good way to reduce jams. I would be reassured if I could drop the whole thing on deck in a crisis as Daydream Believer says.

Light wind sailing in a heavy boat can be rewarding as you have momentum that keeps you moving.

 

[rotrax]

One of the challenges with heavy boats is to avoid carrying too much sail as the wind rises, unless you really are 100% confident of furling sails in 30knts!

I use a hank on Solent jib and am considering adding a furler, but there is a simplicity to being able to drop the thing in an instant.

Your system sounds OK and decoring is a good way to reduce jams. I would be reassured if I could drop the whole thing on deck in a crisis as Daydream Believer says.

Light wind sailing in a heavy boat can be rewarding as you have momentum that keeps you moving.

Yes, aware of the hazzards, so only deploy in the right conditions. Pete Sanders advised before he built the sail and we are happy with the advice he gave as to wind speed and conditions for use.

So far, so good - but not had it flying above 13 KTS true from astern. By slipping the sheet and using the power winch it comes in easy enough, but it is clear if the wind piped up or we hit a squall it would be a different scenario!

A thinner furling line will-or should-stop the build up of line on the drum fouling the guides.

 

[Rappey]

My genoa is just short of 8m along its foot. I have size 46 winches . I use 6mm as its the only way i can get it all on the furling drum. Never had a problem.
I have a drum type lewmar winch at the cockpit end so it winds the reefing line onto the drum. Easy to furl in 30knts as long as i let a little wind out of the genoa.