Furling Line - what size?

Roach1948

Roach1948

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www.dallimoredesigns.nl
I am adding WM furling gear to Roach for the working jib in order to reduce trips forward on my slippy varnished deck. Will I get away with 6mm braided line or should I go larger? What do other's get away with. As I am flush-decked I would like as small as poss as it will be trodden on...
 
"The last thing he saw as he slipped over the side was his beautifully varnished deck" /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif










6-8-10mm, depending on how tough you hands are and mainly how many turns you need to get on the drum.
 
Ditto for all the opinion here. Cleone's got 6mm line which really cuts into my hands and ought to be bigger, but it does has to come a long way aft, about 45' ( drum on end of bowsprit to cockpit, which is nearly the total length of the boat) from the drum, and nothing but 6mm will fit easily (or at all) around the drum and still reach.

So I suppose the answer is: Use the largest diameter of rope that will fit round your drum and yet will also reach back to the cockpit.

Now I think about it, I may try 8mm just to see if that works. i'm sure there's some sort of formula...
 
The length that needs to fit on the drum has nothing to do with the length of the boat, except as far as that affects the length of the sail foot. Take some cheap line (clothes rope?) and attact it to the drum with the sail wound up. Roll up the sail and mark the line where it comes off the drum. Roll it back up and measure the length of line needed. Now allow enough for about an extra four turns. That is tha length that is needed too roll on the drum. If you have a long enough boat, you may be able to use that length of light line (your 6 mm stuff) and tie on a bit of heavier line long enough to reach the cockpit. Most likely you will need the heavier stuff all the way. I know I did.

I used the maximum diameter that I could get through the hole in the drum. I is a bit heavy in that the drum gets awful full, especially if the sail is rolling really tight, eg in a strong wind. However I can now roll the sail in in these conditions (using garden gloves to protect my hands.) With the lighter line, I had to use a winch, which is not a good idea.
 
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8 mm but imho, a stiff costruction rope, don,t strip the inner, a recipe for riding turns on the drum. Bill.

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removing the inner 4 a few mtrs is Hoods method it worked on my Co32, no probs in 10 yrs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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8 mm but imho, a stiff costruction rope, don,t strip the inner, a recipe for riding turns on the drum. Bill.

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removing the inner 4 a few mtrs is Hoods method it worked on my Co32, no probs in 10 yrs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Great, happy to hear you,ve had no probs, but having had dangerous riding turns due to soft rope, the experience leads me to the conclusion, 'soft rope' is not for me! Bill.
 
Thanks all - I think I will do some experimenting. The WM gear only seems to have a 6mm hole for the stopper knot so it looks like some splicing is in order at either end.
 
You get the most leverage on the line when the drum is fullest, which is what you want when the sail is still unwound in. So using a cord size that does not fill the drum is wasting leverage, meaning you have to pull harder and on a thinner line.
On the other hand if the drum is too full there is a risk of a turn jumping off the side, which can be difficult to retrieve.
 
I have 6mm on the drum and back to the 1st deck feeder pulley, from there back to the cockpit is 12mm braided in a long spice, which I achieved by removing about 2m of the 12mm heart and fed the 6mm into,whipping both ends of the removed heart bit, now have a Rolls Royce furling system. Comfy and a pleasure to handle with wet cold hands and the long spice has never gived any trouble as the 12mm braid acts like a cable sock. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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