Furling line

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SimonD

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My boat (recently purchased) had a jamming cleat for the jib furling line. Nasty worn out thing that let the line slip - not good. Just about to replace it with a 'normal' cleat but noticed those rather nice looking Spinlock clutches - the small jobs that automatically cleat and uncleat. Does anyone have experience/advice on using these for this purpose?
 
My boat has a spinlock on it and would reccommend using one everytime because they allow you to pull the line through without undoing the clutch so its always jambed. Go for it and replace it now.
 
Yep - my current boat has a spinlock - big improvement over the cleat on the last one especially when reefing down with a lot of wind and force in the line.
 
As I said in a previous thread -
I run my ‘furling line’ aft of the cockpit and back to the cockpit through a block and cam cleat.
This gives me a good pulling angle and holds the tension after a heave.
I intend to fit a winch after the cam cleat if I can find a small 2nd hand one.
I can't see a problem with using a small winch, as it will keep the line straight where it comes out of the ‘cam cleat’ and then you can pull from any angle after the winch.
Thinking about it, if the ‘cam cleat’ was before the block then there wouldn’t be a problem with pulling angles!
 
Go for the spinlock, for the furling line it is really great since it doesn't matter it it gives back a bit when you release tension from the tailing end. On my outhaul for example I'm not completely happy that slips back about half an inch before it bites.
 
Furling gear is not designed to be furled under pressure - if you can't furl it by hand the something is wrong. With a winch the temptation is just to put the handle on and grind it in like the Genoa Sheet - a sure receipe for disaster.
 
'spinlock' type systems can work, but carefully select the correct size for the furling line. They can allow line to slip when you least want it -usually when the wind is strong & you have used it to reef down the headsail.
Be careful also of using any of the 'exotic' lines in any of these 'spinlocks' - these can have a 'slippery' outer surface coating which can also prevent locking. As always usually fails when reefed. I have had this happen on many different boats, with different 'spinlock' type systems. I would prefer to cleat the line after the jammer, rather than rely on this alone.
 
One of the frequent causes of excessive furling line loads is that the halyard has wrapped around the forestay at the head of the sail, in my experience because I forgot to tension the halyard. Continuing to pull on the furling line, especially with a winch, can cause the forestay to unravel and ultimately to break. Much better to get used to the feel of the furling line in its normal state so that a problem can be detected immediately.

I also use a small turning block and a camcleat. Mine was made by Barton and it has never slipped or released itself. I can't think of a reason why a Spinlock won't work, but on my boat this would necessitate the furling line crossing the decks at tripping height. Having the turning block on the pushpit removes this problem.
 
'spinlocks' will allow line to slip, if owners are persuaded to use a high tensile line like 'Spectra', which have a much smoother outer surface than other types. Also there is a recommended range of size which also gets missed. I have had problems with different systems on Halberg-Rassy, Bavaria & Jeanneau.
These high tensile lines are also used on in-mast systems. As mentioned, if it doesn't work, due to jamming somewhere, for some reason people seem to think that a winch is the solution - & are suprised when there is an expensive gear failure. as well as a wrapped halliard, riding turns on the drum caused by too fast a release on the furling line is the most common problem. If it doesn't go, check why not first.
 
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