furling mast problems

C

cazzascotta

Active Member
Joined
17 Dec 2006
Messages
42
Visit site
Hello, I'm a newcomer to this forum. I live in Sardinia (italy) so my English is not good, and you will excuse this fact.
Coming to the topic: I have a Beneteau Oceanis 311 with furling mast and I am seriously thinking about the ipothesis of changing to a traditional mast. The cause: every time I have to unfurl the mainsail, it jams and stops from unfurl. This happens with the first part of the sail, so I have to go to the mast and un-jam the sail by pulling hand, then all the unfurling operations go on well.
Furthermore, the effort needed to furl and unfurl is too great, but I am a normal 56 yo man that normally sails with other yachts and not-furling salis.
Can you help me in tracing the problem, and find a solution?
Thanks,
Cazzascotta
 
Don't worry about your English, it's better than many others here and welcome to the forum. Sometimes the angle of the boom to the mast makes a difference. Try letting the downhaul and kicking strap go so the boom can lift while hauling out.
 
Ciao Cazzascotta,
welcome to the forum and be aware that many (the Bests? The Beasts?) of us bootliving sailors belong to this forum.

What You stated is just oe of the reasons I didn't buy the furling main option in the 393: with properly set rigging, reducing canvas with single line reefing is smooth and faultless.

Plus the full-battened main is easier to optimize in shape.

Cheers
 
Yes a traditional reefing mainsail gives less problems and sets better.
However you should try to get your in mast furling to work better by trying the ideas suggested regarding boom angle before you throw away an expensive system. good luck olewill
 
Hello,

Your problem is almost certainly because your mast is not completely straight. If a self-furling mast has even a small bend, the internal roller does not turn easily, and also jams if the clearance inside the mast is not enough.


Lie down on the deck and look up the mast - it should be totally straight. If it is not, adjust the tension in the shrouds until it is. If you can't get it straight, it may be that you need to get help from a rigger.

Once your mast is perfectly straight, on a small yacht like yours, the sail should come in and out with only a light tug on the inhaul and outhall. There should be no jamming, and no need to use a winch.

My boat is the same size as yours, and I have a fully (vertically) battened mainsail with inmast furling and I can haul it in and out with one hand.
 
A few thoughts:
is the sail old and baggy ? Get a new one ???!!!
The secret to successful unfurling is to pay a lot of attention when furling - try to keep the sail as crease free as possible - keep tension on the outhaul
Also keep the sail with some wind in it - the worst you can do is have the sail flapping especially if it is old and baggy.
I have found that some sails furl better on one tack rather than the other - worth experimenting.

Also try these chaps

http://www.zsparsuk.com/mastfurlhelp.htm

You say that the boat is a Benny but what we need to know is the make of the furling gear - possibly Z spars - I have found them on other Bennies.

Good luck
 
Hi. When the sail is in try adjusting the topping-lift so that it is taut. Wind the sail in 1/2 a turn on the winch to take up any slack or creases that may have formed in the sail when you last furled it in. Release the main sheet and then haul out the sail. You may find that you will need to release more of the main sheet as you haul out the sail if the sheet is held in a jammer. This works for us on our 36CC we hope it workes for you.
 
Check over your sail while it is out of the mast. We had toughened panels glued to the sail to allow rubbing on the mast spreaders. This came loose at an edge, which then folded back on itself and the sticky part stuck to the inside of the mast. Once past this, the rest of the sail ran out nicely.

We just trimmed off the loose bit and everything was then fine.

Pops
 
Don't be too quick to blame the sail. I have a Beneteau with a Z-spar mast and I had similar problems to yourself for months. It turned out to be the reefing line which goes onto the helical drum. The 10mm line fitted, had swelled up and was jamming at the back of the drum - the more turns that were on the drum, the tighter it got. I fitted a new line and every thing was ok, ending months of head scratching and frustration. You could even consider fitting a smaller diameter line but don't go too small or it will overide the "thread" on the helix.
IMHO for ease of sailing you can't beat a working roller system. Mines been working great for 2 years now.
Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top