halyard wrap

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Snowgoose-1

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New to me rotostay furling genoa.
There is no diverter.
The halyard end has 3 gobstoppers and a bulky halyard not.
Could this ne the problem ?
Not to familiar with roller reefing and had to leave before further experementing .thankyou for any suggestions.
 
1: How far down the foil is the head of the sail? If it's too far the halyard is more prone to wrap. Solution? Hoist the headsail to just short of the top of the foil and haul down the tack with a length of line.

2: Is the top swivel seized? With the sail down you should be able to rotate the swivel easily by hand. Solution? Strip, clean, check bearings and replace if necessary and reassemble with correct grease.

3: Fit a diverter.
 
Porthandbuoy said:
1: How far down the foil is the head of the sail? If it's too far the halyard is more prone to wrap. Solution? Hoist the headsail to just short of the top of the foil and haul down the tack with a length of line.

2: Is the top swivel seized? With the sail down you should be able to rotate the swivel easily by hand. Solution? Strip, clean, check bearings and replace if necessary and reassemble with correct grease.

3: Fit a diverter.
Click to expand...

That's about it. I would just add - ease the halyard a little before furling and unfurling. Just enough for a little slack to show at the tack.
 
I had a rigger fit an additional block on the mast lower than the halyard sheeve to improve the pull direction on the head of the sail. This solved the wrap problem resulting from the diverter having fallen off. It was on my last boat. At one time when it was rigged after stepping the mast, the clowns evidently forgot to fit the diverter. Eloquently, they cut it in half and glued it in place. Shortly thereafter, half fell on the deck, the other half went in Davy Jones locker.
 
I'm wondering if the three balls are an attempt to stop the wrap turning from being a nuisance into a frayed and broken halyard problem. Could be worth sticking with if it's effective? By the tone of the post, it isn't.

The best answer is the old Isomat system where the head is latched and the halyard removed. Next is the head cringle being horizontally opposite the halyard sheave exit, not perfect in terms of getting halyard tension. Then there's the diverter on the mast, which I hate but expect works OK, and lastly the big doughnut around the swivel at the top whose job it is to discourage a wrap. No experience with them, but they appear to work too.
 
Been there have the tee shirt. My boat came with the big circular diverted and some balls buto still managed to destroy forestay... fitted diverter on mast... end of problem...

Could never figure out why a boat can be fine for 20 odd years and seemingly suddenly and consistently go wrong...
 
Porthandbuoy said:
1: How far down the foil is the head of the sail? If it's too far the halyard is more prone to wrap. Solution? Hoist the headsail to just short of the top of the foil and haul down the tack with a length of line.

2: Is the top swivel seized? With the sail down you should be able to rotate the swivel easily by hand. Solution? Strip, clean, check bearings and replace if necessary and reassemble with correct grease.

3: Fit a diverter.
Click to expand...

On Rotostay, DON'T grease the top swivel bearing - it is deliberately NOT greased, should have one ball less than a full race, and just cleaned up and left dry, but must swivel easily. Fit new balls if necessary. The halyard should make an angle of approx. 15-20° to the forestay. Don't haul the halyard up too tight, just enough to remove wrinkles from the luff.
 
+1 for no grease. Try a liberal dousing with fresh water first, it's amazing how much salt, dirt, crud etc can collect inside it. Could work ok after - don't ask how I know!!
 
I had major pain with a Facnor top swivel some seasons ago. Having had a couple of Halayard wraps and two independant Riggers look at ther problem I still had a wrap. In both cases we dropped the top swivel and it was examined by the Riggers. They thought that there was a little wear but it should be OK. I finally contacted Facnor and they told be that the only way to test a top swivel is under load. Drop the Sail , tie the Swivel down using a short rope . Tighten up the Halyard . Now turn the swivel and see if it rotates freely. My swivel seemed fine when not loaded up , under load it was sticking and jambing, i was surprised at the difference. Replacing the top swivel fixed the issue.
Regards, Kinsale 373
 
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