In-mast furling mains

[greg]

I am seeking comments from fellow sailors on their experiences with in-mast furling mains as a cruiising rig. My reason is that I am intending to buy a Bavaria 42 centre cockpit as a cruising boat and as there will be only two of us on board in-mast furling seems the way to go. Note this is a cruising rig that I seek and ease of use not speed is my aim.

Many thanks
Greg

 

[pvb]

Great for cruising...

Quick and easy to unfurl/furl, without leaving the cockpit. No temptation to delay reefing when conditions deteriorate. Much easier for single-handed sailing.

BUT - make sure you only buy a top quality system, such as Selden. Make sure that Bavaria know how to rig the control lines properly back to the cockpit, to minimise friction (which is the real problem with cockpit-operated inmast systems). Make sure you clean and lubricate the gear at least annually (there's a big temptation to fit and forget!). And make sure the sail is properly cut by a sailmaker who really understands the requirements; in particular, the foot of the sail needs to be at a precise angle to the luff if you are to avoid furling difficulties due to the bulking-up of the foot seam as it rolls.

 

[bob_tyler]

Re: Great for cruising...

Also please add comments/experience with vertical battening to increase roach. Any jamming problems?

 

[pvb]

Sorry, no experience of vertical battens (nm)

 

[Guest]

In mast main furling

I have been trying to convince myself for years that in-mast furling is sorted to the extent that I wouldn't have to worry about jamming - then I see page 29 of this months YM! As to full length battens - I use a batten-less, roach-less cruising main and can recommend it to any cruiser not concerned with the last half knot of speed.

 

[Guest]

I chartered a Moody29, with in-mast furling, about 11 years ago on the Clyde. I was the only regular sailor in a crew of 4; it was a great benefit encouraging early reefing and thus improving the comfort and wellbeing of the crew.
If others can recommend a reliable brand, it must be an advantage for short-handed cruising.

 

[Guest]

I went for an EasyReach vertical batten system on my Biscay 36. I would have preferred to upgrade the performance by going to a fully battened main, but knew that sailing singlehanded it would stay covered a lot of the time, whereas the furling sail gets used every time i leave the mooring, even if just to sail down the river for a few miles for the evening. Performance is reduced, but I sail more than ever before, so on balance a big improvement. You will want a decent self-tailing winch for the control lines though, don't think you will furl it by hand in anything of a blow!!

Good luck

 

[Guest]

In mast furling: the Devil\'s spawn

Why would anyone want in-mast furling???

Smaller main = less efficient
Horrible shape to the main = less efficient/boat heels more
Fatter mast = spoils aerodynamics of mainsail
Fatter mast = greater resistance to sailing upwind
Heavier mast = yacht heels more = yacht goes slower
Heavier mast = compromised stability characteristics
Heavier mast = yacht more susceptible to rolling

More importantly, they can and do jam, and are much more likely to jam in a strong wind when the chips are down. They are therefore unsuitable especially for shorthanded yachts without lots of fit crew who might stand a chance of sorting out the jam.

Finally, they take the pleasure out of sailing under a nicely shaped and properly working set of sails.

Slab reefing is easy. And sailing is after all a sport and just occasionally it is necessary to wander up to the mast and pull a rope or two.

If handling the mainsail is difficult, better alternatives are to drop the mainsail and sail under genoa, or motor.

 

[mica]

Hi Greg,
We have a Bavaria 430 Caribic with Selden In mast Reefing and would not want to go back to the conventional type. We sail short handed, just the two of us (I being a 5,2" female) and have no trouble with the sail jamming. The secret to prevent jamming is to ensure you keep tension on the clew outhaul whilst winding it in, to ensure a tight roll and to make sure you wind it the right way round the foil. Bearing this in mind we have had no problems, and it certainly beats going up on deck in a blow to put a reef in. The racing boys will no doubt insist that you get a better sail shape with the conventional type, but these sails are cut to cope with the furling and I believe you get the best of both worlds and certainly more ease and relaxation if your intention is for cruising, not racing. If you are in the Solent area and want a hands on demonstration, contact us direct.
Best wishes, Mica

 

[johndf]

I have in mast furling on my Jeanneau 34 and I'm in two minds about it. It is remarkably easy to use and so far I have had no problems with jamming. On the other hand the lack of roach and lack of battens leaves a rather unhappy leech which tends to flap given any opportunity. Using the leech line results in a nasty curve in the leech, which I'm sure reduces the aereodynamic effectiveness of the sail.

If I were getting a new boat I would consider a vertically battened system, which might not suit the purists for whom in mast furling is an anathema, but would maybe avoid most of the performance problems of in mast furling.

 

[greg]

Dear Mica,

Many thanks for the response to my furling enquiry and the kind offer of a hands on demo. Unfortunately, although I cut my sailing teeth on the river Trent in Derbyshire I am now ensconsed in Sydney Australia. Out of interest Virginia (5' 2) and I have just come back from trying a chartered Bavaria 42' stern cockpit in Australia's tropics. Weather was cool, pouring rain, wind to 35 knots, 3 meter swells and zero visibility (I really did not expect zero visibility in the tropics. Just goes to show). By the way I find the Bavaria 42' a brilliant sea boat. Once again many thanks for your comments and I think that in-mast is definitely the way for Virginia and I to go with our new boat.

Kind regards
Greg

 

[billmacfarlane]

I'm between boats at the moment and chartered a boat with in Croatia a week ago with in-mast furling. It's the first time I've used it so I don't know whether it was me or the gear on the boat but I hated it. It has excessive friction so to unfurl it I had to stand on the coach roof to unfurl it. When the wind increased I had even more trouble furling it .
You've probably guessed that I wasn't impressed. For my new 36' boat, I've specified single line reefing and lazy jacks. I've tested it in a F8 wind and my wife and I didn't have any problems with it.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

My neighbour on the pontoon is the local agent for Bavaria. Although I do not have it myself, I was impressed by the mainsail reefing that is installed on Bavarias. It is well engineered and should not be confused with other systems that rely on a wrapped line - like those on furling genoas. That is the old 'cheap' solution. So long as the central spar (within the mast) is properly pre-tensioned there should not be any excessive loads when reefing in a blow. If the continuous furling line should break the sail will not suddenly go loose. It stays there there until you go up to the mast and wind the rest of it in by using a plain winch-handle.

Regarding battens: if you do not wish to have a straight leech (actually, slightly hollow) and MUST have a roach, your battens do not HAVE to be vertical. There are horizontal flexible ones that work just like a steel tape-measure. For cruising I would not bother.
Needless to say, when I can afford a new Bavaria, in-mast reefing will be on the list of 'extras'. The price differential is not all that much when installed from new. Good luck.

Wally

 

[cynthia]

Re:Vertical battens

We have a MaxiRoach vertical battened sail on a Bav. 34. It gives back 90 - 95% of the non-furling mainsail, but seems to maximise the power nicely. Very easy to use, nothing has jammed/stuck so far, but the system was new this season. We sail with two on board, everything, including reefing, is controlled from the cockpit, although the ratchet control is used in heavy winds as a safeguard. Performance seems good to us, and my 'captain' used to be a purist - hanked on foresail for better pointing/ racing etc. He's now a complete convert to in-mast.

We'll be 'sticking' (hopefully not literally!) with this system for the foreseeable future.

 

[chrisc]

Re:Vertical battens

I have vertical battens on a Bavaria 34-Maxi roach .I have nothing but praise for
this system. realy good sail shape and goes into wind a treat. last year we sailed
with the selden unsupported mainsail that came with the boat (new) and although
we were realy happy with the furling system thought the sail needed better shape.
So,this year we invested in the vertical batten job. done about 600 miles and absolutely no probs.
Reading the threads here ,it seems to me that people are missing the point about
in mast reefing,or maybe it,s just that me and my wife use it differently:- for us the
the main thing is that we are able to adjust the sail area to the conditions ,it is so
easy to adjust that we have no hesitation about adjusting the sail area to wind conditions usualy sailing it pretty upright (and usually above 7 knts) .I have just read back what I wrote -sounds like an advertisement so I had better say I have
nothing to do with the industry -just a happy user.

 

[Guest]

I had behind the mast furling on my colvic watson m/s and it makes life a lot easier,not for furling but for getting the sail nicely stowed,the only touble i had was the wind would cause the tube holding the sail to vibrate but with in-mast you will not have that problem.good luck.

double trouble

 

[J_Priedkalns]

Why would you want all that additional weight on your mast? Consider the new generation of boom furling as an alternative; the additional weight is at deck level, you can use full batten sails, you have full access to the furling gear at deck level for any repairs/service, you can drop your sails immediatley for any reason, you can reef the main either by slab reefing or by winding the boom and it will cost less!