In Mast Mainsail Reefing / Furling??

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Chrusty1

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Sorry if this has been done to death already, but any words to the unwise would be welcome. It looks an ideal system for one of advancing years and wobbly legs. I only indulge in relaxed cruising, and I am single handed 99% of the time.
 
Oh boy..... here we go! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You'll be told how disastrous the lost sail area is, how terrible that they jam so frequently, and what awful sail shapes you can achieve with them.

All I can say is that I love mine....can make hull speed without any trouble, and have never had any more problems with it than any slab system i've ever used or owned.....
 
Another vote in favour. However, try to avoid "add-on" systems on boats that were not designed to have them.

for "relaxed cruising" there is no contest.
 
I was thinking more of a proper in mast system, Selden?? I also understand that these days one can have a mainsail made that is cut in such a way as to take full advantage of the system? I am not performance oriented, but I do like to give things a bit of welly now and again, even old farts like me like to fool about sometimes. Thanks to you both for your speedy replies.
 
I was lucky (I think) to buy a Centaur that had it's mast replaced after storm damage by the insurance company with a Selden in mast furling system that cost about 1000 pounds less than the price I paid for her!

As a regular singlehander it was the business! I came from about 5 years of dinghy sailing before that, so to be able to have the main gone in about 30 secs without any Sail ties/Gaffs/covers etc was heaven. Coupled with a furling genoa and the autopilot I never had any issues once I figured out how to use it properly.

As it was on a centaur I never expected speed........... but in a force four and up I had loads of fun and below that I had a crusing chute for when the wind got too light.

Jason.
 
Yes, I have a Selden on a Bavaria 37. The original sail was rubbish but the new one, made in Greece is flatter and performs well. You have to learn to adjust the shape with the outhaul. Difficult to know how it compares with slab reefed boats as there are so few where we sail in the Ionian. However, in absolute terms it does the job.
 
Thanks Jason, Always good to get the SP from folks that have used these things.
 
Mine is Z-spar built in..... along with the Selden system, I think the built in systems work just fine nowadays...

The only time mine has ever jammed was my own fault..... and was rectified in just a few seconds..... I tried to unfurl with the kicker cranked right on.... simply wound it back in, let the kicker off, and all was well....
 
Another vote from a regular single hander with Selden and a fully battened main (Maxiroach). six years and its never given me any real trouble. Would purchase again. Sail now 6 years rig 12 years old.
 
We've had to this point a pretty fair assesment of the positives of the system, so I'll give a fair assesment of the negatives a go!

Area - Yes you do lose area. Morgana's "hull speed" comment is a little misleading, as hull speed is of course obtainable without a main at all with enough wind. Where you lose out is in light winds. It is likely that with a roller furling main you will motor more. Especialy if fitted to a heavy cruiser.

Upwind, in the stronger stuff, when reefed, you still have the weight of the sail and all the gear up the mast, so the boat will be more tender.

Jamming- thankfully un-rectifyable jams are very rare, but I've seen it a few times (ok I'm probably more likely to as I'm on the water more than average), and if you're short handed it will be a big deal.

Sail shape. Yes it will be worse. But yes the more recent sails are better. Unfortunately the shape does get worse just when you need it to get better, as the sail is furled. As with furling genoas this is not a big problem on a reach or a run, but creates drag and leway upwind.

Does that seem like a fair assesment?
 
Yep, seems fair to me....

The only point i'd pick up on with any vigour would be the weight up the mast.... yes, technically you are correct, but its a very very marginal point..... its not a lot of weight at any great height, most of the sail material is barely any higher than it would be in a slab system, and if the boat is designed with in mast in mind then this will be allowed for in ballast weight decisions at the design stage
 
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Yep, seems fair to me....

The only point i'd pick up on with any vigour would be the weight up the mast.... yes, technically you are correct, but its a very very marginal point..... its not a lot of weight at any great height, most of the sail material is barely any higher than it would be in a slab system, and if the boat is designed with in mast in mind then this will be allowed for in ballast weight decisions at the design stage

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Do the manufacturers really put more weight into the keel of the in mast version?
 
Probably (although in fairness, i'm only assuming this to be the case).... if the boat is designed with in-mast in mind then it will be factored into the stability calcs when ballast weights are confirmed. As opposed IMHO for when a system is retrofitted to a boat designed with a slab system in mind.

However, I think its a really marginal point.... the additional weight is really very little.... probably no more than the effect of sticking a big radar scanner at the spreaders, and certainly way less than the effect of full vs empty water tanks
 
I sail an Amel Maramu from time to time and its mainsail furling system, with electric winch, works well.
I'm sure that to the purist the sail shape and perfomance is probably a compromise too far, but for cruising short handed on a biggish boat I'd choose it. In fact, I'd choose it before jib rollerfurling which I've never liked. But that's another issue!
 
I bought a boat with original in-mast and am generally v pleased with it. It does take a bit of practice to get the furling/unfurling as smooth as possible. I initially had difficulty but it was entirely due to the very tired old sail - 25yrs plus!!. With a new sail the whole experience is great. I agree that add on systems are dubious though, you need a complete system.

I agree with those who say that you will get better performance with a normal full sail and slab reefing, but if you don't race and mostly sail alone then in-mast is a good option. All IMHO.
 
I'd be very supprised if it was the case, as it would require separate keel moulings.

Problem with it is that it's not only the weight of the sail, but the section is bigger and has to be stiffer.
 
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