In mast reefing.. making it easier?

[Nostrodamus]

In mast reefing... like Marmite you either love it or hate it.
Personally it makes life easier for me... most of the time.
Having said that it can be sometimes hard work putting it away in a hurry mainly because the furling is done by a continual line.
Where it is spliced in causes it to stick in jamming cleats as you are pulling it in and also it makes it difficult to use on a winch.
I was thinking of putting a new longer line it and not splicing it so it should be easier to pull in / out and I can use it on a winch.
Anyone else done this or any thoughts?

 

[[2574]]

I rarely winch in using the furling line but instead insert a winch handle in the furling drum at the mast and wind it in there, much less friction involved, much easier to winch, easy control of the ratchet mechanism on the furling drum. It works for me. I also make sure that I'm ever so slightly on starboard tack when furling thereby giving the sail a fair lead on to the foil (no sharp bend for the sail to go round). You also need someone with a good sense of the tension required on the out haul when the sail is being furled, enough to give a fair furl but not so much as to make furling hard work. You will already have an appreciation of the necessary boom angle for easy furling. Rob

 

[Nostrodamus]

Robih,
I agree it is far easier to winch at the mast but this defeats the object of being able to get the main in from the safety of the cockpit. I agree about the angles as well but why have a continual line if you are not going to use it. There is friction with the various angles it goes through but the splicing makes the line a little thicker and that is what seems to cause me the problems.

 

[Tranona]

If the splice is done properly you should not get a lump. Not that I can do the splice myself, but the rigger who did it is very good and you would be hardpushed to find the location other than the slight pucker in the outer sheath. Over time, though the inner can move as the line stretches and causes the lumps.

 

[Monique]

I rarely winch in using the furling line but instead insert a winch handle in the furling drum at the mast and wind it in there, much less friction involved, much easier to winch, easy control of the ratchet mechanism on the furling drum. It works for me. I also make sure that I'm ever so slightly on starboard tack when furling thereby giving the sail a fair lead on to the foil (no sharp bend for the sail to go round). You also need someone with a good sense of the tension required on the out haul when the sail is being furled, enough to give a fair furl but not so much as to make furling hard work. You will already have an appreciation of the necessary boom angle for easy furling. Rob

As above plus good lubrication on the outhaul. Also, go to the Selden site... lots of good information there.

 

[haydude]

If you are in East Sussex I can offer to show you how to do the splice properly.
I still have the rope section that I used to practice on. You need also the right rope fiddles, I found that with some expensive fiddles I purchased in UK chandleries it was hopless, until somebody from AU showed me the trick. One of the fiddles needs some filing and polishing to make the splicing easier.

BTW from your description I understand that you have the Selden system which I believe is the best. You should not need to put the endless sheet on the winch to furl the main in, because the Selden mechanism has already plenty of purchase. If you do, there is something else wrong.

 

[pvb]

Where it is spliced in causes it to stick in jamming cleats...

As Tranona said, if the splice is done properly it will be no problem. The splice is easy enough to do (full instructions on the Selden website), and really needs to be done using brand-new rope.

 

[Nostrodamus]

As Tranona said, if the splice is done properly it will be no problem. The splice is easy enough to do (full instructions on the Selden website), and really needs to be done using brand-new rope.

Thank you for your replies,
It was done by riggers who were supposed to know what they were doing but after a year of use it had become a lot thicker thereby causing my problem.
Thank you for your offers.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Are you maintaining the mast correctly? There are AFAIR 3 sets of bearings that require greasing occasionally. Foil should rotate with little friction. I agree with Haydude-shouldnt need to put line on winch. Something wrong somewhere.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Our continuous line is not spliced. It has a soft eye loop in each end tht is made by removing some of the inner core and stitching the covering. The two loops are connected with a short Spectra lashing.

No problems with cleats or winches, and easy to undo and remove. We have an electric winch in the cockpit and do all the furling from there.