Pre-Feeder on a furling system

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thesaintlyone

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I have had a look at the Furlex B installation Manual but cannot seem to figure out what the Pre-feeder chord does and how it should be implemented into the system. now this is likely because the old one on my Furlex B is a broken piece of bungee chord but could someone please explain how this works and if you have a picture of one in place on your own Furlex B that would be very much appreciated

Regards
 
There must be a joke about notes in here somewhere...

I don't know about the Furlex B specifically, but a pre-feeder is normally a small metal fitting which the luff tape of the sail passes through in a similar way to how a line passes through a block. It's attached to a short lanyard secured below the point where the luff enters the foil, and helps ensure that the sail approaches the foil with a good smooth lead instead of potentially graunching in sideways.

They're normally used on non-furling luff foil systems, where you swap jibs like with hanks but have to feed them into the foil on each change so every bit of help on a bouncing foredeck is welcome. On a furler where you leave the sail in place each season a pre-feeder would be mildly useful to someone trying to fit the sail on their own, but hardly essential. If it's missing I wouldn't worry about it.

Pete
 
Google “Wichard sail pre feeder” for a picture. This one is very expensive and other brands are available, do the same thing at lower cost.

Preparing for a new season, I often fit my furling headsail single handed. The pre feeder really helps.

It’s a good piece of kit, well worth having one.
 
using a harken pre feeder i hoist my genoa easily from the mast, with out recourse to frequent trips to the foil to sort out a snag, i also do not need to use a winch to haul the sail up.
the pre feeder is on a length of 3mm cord about 400mm long ( length to suit ) & tied on on the lower pulpit rail, it falls away when sail is full hoist

take your pick from these
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sail+pre+feeders&t=opera
 
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Mine disintegrated decades ago and has never been replaced. Not really sure why they were installed in the first place, but I dont race.
 
Sandy said:
Mine disintegrated decades ago and has never been replaced. Not really sure why they were installed in the first place, but I dont race.
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Because they make singled handed sail raising so much easier.

If you always have a crew who can manually guide the sail luff into the spar when needed you dont need one

If you are the typical lazy yachtsman who leaves the sail on the spar 24/7/365 to endure whatever the elements can chuck at it you dont need one.

If you are singled handed and prefer to stow the sail safely below when not in use then you will find one very helpful.
 
VicS said:
Because they make singled handed sail raising so much easier.

If you always have a crew who can manually guide the sail luff into the spar when needed you dont need one

If you are the typical lazy yachtsman who leaves the sail on the spar 24/7/365 to endure whatever the elements can chuck at it you dont need one.

If you are singled handed and prefer to stow the sail safely below when not in use then you will find one very helpful.
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Do you also take the tires off your car when you've finished driving it?
 
VicS said:
Because they make singled handed sail raising so much easier.

If you always have a crew who can manually guide the sail luff into the spar when needed you dont need one

If you are the typical lazy yachtsman who leaves the sail on the spar 24/7/365 to endure whatever the elements can chuck at it you dont need one.

If you are singled handed and prefer to stow the sail safely below when not in use then you will find one very helpful.
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Ahh I see says usually single handed sailor who prefers to leave the sail on the spar rather than having some big wet sails filling the cabin full of damp.

I wonder if this answers the question about why some people have a serious damp problem.
 
Either way, make sure the pre-feeder can't just flop around as the furler unfurls. I was single handed the other day, and when unfurling it got away with me a bit. Just at the point that the sail was unfurling so fast that I had smoke coming from the bearings and from my left hand trying to hold the line, the pre-feeder, whizzing round in an audible blur and pulling 14 lateral g and doing it's best impression of a garden strimmer on the end of it's bit of wire, did an amazing job of catching the furling line at the point it goes into the drum, instantly pulling it out between the drum and the cover, and then wrapping the whole lot around the bottom of the foil about 10 times. And at that exact point I slashed my other hand open on something totally unrelated. So, if you were wondering why there was a Bavaria 32 furling the genoa by motoring round in circles with headsail sheets flogging, in Portsmouth harbour with the idiot at the wheel holding his hand in the air like some kind of orangutang, that was why.

'Twas my fault too...boat is new to me and I did not realise there is a little holder thingy for the prefeeder to stow in. It's all good now.
 
davidjackson said:
Preparing for a new season, I often fit my furling headsail single handed. The pre feeder really helps.
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The alternative is to lead the halyard to the bow so you can pull it while also feeding the sail. A pre-feeder will be a little more convenient but there's not much in it for a once-a-season event.

Pete
 
prv said:
The alternative is to lead the halyard to the bow so you can pull it while also feeding the sail. A pre-feeder will be a little more convenient but there's not much in it for a once-a-season event.

Pete
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This is good advice, too. My headsail is quite big so I need to be at the bow with the halyard as I start to feed it into the furler, with help from the pre-feeder. After a while, about 2/3rd up, I run out of strength and need to put the halyard around a winch to finish the job. The pre-feeder comes into its own from there. Great piece of kit albeit I only use it once a year (may be more often now I’ve been outed by VicS as lazy).
 
prv said:
The alternative is to lead the halyard to the bow so you can pull it while also feeding the sail. A pre-feeder will be a little more convenient but there's not much in it for a once-a-season event.
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I find if I pull the sail far enough forward it feeds fine without the feeder. Can be a nightmare to get down if it jams though. Funny that it will easily go up half in the foil but not come down again.
 
davidjackson said:
This is good advice, too. My headsail is quite big so I need to be at the bow with the halyard as I start to feed it into the furler, with help from the pre-feeder. After a while, about 2/3rd up, I run out of strength and need to put the halyard around a winch to finish the job. The pre-feeder comes into its own from there. Great piece of kit albeit I only use it once a year (may be more often now I’ve been outed by VicS as lazy).
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My genoa is quite big too, all hoisted at the mast ( winch`s are aft on the coachroof ) , if you need to drag it up with a winch then the foil groove & luff tape need lube
 
davidjackson said:
I always give the luff a quick spray with aerosol silicon prior to hoisting. I guess I should start eating 3 weektabix for breakfast.
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Dry film lubricant like "Sail Kote" or similar helps the process considerably . I've tried hoisting from near the bow but it's still a PITA. Trying to cleat the halyard to then free the sail up is not that easy single handed!
Our forestay is 16m so the sail is hard work on your own. It definitely needs finished with the winch.
 
pagoda said:
Dry film lubricant like "Sail Kote" or similar helps the process considerably . I've tried hoisting from near the bow but it's still a PITA. Trying to cleat the halyard to then free the sail up is not that easy single handed!
Our forestay is 16m so the sail is hard work on your own. It definitely needs finished with the winch.
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as is my Harken
 
Oki, So I get what it does and how it works now although this video helped along with your answers

https://youtu.be/Hc3tdAS1sqo

TBH tho given that is my first biggish boat 31ft Westerly Longbow with a furler freshly installed and for now Im still looking for a headsail I will probably have help installing the headsail and will likely leave it on anyway I'll do without the expense of the prefeeder for now

Many Thanks
 
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