suebabsthenoo
Active Member
Hi we are brand new liveaboarders.We have a Nautiacat 44.Anyone know how to rig this sail it is of the hank on variety?
Roller furling bowsprit genoa
- Thread starter suebabsthenoo
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srm
Well-Known Member
Need more info - is the problem reaching the end of the bowsprit or trying to fit a sail with hanks to a roller furling gear?
Are you also new to sailing by any chance?
Are you also new to sailing by any chance?
Manuel
N/A
No, it is not hanked on the beading goes into the slot on the metal rod. It is quite a big sail and if it is your first time it would make sense to get some help from a neighbour who has done it before to show you how to get the tension right.
srm
Well-Known Member
Thats a lot easier than I was imagining from the initial message.
Ideally choose a time with no wind for this exercise. Also two people make the task a lot easier.
If you are lucky the corners of the sail may be marked, in English "Head" is the top, "Tack" is the bottom front, and "Clew" is the bottom aft corner that the sheets are tied or clipped to. If not marked sailmakers often put their logo near the tack (though I have just bought a boat with the sailmaker's logos at the clew so its not universal).
Lay the sail out along the side deck in folds so that the sail can be hoisted without any twists with the luff (front edge with beading) at the bowsprit end. The clew must be at the bottom and head of the sail on top.
Attach the sheets - there may be a clip fitting but if not tie each with a bowline through the clew ring. Make sure the bowline is pulled tight and in the correct shape, otherwise it may come undone when you most need it.
Attach the halyard, usually with a shackle, to the top of the swivel that should be on your forestay and slides up and down over the metal rod. Attach the head of the sail to the bottom of the swivel with a shackle. (There may be a short rope or wire strop that goes between the head of the sail and the swivel - the reason is a bit complicated for this set of instructions).
One person feeds the beading into the groove while the other hoists the sail with the halyard.
Once the sail is almost fully hoisted attach the tack to the eye on the top of the drum at the base of the furling gear. Again there may be a short strop of wire or rope between sail and drum.
There are two ways to tension the sail - use the winch on the mast and either leave the halyard on the winch or lock it with a rope stopper or clutch on the mast above the winch. If there is not a rope stopper or clutch and you will want to use the winch for other sails secure the halyard to a cleat with the swivel tight at the top of the forestay rod. Use a long light line between the tack ring and a shackle on the drum to tension the sail. You will need four or five turns and I use my foot in a loop of this rope to get the final tension.
Whichever method you use to tension the luff it must be pulled as tight as you can get it.
Hope this is enough information for you to get started.
Sorry, I missed a very important thing. You probably have a single line on the drum to roll the sail up. Before starting make sure as much of this line as possible is rolled up on the drum, normally only the end reaches the cockpit.
Ideally choose a time with no wind for this exercise. Also two people make the task a lot easier.
If you are lucky the corners of the sail may be marked, in English "Head" is the top, "Tack" is the bottom front, and "Clew" is the bottom aft corner that the sheets are tied or clipped to. If not marked sailmakers often put their logo near the tack (though I have just bought a boat with the sailmaker's logos at the clew so its not universal).
Lay the sail out along the side deck in folds so that the sail can be hoisted without any twists with the luff (front edge with beading) at the bowsprit end. The clew must be at the bottom and head of the sail on top.
Attach the sheets - there may be a clip fitting but if not tie each with a bowline through the clew ring. Make sure the bowline is pulled tight and in the correct shape, otherwise it may come undone when you most need it.
Attach the halyard, usually with a shackle, to the top of the swivel that should be on your forestay and slides up and down over the metal rod. Attach the head of the sail to the bottom of the swivel with a shackle. (There may be a short rope or wire strop that goes between the head of the sail and the swivel - the reason is a bit complicated for this set of instructions).
One person feeds the beading into the groove while the other hoists the sail with the halyard.
Once the sail is almost fully hoisted attach the tack to the eye on the top of the drum at the base of the furling gear. Again there may be a short strop of wire or rope between sail and drum.
There are two ways to tension the sail - use the winch on the mast and either leave the halyard on the winch or lock it with a rope stopper or clutch on the mast above the winch. If there is not a rope stopper or clutch and you will want to use the winch for other sails secure the halyard to a cleat with the swivel tight at the top of the forestay rod. Use a long light line between the tack ring and a shackle on the drum to tension the sail. You will need four or five turns and I use my foot in a loop of this rope to get the final tension.
Whichever method you use to tension the luff it must be pulled as tight as you can get it.
Hope this is enough information for you to get started.
Sorry, I missed a very important thing. You probably have a single line on the drum to roll the sail up. Before starting make sure as much of this line as possible is rolled up on the drum, normally only the end reaches the cockpit.
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suebabsthenoo
Active Member
How do you hoist it is the question I am brand new boyriend is not but boat v complictad to what he is used to.
srm
Well-Known Member
As in my post above in which I tried to give step by step instructions from start to finish.
In summary - attach halyard and sail to the swivel - feed luff tape into slot in the foil as you hoist it by pulling on the halyard. Tension halyard tight with winch.
If I have not given you sufficient information (which is difficult without pictures)suggest you ask around your yard / marina for someone who can help and identify the parts on your particular boat. However, big or small, they are all the same in principal.
As you are new to all this I would suggest a week's practical course with a cruising school - they won't have the same boat, but there is not much difference between boats once you know the basic principles. Some boats are just bigger and heavier, like yours, and will have bigger and heavier gear which may look a little different, thats all.
Good luck.
In summary - attach halyard and sail to the swivel - feed luff tape into slot in the foil as you hoist it by pulling on the halyard. Tension halyard tight with winch.
If I have not given you sufficient information (which is difficult without pictures)suggest you ask around your yard / marina for someone who can help and identify the parts on your particular boat. However, big or small, they are all the same in principal.
As you are new to all this I would suggest a week's practical course with a cruising school - they won't have the same boat, but there is not much difference between boats once you know the basic principles. Some boats are just bigger and heavier, like yours, and will have bigger and heavier gear which may look a little different, thats all.
Good luck.
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Tranona
Well-Known Member
As others have said, the Nauticat 44 is a big, powerful, complicated yacht and if you and your boyfriend are struggling with basics might I suggest you get somebody experienced to show you how it all works.
Suggest you contact Nauticat UK in Hamble. They know these boats backwards and would recommend an experienced skipper to help you learn what you need to know. It will be money well spent.
No connection with Nauticat but I remember my very experienced friend taking some time to get the best out of his 42.
Suggest you contact Nauticat UK in Hamble. They know these boats backwards and would recommend an experienced skipper to help you learn what you need to know. It will be money well spent.
No connection with Nauticat but I remember my very experienced friend taking some time to get the best out of his 42.
Manuel
N/A
If the kit has not been serviced for a while you need to wash and grease it all before putting the sail up otherwise it will not work well. It is a big sail and you will find it hard to furl. Before you let the sail out in any wind at all make sure you have some kind of winch to help you bring it in again with the furling line. You might have one on the stern, or you can use a primary winch if you have to. The forces can be fairly high. If it is your first time it is worth getting someone to help for half an hour or so. The system is no different from any other similar furling system it is only that the forces are a lot bigger if there is any wind. Nice yacht. It will serve you well and great for a liveaboard.
suebabsthenoo
Active Member
'onest guv it is a hank on and there is no foil, the sail(inner foresail) we have put on is in a foil that was easyish .It was all taken down in a rush when boat stored for winter.There seems to be no halyard for it.Thanks for reply as well x 2
suebabsthenoo
Active Member
The prob is finding the means to hoist it, all it has is a swivel pulley at the top of the forestay with a length of wire which i the same length as the forestay,all was ok wen sails taken down in Oct
srm
Well-Known Member
Sorry, I did not check the post names but Manuel came in saying it had a beaded luff that went into a groove, so I was using his info in my answer and understand your frustrated response.
Now you do have me puzzled, especially the bit about a swivel pulley at the top of the forestay with a single length of wire. The only suggestion I can offer is that you may have a wire to rope splice in the halyard so that the tail, probably comming out of the mast, is rope not wire.
I assume you have tried pulling on the wire and checking to see if its attached to a halyard tail anywhere around the mast.
If you have not located the halyard I suggest the next step is a trip up the mast to see exactly what is there, or perhaps should be there but is not, as you may have to rig a new halyard.
Living aboard and looking after your boat brings a whole lot of surprises, and its rare that what should be a simple job is actually simple. My favourite quote is "cruising is repairing boats in exotic locations." Sadly not always very exotic - I spent all of May getting my new (to me) boat ready in a yard near Plymouth that alternated between dusty and muddy.
Have fun.
Now you do have me puzzled, especially the bit about a swivel pulley at the top of the forestay with a single length of wire. The only suggestion I can offer is that you may have a wire to rope splice in the halyard so that the tail, probably comming out of the mast, is rope not wire.
I assume you have tried pulling on the wire and checking to see if its attached to a halyard tail anywhere around the mast.
If you have not located the halyard I suggest the next step is a trip up the mast to see exactly what is there, or perhaps should be there but is not, as you may have to rig a new halyard.
Living aboard and looking after your boat brings a whole lot of surprises, and its rare that what should be a simple job is actually simple. My favourite quote is "cruising is repairing boats in exotic locations." Sadly not always very exotic - I spent all of May getting my new (to me) boat ready in a yard near Plymouth that alternated between dusty and muddy.
Have fun.
Manuel
N/A
You said that it was a 'Roller furling bowsprit genoa'. How can you furl a genoa if it is hanked on? I've never come across such a thing and I can't see how it can work.
suebabsthenoo
Active Member
The sail does nae go into a foil it is hanked on to the forestay which has a drum as in roller reefing with which to furl it (as Nigel Calder in his book says)is strictly a furling rig to be used only when sail is luffing,we now think there is a halyard missing somehow since packin boat up in Oct and getting it out of packing in July.
suebabsthenoo
Active Member
thanks ever so for long explanations,an expedition up the mast has been had many times,something seems to be missing since boat packed away last oct.We helped take it down!You are right in what you say and we were prepared for the oldness of this boat but we are in Greece in heat more exotic Lakki Bay Leros(searing)as opposed to usual rain over there,Orkney,,,far out from Plymouth!
srm
Well-Known Member
Not sure if this is relevant, but I have seen a furling / reefing gear where the sail was hoisted on a halyard that ran up and down the forestay. There was a block on the top swivel and the halyard attached to the bottom drum. When hoisted the rope tail on the halyard was removed to allow the drum etc to rotate. If you have a similar set up and dropped the sail in a hurry and let the halyard go without attaching a tail it could explain the single wire that you describe.
Enjoy the sun, am wintering here as did not get my new boat ready in time to head south.
Enjoy the sun, am wintering here as did not get my new boat ready in time to head south.
Manuel
N/A
Sorry to carry on with this but I still don't understand. A hank is a clip, with clearance. The forestay is a wire. If you hank the sail onto the forestay the sail can be hoisted up and down no problem. How do you get the sail to roll around itself? Somehow the thing that is rolling the sail up must be attached to the sail. If not by a beading in a slot in a foil then by something comparable?
I remember that Nigel Calder does discuss two different classes of roller reefing or furling. One is designed to reef under load and the other is designed just to put the sail to bed but never part out. The mechanisms are almost identical but the furling system is of a lower rating and I don't think made any longer. Still has a drum and a foil though, surely?
srm
Well-Known Member
Manuel,
If you have sailed with a hank on jib you will know the hanks are free to rotate around the forestay. Connect the head of the sail to a halyard swivel that also rotates around the forestay, just like the one that goes around a foil. Attach the tack of the sail to a furling drum, that rotates around the forestay or bottle screw.
If you have followed this - and pictures would be a lot easier - imagine rotating the furling drum. This will pull the tack around the forestay and wind the sail up from the bottom. Rather primitive, not very efficient, and best done with a slack sail, but it will work. I have never seen it on the size sail we are discussing, but am happy to accept what suebabsthenoo is telling us.
If you go to this link you may find a picture of the earliest furling gear used for flying jibs on smaller classic boats for well over 100 years and still in production, the Wykeham Martin Roller Furling Gear.
http://shop.woodenboat.org/p-2913-wykeham-martin-roller-furling-gear.aspx
There is no forestay in this system, just a swivel between halyard and sail, a stiff wire luff to the sail, and a furling rope drum at the bottom to rotate the luff. Strictly speaking a furling gear only, but I have used it as a reefing gear on a 20 ft open boat for a short time when I needed a jib, but there was far too much wind for all of it. An updated version is being used to furl asymetric spinnakers - code zeros or whatever the marketing people are calling them now, but basically its the Wykeham Martin gear that furls by rotating the tack and the rest of the sail follows and turns the top swivel.
If you have sailed with a hank on jib you will know the hanks are free to rotate around the forestay. Connect the head of the sail to a halyard swivel that also rotates around the forestay, just like the one that goes around a foil. Attach the tack of the sail to a furling drum, that rotates around the forestay or bottle screw.
If you have followed this - and pictures would be a lot easier - imagine rotating the furling drum. This will pull the tack around the forestay and wind the sail up from the bottom. Rather primitive, not very efficient, and best done with a slack sail, but it will work. I have never seen it on the size sail we are discussing, but am happy to accept what suebabsthenoo is telling us.
If you go to this link you may find a picture of the earliest furling gear used for flying jibs on smaller classic boats for well over 100 years and still in production, the Wykeham Martin Roller Furling Gear.
http://shop.woodenboat.org/p-2913-wykeham-martin-roller-furling-gear.aspx
There is no forestay in this system, just a swivel between halyard and sail, a stiff wire luff to the sail, and a furling rope drum at the bottom to rotate the luff. Strictly speaking a furling gear only, but I have used it as a reefing gear on a 20 ft open boat for a short time when I needed a jib, but there was far too much wind for all of it. An updated version is being used to furl asymetric spinnakers - code zeros or whatever the marketing people are calling them now, but basically its the Wykeham Martin gear that furls by rotating the tack and the rest of the sail follows and turns the top swivel.
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Manuel
N/A
srm - thanks for that information. I can see how it could be done but I can't see why anyone would do it with a genoa on a Nauticat 44. It is not always easy to put to bed a genoa of that size using modern gear.
It seems I have been misinforming the original poster for which I apologise.
I don't think I would ever furl a sail that size if hanked, I would drop and bag it. It doesn't take a moment.
It seems I have been misinforming the original poster for which I apologise.
I don't think I would ever furl a sail that size if hanked, I would drop and bag it. It doesn't take a moment.
srm
Well-Known Member
I'm inclined to agree with you Manuel, but we only have my interpretation of the gear which may be incorrect - remember I have not actually seen it.
But yes, dropping the genny will actually be a lot quicker than furling, and it can be left bagged and hanked on to the forestay as they have a roller staysail as well. Keeping a bagged sail on the stay was normal practice on my 42 ft sloop with twin forestays in the days before roller reefing gear was so common - either genny and working jib or working jib and small jib depending on likely conditions.
But yes, dropping the genny will actually be a lot quicker than furling, and it can be left bagged and hanked on to the forestay as they have a roller staysail as well. Keeping a bagged sail on the stay was normal practice on my 42 ft sloop with twin forestays in the days before roller reefing gear was so common - either genny and working jib or working jib and small jib depending on likely conditions.
