Roller furling

[nimbusgb]

Mine doesn't. Well it does if you go up on the foredeck and crank the drum by hand but you can forget doing it from the cockpit. New bearings ( in fact a completely new drum assembly ) and the top swivel will almost spin in the breeze.

With no load on the sail you can just about haul in from the cockpit but the moment there's a shred of sail out and a breeze blowing on it it all stops.

I'm wondering if the backstays are too loose so the forestay is not tight enough.

Anyone got any tips on trying to sort it short of a £1500 cash injection?

 

[BAtoo]

First check the halyard is led correctly and not wrapped around the foil.

Second check the halyard tension is correct (not too tight in my experience).

Third alter the backstay tension - loosen or tighten and see if that helps.

Fourth - get a rigger to check it out.

 

[sailorman]

Mine doesn't. Well it does if you go up on the foredeck and crank the drum by hand but you can forget doing it from the cockpit. New bearings ( in fact a completely new drum assembly ) and the top swivel will almost spin in the breeze.

With no load on the sail you can just about haul in from the cockpit but the moment there's a shred of sail out and a breeze blowing on it it all stops.

I'm wondering if the backstays are too loose so the forestay is not tight enough.

Anyone got any tips on trying to sort it short of a £1500 cash injection?

what make is it

 

[nimbusgb]

First check the halyard is led correctly and not wrapped around the foil.

Second check the halyard tension is correct (not too tight in my experience).

Third alter the backstay tension - loosen or tighten and see if that helps.

Fourth - get a rigger to check it out.

Halyard not wrapped.

Tried loosening the halyard an inch or two not much difference I think it may have made it marginally easier.

so will play with rig tension a bit.

 

[charles_reed]

Mine doesn't. Well it does if you go up on the foredeck and crank the drum by hand but you can forget doing it from the cockpit. New bearings ( in fact a completely new drum assembly ) and the top swivel will almost spin in the breeze.

With no load on the sail you can just about haul in from the cockpit but the moment there's a shred of sail out and a breeze blowing on it it all stops.

I'm wondering if the backstays are too loose so the forestay is not tight enough.

Anyone got any tips on trying to sort it short of a £1500 cash injection?

A possibility is that the halyard diverter, which prevents wrap, is pulling the forestay luff out of straight.

Try slackening off the forestay a little and see if it straightens and is easier to roll.

 

[nimbusgb]

what make is it

It's a Goiot 360. In spite of being rather old ( 25 ? ) a brand new bottom drum was obtained for it at the end of last season from a 'surplus bin' at CYS chandlers in Levkas. Still in the packing!

With no sail on the whole thing revolves quite easily.

Comparing it to a boat currently next to me and almost 8 feet longer ( 38 and 46 ) they are very similar in size so it's not just undersized.

It does make getting caught out repeatedly in F6 and F7 singlehanded a little 'tense'

 

[BAtoo]

Try letting the halyard tension right off until the sail just creases; if letting it off a little helps a bit, and it works ok with no tension then suspect thats the cause.
I find that helps with mine.

Just seen its an old Goiot - does the halyard come back down the foil like the old Colnbrook or does it go down the mast?

 

[Poignard]

Any chance that the problem lies in the run of the furling line back to the cockpit? Too many sharp turns; a seized lead block etc?

 

[nimbusgb]

Conventional halyard setup. From the top swivel over a top sheave and down the ( inside ) of the mast.

There is no halyard diverter fitted ( don't think there ever has been one ) the swivel stops about a foot from the top sheave so very little room for it to twist anyway. I have looked at the top when all of this is going on and halyard twisting around the forestay does not appear to be involved.

The forestay is a 60mm diameter ( big! ) round section twin track extrusion. ( I suppose the internal nylon spacers/forestay bearings could be shot. On the other hand it all feels smooth when unloaded and when I replaced the drum last year there was no apparent major stickiness.

 

[nimbusgb]

Run of furling line

It's not perfect I am going to skip one guide out of the run which seems to be holding the line against a stanchion base but nothing seriously out of line. The worst 'turn' is about 25 degrees through a pushpit mounted roller bearinged block (new) that keeps the line run onto the drum dead perpendicular.

 

[Poignard]

Run of furling line

It's not perfect I am going to skip one guide out of the run which seems to be holding the line against a stanchion base but nothing seriously out of line. The worst 'turn' is about 25 degrees through a pushpit mounted roller bearinged block (new) that keeps the line run onto the drum dead perpendicular.

Easy way to prove it would be to try furling the sail, when you're alongside a pontoon,with the line right out of the blocks.

I use some excellent ball-bearing blocks that fit around the stanchions. I can't remember what make but I think they're made in the USA

 

[BAtoo]

Sounds like its time to play with the tensions then; halyard on/off; backstay on/off in both combinations.

You can take the furling line out of the equation by pulling it directly by the drum.

I presume it worked ok before the new drum?

 

[Ubergeekian]

It's a Goiot 360. In spite of being rather old ( 25 ? ) a brand new bottom drum was obtained for it at the end of last season from a 'surplus bin' at CYS chandlers in Levkas. Still in the packing!

With no sail on the whole thing revolves quite easily.

Have you tried it under tension with no sail? Short strop between drum and swivel, load the halyard as if a sail were there ... you may have discovered why a brand new drum was going cheap ...

 

[Plevier]

Well it does if you go up on the foredeck and crank the drum by hand but you can forget doing it from the cockpit.

Surely it has to be the furling line then? I have found that is critical. There is always a huge difference between pulling at the drum and from the cockpit, at least on every boat I've been on.

Oh good grief this forum is seizing up again - been waiting minutes now for this to post...

 

[Lakesailor]

The new Classic Boat Forum is quick as the wind.

 

[Gordonmc]

Surely it has to be the furling line then? I have found that is critical. There is always a huge difference between pulling at the drum and from the cockpit, at least on every boat I've been on.

+2. I was crewing on a friend's boat with the furling line going aft, then turning round a stanchion-mounted block back to the cockpit. It needed the winch to furl the line but going forward of the block the line could be pulled one-handed.
Seemingly the block which spun easily with no load would jam as soon as there was tension.

 

[Dipper]

Have you changed the way you unfurl your sail? If I let mine out rapidly with the furling line loose, the coils of rope on the drum sometimes lay badly with a later section of line making its way under a loose earlier section. If it's windy I find it best to keep a little tension on the line as the sail unfurls. The line then coils nicely on the drum.

 

[ianat182]

Lost my original reply somewhere!

My own furling system is a Colnbrook which was a pig to furl in light or strong airs. Accidentally reading the pamphlet fir it they mention a small hole just above the spool that needs lubrication with 3-in-1 oil periodically(ours had not been done for 30 years!) and is easily furled by hand now. Could it be the same on your furler? I had assumed that the bearings were nylon, but obviously not in our case. Worth a check perhaps.

ianat182

 

[VicS]

Surely it has to be the furling line then? I have found that is critical. There is always a huge difference between pulling at the drum and from the cockpit, at least on every boat I've been on.

Oh good grief this forum is seizing up again - been waiting minutes now for this to post...

I agree with Willow .. about the furling line that is.
I am the same sometimes it wont furl when pulled from the cockpit but pulls easiy from up on the foredeck. Reduce the friction between the cockpit and the drum and avoid any major changes in direction.

Other factors to consider.

I have found that three strand rope locks itself on the drum. A nice slippery braid or plaited rope is essential.

Sufficient line to nearly fill the drum gives a bit more leverage than a half full drum

I'd not be happy without a halyard diverter, preferably one fitted to the front of the mast to hold the halyard away from the spar at an angle of about 15°.

( Forum running well this morning )

 

[Pye_End]

Worth checking that it is set up ok - if the foils are in the wrong place at the top of the stay it can get pretty stiff to turn under load.