selden furlin main

[mtomison]

When I carry my main in full and the wind freshens the bottom 500mm of the luff comes out of the luff groove and the system will not furl from the cockpit requiring a trip forward to use the mast winch which partly defeats the purpose of the system.

The bottom 500mm of the sail has a small piece checked out, I suppose so that it will not foul on the reefing mechanism. I have tried to tension the halyard bar tight with increasing conditions and whilst this helps, it does not overcome the problem.

Has anyone experienced this problem and come up with a solution.

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[waterboy]

Looks like you need a trip to your local, friendly sailmaker. If the luff pulls out and prevents furling just when you need it, that spells trouble.

<hr width=100% size=1>I never make the same mistake twice. I always make new ones.

 

[VO540]

I have same set up on Moody 38. When furling sail into mast it is important to have boom set at correct height using topping lift before furling starts. This ensures that sail rolls away with same tension top and bottom. If boom is not set high enough then sail will roll away tightly on top portion of in mast roller but the foot will roll away loosely. When I had found the optimum boom height I put a mark on the tooping lift. Also you need to keep tension on the outhall when furling to ensure sail rolls tightly onto roller. Seldon have alot of advice on their website www.seldonmast.co.uk Hope this helps; inmast furling may have a lot going for it but it does have its own problems.

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[mtomison]

Thanks VO540; got all that. I too have gone through this proceedure with marking the topping lift. No probs to set the main or reef it unless it has been blowing and I have left it late by which time the bottom of the luff pops out of the groove. My current remedy is to leave half a turn on the mechanism which stops the problem but this is what you need like a hole in the head with a sail which is already seriously too small and has no roach.
I think I have a sail cut problem.

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[mldpt]

Hi I have had in mast for 12 years now and had no trouble at all. I have a new Seldon mast now for 5 years and its great, of course its not very efficient but I like it. But it sounds to me as if you have two small a Luff rope in your main, I have never had mine pull out of the grove, on only problem I ocasionally have is if I have slakened of the halliard to shape the main in light winds, and forget to tighten it again when furling it, it catches on the slot sides, but thatw only happened once. I have also Modified mine, so that I dont have to go on deck to release the ratchet, seems daft to have all this gear to reef in heavy weather, but you have to go on deck to unlock the ratchet to let sail out and lock it again to sail with it reefed, I have rigged two lines to the ratchet knob and they come back into the cockpit so the ratchet is always in the locked position unless I want to let sail out in which cast I pull and lock the line on the starboard side pull the sail out and release the line to relock it, then reef it as required tighten the outhaul, sheet in and away you go.
Mike.

<hr width=100% size=1>www.sailingforfun.co.uk

 

[mtomison]

Thanks Mike, I take this all on board.
My trouble starts below the luff rope which stays in the track. It is the real bottom few inches where the luff (now ropeless) hangs behind the luff groove and will not be encouraged to slip in and furl.
mike.

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[pvb]

Ah! Now I understand...

Exactly the same thing happens on my Furlin mast. It's a real bugger, isn't it? It's on my list of "things to do", but it's still only around position 473, so it might not get done this year. I wondered whether it might be possible to get another piece of luff tape stitched on the bottom few inches, and to feed it downwards into the luff groove after the sail has been hoisted. In the meantime, I sometimes leave half a turn of sail in the mast. However, if you go dead into the wind to furl/reef, it usually isn't a problem.

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[Sinbad1]

I have the same problem but avoid it catching when furling by releasing the mainsheet enough to take the pressure off the front of the sail. You do of course have to retighten the haliard a couple of weeks after refitting the sail at the beginning of the season due to stretch in both the haliard and the sail's bolt rope.

You can of course come up into the wind but thats really old fashioned!

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[steve_cronin]

Re: Ah! Now I understand...

I don't have this problem but just a couple of observations.

1. Are you rolling the sail in in the correct direction?

2. Have you threaded the sail into the groove through the two little wheels at the bottom?

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[pvb]

Re: Ah! Now I understand...

Not sure what you mean, Steve. There aren't any "little wheels at the bottom" on my Furlin mast.

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[steve_cronin]

Re: Ah! Now I understand...

I was thinking of another system that i had been looking at on a Grand Soleil last time I went to the boat.

Now the brain is in gear I remember that ours has a tack hook onto which the tack tape should be hooked. If this is secured properly I can't see how the luff can do other than stay in line with the groove. Without it being attached though, I don't know how any tack tension can be achieved.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[mldpt]

Re: Ah! Now I understand...

Hi.
I know this might sound a bit obvious, but it struck me that if your sail luff is an inch too long, you may well have the halliard tight but you are possibly not taking out all the stretch out of the luff rope before it jams at the top of the mast, hence the slight slackness at the foot which allows the small amount of luff not in the grove to crease and catch as it enters the mast. I know mine does this if I have released the halliard and forgotten to tention it again, if the luff is tight I cannot see how it can do anything but furl correctly.
Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>www.sailingforfun.co.uk

 

[steve_cronin]

Neither can I....

.. that is what I'm saying. If the bottom portion of the sail comes away from the foil, has the tack been hooked onto the tack hook in the first place. Also of course, if our friend is trying to roll up his sail after releasing the halyard tension, then he will get the phenomenon I think he is experiencing.

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[mtomison]

Re: Neither can I....

A very big thanks to all who replied.
I do keep halyard tension tight before rolling up and have resorted to leaving a half turn on the foil to resolve the problem. However this tends to roll out whe you are trying to roll away and you are back where you started.
I have taken the matter up with Selden and they agree this does happen and have sent me a drawing which I will show to a sailmaker with my sail. If I have anything positive to add, I will do so in this forum.

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