Surplus rope on furling drum.

J

jonjo

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27 May 2002
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When I unfurl my largest 135% genoa the furling line bunches at the top of the drum and occasionally jumps out. I think I can reduce the bunching by lowering an eye block lead on the final forward stanchion.

What puzzles me about the current setup is that with the sail is fully furled plus 1 extra turn for safety, I still have an inner layer of rope on the drum which equates to another 5 extra turns of the drum. Is this usual or should I remove this surplus to help reduce the bunching?

I suppose the extra layer of furled rope adds leverage to the first few difficult turns but rope jumping off the drum is a frustration.
 
You need extra turns for when then genoa furls tighter (normally when it is loaded during a sail). I wouldn't think you need 6 extra turns though - 2-3 is enough for us...
 
Pretty straight forward to change. Either do it with the sail furled, and un-reeve the line thgough the system and then remove / add turns on the drum as you wish, or unfurl it knowing how many you want to change it buy.

I adjust mine every year once the genoa goes back up after winter storage.
 
From experience all the lines on the Bavaria yachts seem to be standard lengths to cover a certain range. I had a similar problem and cut of enough to do all my fenders. Similarly I had enough left on the main sheet to make an additional mooring line. Jackho /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I'd get rid of the excess loops, and if it's still an issue, (assuming it's double braid line) remove the core from the first third or so of the line (starting at drum end). This reduces diameter quite a bit.

BTW are you keeping a little tension on the line as you unfurl the sail? This great improves the furling process, as the line is then neatly stowed on the furling drum.
 
Thanks everyone, all sorted now. The open plan design of the Facnor drum meant it was simple to adjust with the sail still furled.

I found I actually had 11 turns of surplus furling line on the drum. Before finished the job I wondered around the marina but could not find a consensus on the number of reserve turns. Furlex owners seem less bothered and often leave an enormous amount of spare line on the drum owners with smaller open plan drums tend to adjust.

While looking at the lead angle I found that the block had slipped up a couple of inches. On other boats I noticed few furling lines lead into the drum at 90 degree, I guess a slight angle encourages a more organized stacking of the furling line?
 
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