Tidying up the furling line...

[WestWittering]

When we bought our boat, there was a winder with a handle fitted by the previous owner. Bit of a faff as it is very close to the winch. Kept the string out of the way though. Now it has jammed solid and it does look bit naff.

How do you keep your furling line tidy - at the moment, I have it nicely stowed over the safety line, but is there a neat way of storing it? Or can anyone recommend a replacement fixed spool thing with handle.

Di

 

[rob2]

I guess I'm the normal tight-a**e and just make a gasket coil and hang it on the guardwire. As a slight improvement I fitted a cleat on the wire, but I think I should fit some bungee so as to be able to dump a loose coil straight on it and hold it in place. It's not the ease of stowing so much as the speed with which you can release the coil that matter to me.

Rob.

 

[prv]

On KS, when the sail's set there's very little spare line. When it's stowed, I hang the coil over the winch (the winch is a leftover from when the boat had a single large genoa rather than a cutter foretriangle; it isn't used with the new sheets). I never reef the headsails, each one is either fully in or fully out.

On conventional charter yachts, I generally hung the coil over the guardrail, one end pushed through the other (hard to describe, but quite commonly done). I'll probably do the same on the new boat, though it's possible I might put a small lanyard on the corner of the pushpit to hang it from instead.

A winding reel sounds fiddly and unnecessary.

Pete

 

[WestWittering]

On KS, when the sail's set there's very little spare line. When it's stowed, I hang the coil over the winch (the winch is a leftover from when the boat had a single large genoa rather than a cutter foretriangle; it isn't used with the new sheets). I never reef the headsails, each one is either fully in or fully out.

On conventional charter yachts, I generally hung the coil over the guardrail, one end pushed through the other (hard to describe, but quite commonly done). I'll probably do the same on the new boat, though it's possible I might put a small lanyard on the corner of the pushpit to hang it from instead.

A winding reel sounds fiddly and unnecessary.

Pete

I know what you mean - it is the lifeline loop or something like that. I don't doing that, but when reefing, it is a bit untidy as it is not a big cockpit. I might just get one of those little bags that fit on the safety rails. The spooly thing was fine apart from its location and the fact it was powder coated bright blue and actually did a good job..

Di

 

[25931]

When we bought our boat, there was a winder with a handle fitted by the previous owner. Bit of a faff as it is very close to the winch. Kept the string out of the way though. Now it has jammed solid and it does look bit naff.

How do you keep your furling line tidy - at the moment, I have it nicely stowed over the safety line, but is there a neat way of storing it? Or can anyone recommend a replacement fixed spool thing with handle.

Di

We have a bag fastened with two eyes on the after vertical part of the cockpit.

 

[Poignard]

I know what you mean - it is the lifeline loop or something like that.

It's just a cow hitch.

Another neat way of keeping the line tidy is to wind it around two single-horn cleats fixed about 12-18" apart.

 

[charles_reed]

When we bought our boat, there was a winder with a handle fitted by the previous owner. Bit of a faff as it is very close to the winch. Kept the string out of the way though. Now it has jammed solid and it does look bit naff.

How do you keep your furling line tidy - at the moment, I have it nicely stowed over the safety line, but is there a neat way of storing it? Or can anyone recommend a replacement fixed spool thing with handle.

Di

I've a snubbing winch - I could hang it on that - as it so happens I've fitted a cleat on the PV panel support to hang the excess when the genoa is stowed.

 

[WestWittering]

We have a bag fastened with two eyes on the after vertical part of the cockpit.

I think thats what I'll go for... tx

Di

 

[PlankWalker]

however you do it make sure the furling line, and the jib sheet are both cleated off and tensioned against each other, when the boat is left.

I've seen too many shredded genoas

Plank

 

[Simondjuk]

As already said, just cow hitch the coil over the guardwire or pushpit rail. If you need the the sail in a hurry, just grab the bight and pull. You then have the line ready to run in an instant.

 

[Daydream believer]

I do not hang any ropes on the rails as I would be concerned that if they fell off they could end up in the prop. I prefer to keep them inboard

 

[johnphilip]

String it up

I use on of these:- http://www.rwo-marine.com/products/product.php?subprod=Hooks
The "rope tidi" or a similar thingwith another brand which I can't find just now.
Fitted on the inside of the lifebelt bracket it is always to hand to hold part of the spiders web out of the way.

 

[Seajet]

For handy line stowage bags look up the firm ' Blue '.

However why have extra loose line on furling gear, it should always be kept under light tension, letting a load loose is a recipe for a jam and cock up !

 

[johnphilip]

I may be green but...

However why have extra loose line on furling gear, it should always be kept under light tension, letting a load loose is a recipe for a jam and cock up !

I suppose you could achieve your tension by towing the dinghy or a bucket astern on the end of the furling line?
The rest of us have a clutch or jammer to do this and then just have to tidy the tail.

 

[Seajet]

By furling line I thought you meant the headsail reefing line to the drum; if this is let go in a rush, the result is a riding turn and awkward moments.

A clutch won't usually pay out the line as smoothly and knot - free as a human, I've found a simple cleat on the coaming is good for securing the line.

 

[Slipstream 34]

By furling line I thought you meant the headsail reefing line to the drum; if this is let go in a rush, the result is a riding turn and awkward moments.

A clutch won't usually pay out the line as smoothly and knot - free as a human, I've found a simple cleat on the coaming is good for securing the line.

The clutch on our furling line has two positions... half open puts the correct friction on the reefing line to lay it neatly on the drum as the genoa is deployed.

 

[Conachair]

We have a bag fastened with two eyes on the after vertical part of the cockpit.

Me too. Made a little bag out of netting with bungie at the top, works a treat. Just stuff the spare in , never jams coming out. Same sort of thing for mainsheet.

 

[Reptile Smile]

What I did, to keep things tidy, was to cut the excess off so that there then wasn't enough rope to fully deploy the sail and the knot sticks in the bullseye fairlead. This may not work for everyone, or, frankly, me.

 

[johnphilip]

By furling line I thought you meant the headsail reefing line to the drum; if this is let go in a rush, the result is a riding turn and awkward moments.

A clutch won't usually pay out the line as smoothly and knot - free as a human, I've found a simple cleat on the coaming is good for securing the line.

Be it Clutch, jammer or cleat yes you must pay out the line carefully when unrolling the genny, ours is very good at snarling on the furler if you don't. In fact I tend to give the line a jerk tight every two or three revolutions. Being unable to furl away when you want to reef is embarrasing.

 

[TrailerSailer]

I use on of these:- http://www.rwo-marine.com/products/product.php?subprod=Hooks
The "rope tidi" or a similar thingwith another brand which I can't find just now.
Fitted on the inside of the lifebelt bracket it is always to hand to hold part of the spiders web out of the way.

I second this means of securing the lines. I'm paranoid about trailing lines in the prop and this solution is really easy to use. I've got a few of these around the pushpit for light lines to be secured to.