Top down furler

[SteveA]

I'm having trouble with our new top down furler where the furling line keeps wrapping around the torsion cable causing it lock up.

What am I doing wrong?

TIA

 

[Tranona]

Not sure I follow that. On the Selden furler I had, the furling line was nowhere near the torsion rope, but a continuous line that lead back through lead blocks on the stanchions to a double jamming block alongside the cockpit.

Furling problems usually come from not balancing tension on the sheet and on the furling line which is quite tricky singlehanded. Can lead to folds in the sail going on backwards and making it impossible to unfurl. Solved in my case by attaching the "luff" of the sail to the torque rope.

 

[Ingwe]

Assuming you have a continuous furling you need a method for keeping some tension in it. The normal way is to pass it through a snatch block on a piece of bungie which is attached at the end point of the continuous furling line so that it keeps tension on both ends of the line so you don't get wraps / knots in the line.

 

[tyce]

Steve, as Ingwe suggests, on mine I have a short length of strong bungee attached to the end of the furling line block which is the furling line aft anchor point which seems to do the job,

 

[SteveA]

Steve, as Ingwe suggests, on mine I have a short length of strong bungee attached to the end of the furling line block which is the furling line aft anchor point which seems to do the job,

Many thanks for the replies - I had suspected there was a need for tension on the continuous furling line but needed some reassurance! My next problem is the furling line is longer than the boat and I don't trust myself to make a new in line splice.

 

[SteveA]

Steve, as Ingwe suggests, on mine I have a short length of strong bungee attached to the end of the furling line block which is the furling line aft anchor point which seems to do the job,

Sean, If you are up for it, I would appreciate you casting an eye over the set up we have and give us some advice.

 

[tyce]

Yes no probs Steve although its fair to say if you are relying on my expertise then times are hard. Will message you for when's a good day.

 

[Tranona]

These are the stanchion blocks and cam block I used for my furling line. Solved the problem of tension on the furling line.
support.seldenmast.com/en/products/code_0_and_gennaker_furling/accessories.html

 

[roaringgirl]

Many thanks for the replies - I had suspected there was a need for tension on the continuous furling line but needed some reassurance! My next problem is the furling line is longer than the boat and I don't trust myself to make a new in line splice.

What's the worst that could happen?

 

[Tranona]

With the original question you can get a backward fold in the sail as the torque rope picks it up. You can continue furling but can't unfurl. Only solution is to take it off, stretch it out and manually unfurl. Guess how I know. An overlong furling line is a PITA as the loose loop can go over board or get get caught up elsewhere in the cockpit.