[Rhodes22-list] a different furling system, similar problems & solutions

[Jesse Shumaker]

Chris, thanks for the tips.  I've had an issue where my outline line for
the main tends to get twisted and now I think it's because I've not
followed ruled #2 in the list.  When furled, I had the outhaul wrapped
between two cleats and didn't follow a figure 8 path.  I'm redoing the IMF
furling / outhaul lines between this season and next season to emulate
Peter's setup so I'll be careful to not coil the double braided line going
forward.

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr

On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:28 PM Chris Geankoplis <chrisgeankoplis at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Rubin passed on to me and I thought I might post it.  It is not about the
> R22 furling system, it is for the Island Packet.  Still I found a number of
> problems and solutions useful for the Rhodes.  So see if you can spot the
> differences and similarities.
>
>
> FURLING MASTS…..more lessons earned.
>           Norm Pierce September 2020
>
> The furling mainsail hardware used in a Charleston Spar has proven to be a
> very simple and robust system.
>
> It is the tackle needed to handle the sail, and the sailor, that are the
> weak parts.
>
> The end result: THE SAILOR BLAMES THE FURLER !!!!!
>
> Our experience has shown that it is the inability of the sailor to read,
> understand and follow the instructions on the use and care of the entire
> system that is major cause of any problems encountered.
>
>  #1 Keeping the system clean: When you wash down the boat, wash the blocks,
> control lines, boom, track and hose out the car in top of the boom while
> rolling it back and forth. Wash the furlers, all three of them. Make sure
> the drain at the aft-bottom of the mast at the deck is working. Salt
> crystals are like little knives in the lines and blocks. Keeping them clean
> of salt and dirt will lengthen their life and ease the lines movement
> through the blocks and over the track stop at the outer end of the boom.
>
>  #2 Every quality double braid rope manufacturer states that: “Double Braid
> rope should always be coiled in a figure eight.” (the natural way it wants
> to coil when relatively new) Yet many refuse to do it, or make sure their
> crew does it. The end result of coiling it in a circle is a line with
> permanent twists of the inner core against the outer cover, which creates
> friction every time the twisted line goes through a block creating wear in
> both. Add to that the normal degradation of the sun, salt and dirt, and
> soon the lines outer cover begins to fray and bind as it makes its way
> through the blocks and over the boom track stop block at the outer end of
> the boom.
>
>  #3 Boom height: Over time and sailing on the wind with a tight topping
> lift stretches it. Eventually the sailor notices it and over tightens it to
> the point where the angle of the outhaul to the clew in not ideal, and that
> increases the stresses on the furling tackle with the extra effort needed
> to use it, shortening its life.
>
>  #4 Halyard tension;   The furling mainsails luff sets in an extrusion very
> similar to the headsails. The difference is that the mainsails extrusion is
> round (not foil shaped), has no stay inside and is attached only at the top
> of the furler. The halyard is attached to the upper  swivel and the sails
> luff tape is slid into a slot just like the headsails. When attaching the
> sail and when the sail is deployed the attaching points are about 1” aft of
> the extrusion. Over tensioning of the halyard will bow the extrusion in the
> middle and as the sail begins to fill the mast cavity it can create a
> difficulty in fully furling the sail. And, forcing it can make unfurling
> very difficult. Ideally, furled or deployed with no wind in the sail one
> should be able to move the tack strap with ones fingers a little with out a
> lot of effort.
>
>  #5 Furling Properly: As one prepares to furl the mainsail, head the boat
> up leaving the wind slightly on the starboard side of the boat. Furling
> line on the winch, outhaul ready to ease out, and as one winches the sail
> into the mast hold some tension on the outhaul to get a smooth furling of
> the sail around the extrusion and into the mast.
>
>  I can see any or all of the above way too often when I step on your boat !
> And you can too !
>
>  Standing in the cockpit and sighting forward along the furler and outhaul
> control lines. I see the fleck of color or the pattern of the braid spirals
> between the stopper and the first block. Running my hands along the lines I
> feel that they are no longer smooth but rough and frayed.
>
>  I release the outhaul and go up on deck to the coach roof, I pull out some
> slack and grab the outhaul at the clew block and at the exit under the
> forward end of the boom and try to pull them back and forth. It takes very
> little tension to make it very hard to move in either direction as the
> twisted, fraying of the lines cover resists making the 180-degree turn over
> the end of the boom. And you blamed the furler ???? (I did too, initially)
> J
>
>  Replace those lines and start treating them with the respect they deserve
> and enjoy the furling main again.
>
>
>
>  Sail bunching or overlapping ?
>
> 1: Failure to maintain resistance on outhaul while furling.
>
> 2: Halyard too tight or too loose. Make adjustments small.
>
> 3: Sail “Baggy”, stretched out in the middle. Replace the sail.
>
> Chris Geankoplis
> Enosis I & II
>