Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I have a Catalina 25 Tall Rig. I am prepping the boat to go on the hard for the winter and I need to remove all the sails. This is the first winter I have owned the boat. Do I need to go up the mast to remove the rolling furler? I don't have binos and cannot see how it is secured to the mast. Any special tools required to get the job done right?
If your not lowering the mast and only want to remove the sail then unfurl the sail then unclip the sail down by the drum then uncleat the jib halyard and pull down on the sail. It will slide down and out of the groove in the RF extrusion. The swivel that the halyard is attached to will come down also. Unclip the sail from the swivel. No need to remove the RF itself. Leave the swivel in the down position and unclip the halyard from it and reclip it somewhere else like the base of a stanchion.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
What make is your furler? If leaving the mast up, just do what Scott says. The furler foil (tube) just stays put. If taking the mast down, and the furler foil is metal (not a plastic CDI), care must be taken to keep the furler foil reasonably straight once the forestay is disconnected from the stem fitting. Since it's longer than the mast, that takes some attention until the mast pretty close to horizontal, at which point you can lash the foil to the mast at enough points to support it before you detach the mast from the step.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
If you have a CDI furler, you need to tie a messenger line to the halyard before you pull the sail down, so next year you will be able to raise the sail without having to retrieve the halyard, which will get pulled to the top of the furler and won't be reachable.
Michael Levin Sailin' on Sunshine C250 #402 WK Lake Tahoe
Id like to add that my directions are for a non CDI furler. Also try and do this on a day with none or little wind because you are unfurling the sail. Wrestling a fully inflated sail or one that is vigorously flogging, Not fun.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
One more caution: When you get the sail down and remove the halyard shackle from it, be careful not to let go of the shackle until you've hooked it on something--otherwise, the weight of the halyard on the other side of the mast, depending on where it's hanging (such as in the cockpit), could pull the shackle back to the top of the mast, which could ruin your whole day (if not now, then next spring). I would attach the shackle to a stanchion base and cleat the other end of the halyard somewhere like the a jib sheet cleat so that both ends wouldn't slap on the mast all winter. Similarly, the main halyard can be shackled to a stanchion base and cleated somewhere like the bow.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.