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Jib Roller Furler Question(s)~Help please!

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bmelchionda
1st Mate

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63 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/23/2007 : 08:30:08

Jib Roller Furling System Question(s)~Help please!

I have a Furlex Jib Furling System which I am new too. My Jib was removed last year by my marina as I was out of town on business and it needed to come down before winter storage and a storm. As such, I am new to getting the sail back on properly. I am not concerned with placing the sail in the groove and hosting, I'm concerned with furling it for the first time. Is it just a matter of pulling in the line so the sail furls around the forestay? Do I need to do anything to the halyard swivel before pulling in for the first time?

FYI ~ I have the manual and, let's just say it's as helpful as asking my wife to do this for me. No disrespect to my wife, but she is as technical as a groundhog.

Bryan

'86 Catalina 25 Tall Rig

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 09:10:20

My furler was a Hood, so there may be some minor differences, although not as much as with a CDI... Let's see if I understand what you're asking... First, I'll suggest spraying some Sailcoat or Superlube dry libricant on the luff of the sail (that feeds into the furler groove) to make the hoist easier. When you hoist it, the furling line should be wound onto the drum with the normal "tail" back to the cocpit.

To roll up the sail, assuming there's a little air filling it or it's luffing to one side, keep some tension on the sheet on that side as you pull the furling line to cause the sail to wrap onto the furler--that helps to make a smooth, relatively tight wrap. Then just pull until the sail is completely furled and you have 1-2 wraps of the sheets around it; cleat off the furling line and the sheets, and there you are! There's nothing special to do to the upper swivel. BTW, I usually stay on a normal tack and keep the sail filled to furl it--there's no need to luff as when dropping the main--in fact, it'll wrap better if it's filled.

When you unfurl, keep a small amount of tension on the furling line as it plays back onto the drum--a sailing glove helps to prevent rope-burn... This helps to ensure that the line winds evenly onto the drum, and prevents a jam. If it does hang up, pull the furling line to rewind the sail a little, and then try again with some tension on the line.

Once you've done this, you'll see that it's like raising and lowering a window shade--nothing to it!

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 04/23/2007 09:15:09

bmelchionda
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 10:04:08

Thanks Dave ~ It's not the actual day to day operation of the furler that I am new too but the actual attachment and hosting of the jib for the first of the season. Sounds like I do not touch the drum at all, feed the sail while hosting, tie off the halyard, and then pull the line in from the cockpit so the sail furls. I don't have to do anything to the drum prior to feeding the sail up? The drum should atomically wrap around? I'm thinking that i need to prep it or something. Seems like it should be ready and raring to go?

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 10:11:11

You just want the furling line wound on the drum as it would be when sailing with the jib fully unfurled. The only "prep" or maintenance recommended for most furlers with the typical Torlon ball bearings is a fresh-water washdown--no lubricants. Otherwise, it should be ready to go.

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bmelchionda
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 10:42:13

You got it Dave ` that is my conundrum. So the line needs to be furled on the drum before hoisting? Why is that? How do I get the sail furled if the line is already wrapped around the drum? How much does it need to be wrapped?

Thank you!

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 11:02:31

Because you must have a way to wrap the sail, the wind and sheets pull the sail out and cause the drum line to wrap around the drum. Pulling that drum line back out is what forces the sail to roll up. the real trick is to know whether to roll the line up on the drum clockwise or counter clockwise before you raise the sail for the first time, if you get it wrong your sun cover will be on the inside when the sail is furled. Hey, its 50 50.

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bmelchionda
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 11:16:14

ahh, so when the sail is out, the line is all the way out as well. That was the part I wasnt understanding (as well.) I think there is literature in my manual on the direction. I will check it out and post another reply if I locate it.

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mcollard
1st Mate

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USA
38 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 12:29:41

Bryan, I am not sure that you have it yet. When the sail is out, the line is not all the way out--it should be rolled up on the furler drum. Then, to furl the sail, you pull on the line and it comes off of the drum as it turns the drum, which rolls up the sail.

Since the sail is unfurled when it is raised, the line has to be pre-wound on the drum before raising the sail. It's like winding up a yo-yo before you start to use it. Then, you can furl the sail by pulling the line off of the drum.

As Frank mentioned, if you have a sun cover, usually made of a darker fabric, on the leach of your sail you have to pay attention to which way you wind the line around the drum. If the cover is on the port side of the sail, I believe that you want to wind the line in a clockwise direction as viewed from above, and vice versa.

When I first got a furler, it took me about 4 tries to get it right when raising the sail.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 15:04:28

...what they said. Think of having two lines--the furling line to furl, and a sheet to unfurl--one runs forward when the other is pulled aft. And if I've got this right, if the sun cover is on the starboard side of the sail (which I think is most common), you want the furling line to come off the port side of the drum so the sail wraps from the starboard side as the furler turns when you're pulling the line. In that case, the line is initially wound in a clockwise direction on the drum, and when pulled, turns the drum counterclockwise. (The sun cover might also be white dacron, but you can see it as an extra layer.)

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 15:17:14

One more thing... It can be tricky to get the right length of furling line on the drum... but you can adjust later if you find you have too much or too little to properly roll up the sail. Just furl the sail, pull your sheets forward to the bow, coil them, tie the coils to the wrapped sail, and then turn the furler to add or subtract wraps around the drum. If you have easy-to-remove sheets, then just do that. The only real issue is that you don't want so much extra line on the drum that it "fills up" and the line binds on the outer case, which can prevent you from fully unfurling the sail.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 04/23/2007 15:18:35

bmelchionda
1st Mate

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63 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 15:22:55

How do I pre-wind the drum with the furling line before raising the sail? Just manually turn the drum?

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 15:33:27

Just grab the foil and twist.

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Jarrett Anderson
1st Mate

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61 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 13:28:38

It is also a good idea to make sure the sails UV protection is exposed when the sail is rolloed up and not the sail cloth. I have seen furling lines installed incorect and sails damaged from UV exposure.

Jarrett _/)

Edited by - on

Jarrett Anderson
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 13:30:01

I will use spell check next time...

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 13:42:21

Jarrett,

If you use the edit

function on your post, no one would be the wiser.

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bmelchionda
1st Mate

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63 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2007 : 07:57:11

A quick note and update RE the final install. Unbelievably, it went without a hitch. I only had to roll the drum once with the line to figure out the proper length. Thanks to all that helped to guide me through the process.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2007 : 09:45:45

Congratulations, Bryan... You're gonna love that furler! For an evening sail to nowhere, I often left the cover on the main and just pulled out the genny because it was so easy to unfurl and furl. (The C-25 sails much better on genny alone than main alone.)

Edited by - on

Jack Heaston
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 05/06/2007 : 10:15:37

Hi Bryan
Sounds like you have the sail on the furler and hopefully things are working okay. Had a Furlex on a previous boat and hope to never own another "closed drum" furler.
Anyway, you might consult your owner's manual regards maintenance on both the halyard swivel and bearings inside the lower unit, the latter which required disassembly of the drum - or at least they did on the one I had, to access.
There is also a provision on the Furlex whereby the drum is "preloaded" (for lack of a better description) a full or half turn to allow the foot of the sail to start furling before the head - for better shape or something. It wasn't hard to do, but counterintuitive.
As mentioned above, one must pay attention when unfurling the sail so that the furling line is wound evenly around the drum. The Furlex unit had a nasty habit of getting the furling line off the drum and jammed on the spindle above. Why anyone would design a drum with enough clearance for this to happen is beyond me, but something to look for. The drum cover had to be removed to free the line. Leaning over the bow, with a metric Allen wrench in one hand, the drum halves in the other and the salt spray coming over the stem was not fun.
Hopefully you won't have these problems.
I prefer hanked-on headsails for trailerable boats, but furlers are wonderful for boats kept in the water, in my humble opinion, of course.
Enjoy you furler.
Jack 83 C25 FK/SR Oak Bay #3944

Edited by - on

Jack Heaston
1st Mate

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Response Posted - 05/06/2007 : 10:20:31

Sorry for the duplicate posting
Jack

Edited by - Jack Heaston on 05/06/2007 10:22:35

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2007 : 10:31:31

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Jack Heaston
 ...Had a Furlex on a previous boat and hope to never own another "closed drum" furler... <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
OK, maybe you won't love it...

Jack points out the importance of:
(1) getting the line to feed into the drum at an right angle to the forestay--I did that by using a block (could be an eye) precisely positioned on the pulpit, and...
(2) keeping a small amount of tension on the line as you pull out the sail, so it winds tightly on the drum--a glove helps. That should help to prevent Jack's experience.

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