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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Survey: In-Mast vs In-Boom Furling?

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/23/2007 : 20:49:44

If you have any data, anecdotes, or opinions on this subject I'd love to hear them. Many of the new boats at the Strictly Sail Boat Show had In-Mast mainsail furling systems. It seems to me that In-Boom systems are inherently better - can get fully-battened mainsails and if something goes wrong the sail can still be lowered and the boom is removable. I sailed a Jenneau offshore for 2 days and it had in-mast furling and we had no problems, but no data is just that - no data.

Any contributions are welcome... TIA.

Bill B
Wind Dancer
#4036 84 SR/FK
San Francisco Bay

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3321 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2007 : 21:50:35

I have a friend who has a Beneteau 331 with in-mast furling. He hates it and is installing a new track and a "proper" mainsail. He says that it is always as flat as a pancake and impossible to shape.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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1883 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2007 : 08:44:59

My first concern with in mast furling is aditional weight aloft. the C-25 tall rig is sensitive to top weight. In addition battens won't furl giving you another jiblike sail. Dropping the mast with in mast furling makes an already tricky operation all the more difficult. Why go there when boom furling answers to the inherent mast sail furling shortcomings?

Val on the hard DAGNABIT,#3936,Patchogue, N.Y.

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Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2007 : 10:10:12

When I helped deliver the Hunter Passage 420 a couple weeks ago down the east coast to FL, it had the in mast furling. I DID NOT like it. First off, it was so finicky and took 2 people to furl/unfurl. One person had to very carefully feed the furl line with one hand as they pulled the other end of the line tight with their other hand. The other person pulled the main sail outhaul line to let the sail in or out. I thought it was supposed to make things easier! One of my biggest reasons of disliking it was how easily the line jumped off the furler winch on the mast. It happened several times on the trip, the worst being around 3am in some rough seas offshore. The captain/owner was exhausted and so pissed off at the device. He had to go out on deck to fix it. This can be a big safety hazard. Then as previously mentioned, no battens, so the sail shape suffers. Another reason was how slow it worked. It furled/unfurled the sail so slowly, and if you had to get it down (in) quickly, it takes several minutes to roll it up. I was not a fan of the device at all, neither was the other crew member that delivers boats for a living.

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Dave Otey
Navigator

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USA
112 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2007 : 11:43:51

Justin, I know what you are talking about. I sailed a 33 Hunter "in mast" for a season and the main does not shape at all. Considering the rig was fractional it only emphasized the weakness by restricting the performance of the main. I found the in mast to be difficult to move in light wind and tempermental regarding the furl / unfurl aspect. In a blow I prefer to have the option to drop my main quickly versus furl it nd hoipe it doesn't bind or fill the mast cavatiy prematurely leaving sail exposed. My experience with "in boom" is zero.

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Renzo
Admiral

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621 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2007 : 12:26:59

I agree with Justin and Dave. My experience with an in-mast mainsail furling system, on a 44ft Benneteau that I chartered in the BVI, mirrors their experiences. In fact the damn thing was such a pain in the ass to furl and un-furl that we didn't bother using the mainsail for most of the time we had the boat. IMHO, the only thing that in-mast furling is good for, is Neat Freak appeal at the dock. The concept that the sail is more protected when stored in the mast is more than off-set by the increased potential for damage when rolling it in and out; and the extra wear and tear from rubbing against the sides of the slot. In my opinion, in-mast mainsail furling will disappear in the future because it doesn't provide the convienience that it's makers promiss and it is unsafe in a blow. Also I'm not a big fan of in boom systems either. A good set of lazy jacks is hard to beat for convienience, safety and cost.

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Bay Tripper
1st Mate

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USA
56 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2007 : 20:38:56

I had a Caliber 35 with in-mast furling and loved it. I wish I stll had that set up. It was great for sizing the main to work with the wind conditions. I did not miss the battens. The in boom furling that I have seen has a large boom and jams when furling and you cannot get the proper sail shape when part furled.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 08:55:37

I'll be shopping for my cruising boat next year and I'll consider in-boom furling, but in-mast furling doesn't look that attractive... if something went wrong up the stick you'd be in very big trouble. Being a bit of a sailing luddite, I'll probably go for a convential setup with lazyjacks.

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crcalhoon
Captain

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USA
303 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 10:38:35

Back in 1983 I chartered a Pearson 424 in the VI which had in mast furling. It was a PITA, didn't work well, and I wouldn't have it. Strangely enough, though, until reading the above posts, I guess I kind of thought that in 24 years they might have made some improvements. Apparently not. Maybe this is another of those things that falls under the heading of a "damnably unseamanlike contraption."

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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1883 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 13:02:22

OOPS, I just naturally assumed that we were talking about all forms of mast furling. It seems from the above we are omitting behind the mast furlers. Were we lumping them with the IN mast furlers?

I dont' care for them either.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT,#3936, Patchogue, N.Y.

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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1709 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2007 : 13:47:49

We have a 33' Beneteau in our club with in-mast furling. It's my closest competiton in our club races. I've beaten them the last three years in our inland lake ("short track") frost bite series. They do better in the longer distance Lake Superior races, but non-the-less, the battenless sail is slow. Although I haven't any experience with them, I believe Doyle Sails has attempted to solve the performance problem with battenless in-mast furling mains by installing verticle battens.

Mechanically, the Beneteau seems to be able to reef fairly efficiently, although my line system is much quicker. I have been able to reef mid-leg, pass, and beat them to the mark. May be a crew problem but, I was sailing single handed.

Personnaly I would not get a boat with in-mast furling. I might give in-boom furling a second look though.

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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1916 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2007 : 07:06:39

I'm glad I'm not the only Luddite here

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Simonw
Deckhand

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8 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2007 : 13:52:45

Like everything else in sailing Mast Furling is a compromise!! It is critical to go head to wind to furl easilybut if done so should be a easy single handed operation! Yes I do have experience on both Hunters to 42 and Beneteau.

When it comes to In Boom furling its not the magic elixir either. Highly critical to have the boom exactly at right angles to mast for furling

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