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so... i learned the very hard and expensive way how bad halyard wrap can be, especially with a steel wire halyard....
the harken mk3 roller furling unit on my C&C 27 was always doing a kind of tug-o-war with me everytime it was time to furl the sail. it would furl, then stop, id give it a little back, itd give me a little back, until it finally rolled up.
i later found out this was due to the wire halyard wrapping around the aluminum foil and headstay cable at the top of the mast. eventually the halyard chewed through the aluminum foil and cut the headstay cable… and cost $1100 to fix haha - fun
ANYWAY! onto the new problem…
there is a halyard restrainer in place for a rope halyard at the top of the mast, I now use this halyard and the roller furling works effortlessly. i can furl the sail by just pulling the line lightly by hand.
BUT! the halyard restrainer that is screwed to the mast is approximately 1 foot below the sheave where the halyard exits. the sail is a 155% genoa and this 1' diversion means i cant pull the head of the genoa up all the way and theres about a 1' section of sail bunched up at the tack and it doesnt pull tight. This also results in the sail sitting an inch below the toe rail when trimmed in all the way and if heeling it will be in the water.
the sail fit perfectly when using the other halyard without any restrainers since it went straight up to the top of the mast... but the halyard would wrap…
i really dont want a rerun of damaging the foil/headstay, but on the other hand i doubt this configuration can be good for the sail...
What other solutions are available? I need the head of the genoa to be all the way at the top of the mast but not have halyard wrap.
1)Make sure all tackle like snap shackles are removed from the halyard .this will let you hoist further but probably won,t allow another foot.
2) You might be able to move the halyard restrainer closer to the top of the mast.As long as it pulls the halyard to the rear it will prevent the wrap.
3) Have the sail cut and reshaped for the proper length.Probably about $100-150
We were offered the option of a halyard restrainer when we had similar problem with our Harken furler. I didn't want to limit the hoist with a restrainer, though, so our sailmaker proposed an alternative, a strop between the head of the sail and the upper swivel, which allows the upper swivel to rise to the top of the foil. This effectively eliminated the problem for us.
You need to leave enough room above the swivel to allow you to max out the halyard tension and in use, you may find that you'll need to ease the halyard tension when furling, but that's better than giving away a foot of hoist.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Offline
sounds like some very good ideas, thanks guys
i think what im going to do is hoist the sail with my unrestrained halyard, and look to see how far up the foil it goes at max tension.
if there is still halyard exposed between the head of the sail and the sheave, ill put a restrainer somewhere in the middle of that region.
if there isnt... well then i shouldnt have been having a halyard wrap problem in the first place right?
Hi. I read about the strop solution with interest, but do not understand quite how this works - what kind of strop was used - how was it placed - does it interfere with raising/lowering the sail? Do you have a diagram or photo to help? Thanks
Normally a roller-furling sail is cut a bit shorter in the luff than the length of the furler's foil - a foot or more shorter. If the upper swivel is shackled directly to the sail's head, you then have a foot or more of halyard between the swivel and the masthead sheave. It is this length of halyard that wraps itself around the foil and prevents rolling. If, however, you introduce a length of webbing between the sail's head and the swivel, the swivel can rise right to the top of the foil, leaving minimal halyard to entangle itself, so you can furl at will.
How long a strop? Go for a sail and mark the halyard for your usual least halyard tension, then your maximum halyard tension. Record the difference between these two settings. Back at the dock, unroll the sail, unshackle its tack and raise the sail as far as it will go. With a reasonable amount of tension on the luff, measure the distance between the shackle and the tack. That distance, minus the luff tension adjustment distance you measured earlier, is the length of the strop you need.
Once you have the strop (good strong webbing, from a sailmaker or canvas shop), shackle it between the head of the sail and upper swivel, re-hoist the sail and you're off.
No photo, but we change between full-hoist and roller sails every week, so if occasion presents, I'll try to take one.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Offline
Thanks. I get it now. With that detail, photo isn't necessary for me - others might find it useful though. I have only looked from the dock with binoculars, but I'd guess from the top of my swivel to the halyard sheave is only 4 to 6 inches (Mk V). I doubt that is enough to create much risk of halyard wrap.
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