Roller Furling Mainsail

[Don B]

I noticed this last weekend some other brand sailboats with a Roller Furler on the main sail.

It was an external Roller Furler much like what most of us have for our Genoa's and mounted vertically. It was not the built in style that now appears on new Hunters.

Anyway what are the pros and cons to a Roller Furler mainsail ?

-Don B

[Tom Spohn]

The vertical type, I believe, makes battens unworkable. You may need new sails. It also will change the center of gravity of the boat, moving it up.

On my friend's Hunter 375 the whole rope driven mechanism became tangled up (kinda like a fishing reel) and he took one whole day in the marina straightening it out. Like anything else, sometimes more complexity is more convenient, sometimes it adds problems.

[Don B]

Tom,

I have yet to figure where the reel even is on those Hunters with it built into the mast. The mast just doesn't look to be big enough in diameter IMHO to contain the windup reel.

The better half and I were looking at a 29 footer Hunter over the weekend and I don't think I could ever learn what all the lines do.

I hear you on the battens.

-Don B

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

My 1970 Mac venture 21 had a roller furling mainsail of types. Roger built it with a one way racheting gooseneck and a crank on the end of the boom. It was meant for reefing, but you could roll the whole sail up around the boom. To unroll you pulled the boom aft to release it from the ratchet teeth. It was actually pretty cool for a small old sailboat.

As far as the modern roller furling mains you can get in mast or in boom or the add on outboard ones like you saw. The problem with the in mast ones has always been poor sail shape when you leave the battens out so it will roll up. You also have to reduce the sail roach so you lose sail area. To address this you can now get sails with vertical battens and you can get ones with swing battens where you pull a line and the battens swing up vertical for furling. The boom furlers work good with full horizontal battens. Unfortunately the stock mac battens are neither vertical or horizontal.

I doubt you could find a system that would work with the stock sails. If you just remove the battens you will find the leach is too floppy. Any add on system would have to include a new main. I would also think the extra weight would make mast raising more complicated and difficult.

[Frank C]

As for many efforts at automation, sail furling/reefing requires lots of compromises. Somehow the entire industry has accepted furling headsails, even designed-in padded luffs to help with sail shape as the headsail is reefed.

As mentioned earlier, mainsail furling comes in two flavors, vertical furling into the mast versus horizontal furling into (or onto) the boom. IMO, boom furling is better, and much safer. Furling to the boom reduces weight-aloft by a big margin, and unlike mast furling, it permits one to furl (or drop) the sail in emergencies, even if the furler has jammed. However, maintaining a perfect 90 degrees at the gooseneck is the big problem of in-boom furlers.

Furling the mainsail has a gigantic advantage (if it works) because conventional slab reefing is always a headache of sorts. However, I too have a friend whose in-mast furler has jammed with alarming consequences (Hunter 38 ). Even the designed-in systems are yet unproven, and both methods require a big compromise on sail size and sail shape. Seems to me that retrofitting mainsail furling to the Macgregor is a big cost and risk with only a small potential for success. Bummer!

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I would also think the extra weight would make mast raising more complicated and difficult.

I don't think this would apply with an inboom furling system since you would remove it with the boom before lowering the mast.

Not sure how this would work with sail slugs though, perhaps a better approach is to use a jack line version of sail slugs where you could still quickly drop the sail even if the furler jammed. This might still not fit tight enough against the mast for good airflow though. Someone will eventually design a good one for a trailerable:



With big boat systems like this, it looks like there is always a mast track feeding type system.

[Don B]

I was thinking last nite about the added complexity of lowering and raising the mast as well as where to put it during trailering.

The whole furling main sail concept looks simpler when you see it on a boat in a slip. Than one on a trailer.

-Don B

[bscott]

You might check out http://www.doylesails.com/sails-cruisin ... ckpack.htm This main incorporates an intergral lazy-jack system with cover which allows you to drop the main into a canvas receiver which works for reefing and furling.

[mike]

You might check out http://www.doylesails.com/sails-cruisin ... ckpack.htm This main incorporates an intergral lazy-jack system with cover which allows you to drop the main into a canvas receiver which works for reefing and furling.

Corrected link...

http://www.doylesails.com/sails-cruisin ... ckpack.htm

--Mike

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Powersailing in Ohio sells a ready made "Sailcatcher" sail cover for the mac.

[Don B]

Frankc,

Can you give me a little more detail on this:
"However, maintaining a perfect 90 degrees at the gooseneck is the big problem of in-boom furlers."

Thanks, DOn B

[Frank C]

I saw that in an article, probably Sail or Sailing Magz. Think of it this way. The mainsail has a 90 degree angle at luff-to-foot. If you're gonna roll that sucker, you want to guarantee that the boom is at 90, or the wrap will run into the mast, or vice-versa.

You also want to be sure that the rolling cylinder remains true (and adjacent) to the mast's luff slot, or you'll have lots of grief. It will either pucker the luff when reefed, or stretch the sail.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

The thing I don't like about the in boom systems is the sail has to come out of the mast track to roll up. Then you need to mess with a prefeeder to get it back in the track when you hoist.

I like having the sail always in place with the sail slides. Seems like for the money and the functionality, slides and the sailcatcher system are the way to go. I want to make a setup like that. Looks like it's time to warm up the old sewing machine. I also need to change my old style gooseneck to the new one so I can have this all connected up and just leave it attached to the mast when I lower it for trailering.

[Don B]

FrankC,

I was 180 out on the 90 degrees !! I thought it was to do with sail performance. Thanks for setting me straight.

Duane, Good point on the prefeeder.

I checked out CDI at

http://www.sailcdi.com/ffmain.htm

and it does not look like they sell anykind of mainsail furler.

-Don B

[GARY WEEKLY]

There is a 45 ft motor sailor in my marina that has vertical main furling,i,ll try to get a pic to post. I often wondered if the mac could be fitted with this?