Furler Foil Bend

[DaveR-NZ]

I’ve read a few posts on distorted furler foils. After putting the mast up on the weekend, mine definitely isn’t perfect straight, but it’s not hugely bent either. I’ve included a pic, you might need to zoom in, and look towards the top half. Unfortunately I didn’t think to get one from straight on. Is this within an acceptable tolerance? I haven’t attempted any tension adjustment yet, so I may need to tighten the forestay still.

IMG_7673.jpeg

[TonyHouk]

Dave,
That amount of a bend isn’t bad. If I remember my seasons correctly I’m going to assume your geographical area is getting ready to go through winter. You could remove the fuller from your boat and lay it flat for the winter to get it to set straight again. I replaced my foil last year. It came in a box rolled up. It has straightened up after I left it out in the sun for a day. Just a thought and happy sails, Tony

[leefrankpierce]

What I see is inevitable on a boat that gets trailered.
Unless you take the time to make a storage tube out of PVC to keep it straight, there is no real way to store the furler in a way that keeps it straight.
Add that to the heat cycles during summer and what I see is about the best you can do.

[DaveR-NZ]

Thanks guys, I just wanted to check it won’t be a problem before I order a new Genoa. I imagine that’ll help straightening it out a bit anyway.

[OverEasy]

Hi DaveR-NZ!

I’m far from an expert on Furler but it is basically a piece of plastic that I somewhat pliable and susceptible to heat.
That’s a good thing/bad thing depending on how you look at it.

When stored horizontally it will naturally distort due to heat and gravity as well as its physical environment (like being forced to conform).
It’s less of an issue when up and rigged.

LeeFrankPierce has a good idea with a PVC kinda pipe sleeve to help keep it straight but even then one would need to support the PVC so it stays straight ….

In my experience, and this is just my personal opinion, I like the laying it out on a flat warm pavement or dock should help gently straighten a curly Furler.
You might want to make up a couple 3-5 lb sand bags placed where the curls are lifting the Furler off the pavement to help with the flattening process. The plastic should respond to temps in the 80+ F range.
Once you get it flat you can gently quench it gradually with either waiting for the sun to go down or with a little water so it will stiffen up for handling/installation.
I try and avoid using aggressive approaches like heat guns or hot water as they tend to be too localized and are potentially damaging if/when the plastic gets too warm…it can be a hard thing to judge. Sunshine tends to be a more generalized benign approach.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[leefrankpierce]

To be clear, PVC pipe is not my idea.
This was discussed much a long time ago.
BWY suggested the PVC pipe in heat to straighten if it bothers you.
Someone on here has a whole setup with additional crutches/pvc pipes for when he is trailered.
Makes it look like it has a bow sprit when on its trailer.