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I have a new roller furler (CDI FF2), which sails well and has made crew enourmously happy (not having to fold and bag a jib at the end of every sail).

But to start it furling, I have to pull HARD for the first few wraps. Is this normal? I'm going to try it downwind next time so the headsail is getting blanketed by the main, but are there other tips and tricks?

--john

If I understand correctly, the problem is when you try to furl the headsail, it is extremely difficult to start the process, yes? If yes, this has been discussed a few times.

The problem more times than not is the line being jammed in the roller drum, I solved the problem by replacing the line with a thinner one. Others have solved the problem by removing the core, thus making the line thinner.

The next time you have your headsail unfurled, give look at the drum. See if the line is tightly compressed, and squeezed against the inside of the drum..

Ray

Interim wrote:I have a new roller furler (CDI FF2), which sails well and has made crew enourmously happy (not having to fold and bag a jib at the end of every sail).

But to start it furling, I have to pull HARD for the first few wraps. Is this normal? I'm going to try it downwind next time so the headsail is getting blanketed by the main, but are there other tips and tricks?

--john

Its likely that the furl line is filling the spool in the furler making it tight.

1. When the genoa is completely unfurled, how much unused line is left in the furler? If it seems like a lot (more than 4 or 5 turns), you can remove some line and open up some room on the spool.
2. Did you de-core any of the furling line? This is often recommended as a way to reduce the amount of line on the spool. De-core from the furled end.

I do have quite a few wraps left on the furler when the sail is all the way out. I do recall the manual saying 4-5 wraps is sufficient. I will try that.

Thanks.

--john

Also, make sure the line from the fairlead hits the drum perpendicular to the drum, at the mid-point between the flanges. If not, it's going to bunch at one flange or the other, making a problem where there shouldn't be one.

You can check that by eye - just unfurl the sail slowly until the furling line is coming off the drum at the mid point. Stand on the dock and squat until you're eye level with the drum, and see if the line looks like it's making a right angle to the centerline of the forestay.

Or, quicker and cruder, eyeball the line on the drum to see if it's favoring the top or bottom flange. If it is, it's highly likely the fairlead is in the wrong place.

I have a really big genoa on my fulrler so that first couple of turns when trying to roll up the sail can be tuff if I do it with the sail sheeted in and underway full speed ahead - it's possible but the first rotation is like a "THUD!" because that first 1/2 turn is the flat furler pulling the sail in and the pressure makes it stop at the next flat side of the furler so the first couple of rotations go "THUD!, Thud, thud" then with more sail on the furler it's more round and pulls along just fine. What I suggest is to let the sheet WAY WAY out so the sail has very little pressure on it and is flying pretty free as you pull in those first few turns - after that it pulls in much easier when there is enough sail on the furler to make it a nice round shape. It's sort of like trying to roll square wheels - round wheels work better than square ones.

When I furl my headsail I have the both jib sheets in one hand and the furling line in the other. Same thing when I un-furl the sail - I am lightly pulling on the jib sheets as I hold the furling line in the other hand to keep slight pressure on the furler line so it winds up nice and neat on the spool.

The bigger the sail the harder it is to get the furl started.

If you have a situation where you just can't pull in the sail at all that's probably a stuck line in the furler - it's buried in the roll or kinked somewhere.

well u can also buy the bearing kit which replaces the plastic bushing , that,s what I did & man it was like day & night half the effort required I had 2 kits on my cutter rigged & removed them when I sold her , don,t know if I still have them or gave them to Beene ?

J

Come up into the wind, it will make it easier to furl, with all that sail under any sort of load getting momentum up can be a issue, you should have very light tension on your sheets when furling in, just enough to keep the sail neat and slightly tight on the furler.

I have a 150 Genoa that gave me a hard time to furl when all the way out. I replaced the line with a thinner one, and the problem went away. If I would have decored the line, that would have worked also. The idea of minimizing the amount of line left in the spool when fully unfurled, is a good one too.

Ray

I'm a newbie so can someone help me with terms.

When I unfurl my sail, I unroll it which rolls or wraps line onto the furler spool.
When I furl my sail it unrolls the line on the furler spool, and wraps the sail around the furler.

Am I correct here?

randall330 wrote:I'm a newbie so can someone help me with terms.

When I unfurl my sail, I unroll it which rolls or wraps line onto the furler spool.
When I furl my sail it unrolls the line on the furler spool, and wraps the sail around the furler.

Am I correct here?

Other way around, Unfurl is to pull the sail out or increase sail, in this case the furling line goes IN and wraps around the furling drum, when you "furl" the sail you are reducing the amount of sail you have out, however to do this you pull the line out (off the drum) . Yep I know confusing

This is like when my wife and I argue. Because we look at things differently, we often argue only to later figure out we're on the same side...

Read both of the preceding posts carefully...

sailboatmike wrote:

randall330 wrote:I'm a newbie so can someone help me with terms.

When I unfurl my sail, I unroll it which rolls or wraps line onto the furler spool.
When I furl my sail it unrolls the line on the furler spool, and wraps the sail around the furler.

Am I correct here?

Other way around, Unfurl is to pull the sail out or increase sail, in this case the furling line goes IN and wraps around the furling drum, when you "furl" the sail you are reducing the amount of sail you have out, however to do this you pull the line out (off the drum) . Yep I know confusing

Randall and Mike are describing the same actions, but on different equipment - spool vs drum furlers. Spool would be for a continuous line furler (the line doesn't wrap around) whereas drum style is typically what the Macs have.

K9Kampers wrote:Randall and Mike are describing the same actions, but on different equipment - spool vs drum furlers. Spool would be for a continuous line furler (the line doesn't wrap around) whereas drum style is typically what the Macs have.

100% correct, Drum furler are the most common by a long shot for sails that have their luff connected to the boat such as Jibs and Genoas, spool furlers which are also sometimes referred to as "Endless" because the furling line is a big loop seem to be gaining popularity mainly for free flying sails such as spinnakers and drifters which use top down furling

I solved my hard to furl line with "reel majic". I spray it on the line about every other month and it make a huge difference. It goes from almost impossible (and some snagging problems) to really pretty easy to furl. It's a spray can and used for fish reels. I unfurl the genoa and then go up front and spray the loaded spool. You'll get a feel for how much. At about $7.00 a can, it's a bargain to spray a 1/2 can every other month and have easy furling. Worked for me. Good Luck! NM