I'm about to give up flying my spinnaker with my top down furler.

[Privilege]

I have a Karver top-down furler on the bowsprit of my 44' cat. I love using it with the sewn-in torsion line on my Screecher and Code 0 and it furls up easily by hand in a matter of seconds no matter the wind.

However, my asymmetrical spinnaker is another story. Purchasing a good quality 12mm torsion line fixed the torsion line twisting issues but I still haven't mastered the top-down furling. In light winds it's easy and the sail furls up nice and neat with no resulting blisters or curse words, but when the wind is up, say above 12kts, it becomes a nightmare. If I turn the boat into the wind the flogging sail hits the mast, spreaders and all the other nasty sharp stuff. If I turn the boat downwind (and don't have the main up) even with the sheet eased just to the point where the sail is about to collapse onto the torsion line, there's still enough wind in it to make it very heavy to turn and a real work-out to wind up. I'm just about to give in and go back to my trusty sock. It's a large sail with a 62' luff. Is it just that once a sail gets to a certain size, it just can't be manhandled? Anyone with a similar sized sail successfully using a top-down?

[Kestrahl]

A few things to consider.

In light air you need some tension on the sheet to furl nicely, when its windy you need to run dead downwind to reduce apparent wind speed, you can release the sheets totally and let it flog infront of the boat to furl easily. flogging does wear the sail, so best to furl as quickly as possible after releasing the sheet. You could also unfurl the head sail to take some wind out of it lessen the apparent wind speed.

Its only cruisers who seem to like flying spinnakers without the mainsail up, on any race yacht the main will also be up and used to blanket the sail while furling or socking.
You can also have problems getting the sock started if its windy and your flying a spinnaker without the main up.

[serjioko]

Originally Posted by Privilege

I have a Karver top-down furler on the bowsprit of my 44' cat. I love using it with the sewn-in torsion line on my Screecher and Code 0 and it furls up easily by hand in a matter of seconds no matter the wind.

However, my asymmetrical spinnaker is another story. Purchasing a good quality 12mm torsion line fixed the torsion line twisting issues but I still haven't mastered the top-down furling. In light winds it's easy and the sail furls up nice and neat with no resulting blisters or curse words, but when the wind is up, say above 12kts, it becomes a nightmare. If I turn the boat into the wind the flogging sail hits the mast, spreaders and all the other nasty sharp stuff. If I turn the boat downwind (and don't have the main up) even with the sheet eased just to the point where the sail is about to collapse onto the torsion line, there's still enough wind in it to make it very heavy to turn and a real work-out to wind up. I'm just about to give in and go back to my trusty sock. It's a large sail with a 62' luff. Is it just that once a sail gets to a certain size, it just can't be manhandled? Anyone with a similar sized sail successfully using a top-down?

Attachment 181346

Hi.

I am in a similar situation.

What cable are you using in your system?

Regards

[Privilege]

I’m not sure what line I have now but I got it from the America’s Cup team so I have no doubt that it’s top quality. However, my 13mm line of a cheaper make still works just fine with the sewn-in luff if the screecher and code 0. It’s no longer a twisting line problem that I have but I still haven’t mastered the top down.