Roller furling headsail. Why do I struggle with it?

[RONHARDIN]

Try down wind with main all the way out to take the wind off of the head sail
Works for me

[AKA-None]

One thing I noticed with my high cut jib was I needed to extend the tack or I’d get the halyard wrapped up top
Fixed that with a bit of line and some heavy duty sewing

[capblasters]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

It's not bad the last 30% or so, Its just getting to that point thats difficult. Maybe I was just expecting it to be a lot easier and need more time with it. I also think I need to go one size up on the furling line. It seems pretty dinky and hard to handle.

This sounds to me like an almost override issue. I have noticed on my Benneteau that if I let the headsail out too quickly and allow the fuller to free-wheel a bit, the furling line gets pinched in between other pieces of the furling line. This makes it difficult to furl in the headsail later, especially if there is any force on the sail itself. By controlling the take-up of line when the sail is un-furling the problem furling it back in goes away.

[osprey877]

Does it start to curl easily then get harder and harder as the sail comes in?? If so, could be the bottom of the furling rod has slipped down and is jamming into the top of forestay turnbuckle, so as you furl the jib in you are turning the forestay as well. I had this problem with my harken furler and eventually solved it by pinning the furling headstay so it couldn’t slip .

[capblasters]

Osprey877 - Can you explain what you mean by 'pinning the headstay'? A picture maybe?

[osprey877]

Originally Posted by capblasters

Osprey877 - Can you explain what you mean by 'pinning the headstay'? A picture maybe?

Attached is my crude diagram. On my Harken furler the head foil is attached to the furler drum by means of a 2” diameter tube about 18” long. Inside the tube is the forestay and the turnbuckle at its base. When you turn the drum, it turns the tube, which turns the foil and voila, the sail comes in. The centre axle of the furler, the turnbuckle, and the forestay are all fixed and don’t rotate with the drum.
The problem is that the only thing keeping the foil from falling down inside the tube and fouling the forestay turnbuckle pare a couple of small grub screws at the top of the tube. These wear out after awhile, especially if you remove the head sail often, as this necessarily involves pulling down hard on the sail down the foil, and therefore the foil into the tube. Once the foil slips on the grub screws it will slide down until it meets the top of the forestay turnbuckle inside the tube. Then the furler has to turn the turnbuckle as well as the foil. To stop this happening, undo the grub screws and raise the head foil by hand until you are sure that it is clear of the turnbuckle and rotating freely. Then drill an 1/8” hole through the head foil just above the tube and put a bolt or other pin through the hole, thereby preventing the head foil from slipping down the tube and fouling the forestay turnbuckle. Hope that helps.