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Old 19-12-2016, 14:51   #16
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Re: Old school roller boom

I have this system on my main and mizzen. I don't particularly like it ,but that was not the question you asked.
To make the system work you need to multitask!
I have wire halyards so it is easy to lock the winch at any point.
Here is a typical scenario I experienced in the Bass Straights north of Tasmania.
40 + knots on the nose and past time to reef, and single handed in a 70 ft boat.
Engine on,slow ahead,auto pilot heading into wind.
Attach my harness to the mast.
Then I remove the gate in the mast track to allow the slugs to disengage.
Haul the main up about another 6 inches to disengage the lowest slug from the track.
The boom also slides up on its own track.
Then I adjust the topping lift to maintain the boom at 90 dregs to the mast.
Then I unwind the halyard to lower the main under control while winding the boom crank to furl the sail while making sure the luff is neatly rolled on the boom and not over riding in to the goose neck area.
When the main is down to an acceptable height, or completely furled as conditions require, I adjust the topping lift tension and turn my attention to the mizzen.
In these conditions I like the system because I can completely stow my sail in a controlled manner and not have to flake the sail over the boom and attach the sail ties.
A real pain in the mast!
Raising the sail is equally problematic since you have to feed each slug in to the track. If you raise the sail a little too far the slug will not engage. So you have to unfurl the boom and raise the sail while engaging the slug with your free hand.
One point previously made I disagree with; it is not a good idea to use the furling boom to give a tight and tidy harbor furl since it will take too long to dry out and could cause mould ,even though it looks neat.
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Old 19-12-2016, 16:26   #17
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Re: Old school roller boom

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence View Post
I have this system on my main and mizzen. I don't particularly like it ,but that was not the question you asked.
To make the system work you need to multitask!
...
A bit more than I would take on, or manage if I involuntarily did so. But I guess I'd try.
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Old 20-12-2016, 01:27   #18
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Re: Old school roller boom

I would expect to see this item appear on a "What is This Thing?" thread.





As I said, I don't use my roller boom reefing, but I keep the crank handle.
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Old 20-12-2016, 03:55   #19
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Re: Old school roller boom

Has that crank handle ever been left in the weather?!?
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Old 20-12-2016, 03:59   #20
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Re: Old school roller boom

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Originally Posted by Sailmonkey View Post
Has that crank handle ever been left in the weather?!?
'came with the boat in 1973. I keep it below.
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Old 20-12-2016, 05:14   #21
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Re: Old school roller boom

I've had that system on two boats. Proper setup for furling is the bottom few slides are connected to a rope that's laced through the luff grommets. When you lower the sail the rope goes slack giving you room to roll in the reef without taking the sides off the track. Still a crappy system though, probably good enough on a 20 footer but not much bigger. My biggest problem was it needs end boom sheeting which makes it impossible to mount a bimini. I need a bimini so i went to midboom and jiffy reefing. Much better. I still need the crank because it also runs the outhaul winch inside the boom.
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Old 20-12-2016, 08:43   #22
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Re: Old school roller boom

I've allus thot, and it'll be difficult to convince me otherwise, that safe boat handling under sail, i.e. when you are engineless either voluntarily or accidentally, requires that the main should rattle down ALL the way by it's own weight the moment the tension comes off the halyard. As should all other sails.

Only track'n'slides provide that facility, and, as it happens, reefing, which is what we are talking about, as well as striking sail completely, is easier, quicker and less error prone with track'n'slides than with any "scientific" system. Embellishing this basic system with full battens and a stack-pak may be worthwhile, but certainly in smaller boats such as TrentePieds it is far from necessary and flies in the face of Willy Occam's famous dicta.


I assume that the “boltrope in the cove” that was mentioned in connexion with boom roller reefing is an inheritance from dinghies, where I do think it is appropriate. Dinghies don't need the “rattle down” facility that I believe (firmly) that cruising boats and other sail driven working boats need. Dinghies, because their only raison d'etre is racing, need to eliminate the aerodynamic inefficiency that is the price of the gap twixt luff and mast in the track'n'slide system. IMO that loss of efficiency is very slight and made up for many times over by the handiness, simplicity in use and maintenance, and the reliability of the track'n'slide system.


TrentePied has a short boom which cannot be reached from the cockpit. Reaching the aft end of it requires standing on the closed companionway hatch on the high deckhouse, out of reach of any support other than the boom itself. I cannot know this, but I could conceive of the PO, who was ten years younger than I, but feeble, fitting her with mast roller furling/reefing because he didn't trust himself to go on the house top. So that cost him thirty grand when a single grand would have sufficed to set her up with proper dual-line jiffy reefing handled either from the mast or the cockpit!



So at this point in her life, and in mine, TrentePieds' canvas cannot be handled with the ease and elegance to which I aspire, and therefore she can not IMO be a boat as safe and pleasant to sail as she would have been if the PO hadn't been sold a bill of goods by the yachting press and a rigger.


No matter. MyBeloved loves 'er (being still a lubber), and I dare say that I can adapt my style to whatever is offered me :-)


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Old 20-12-2016, 17:58   #23
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Re: Old school roller boom

Great input and thanks to all. My simply take-a-ways are:
Its a PITA
It might work by adjusting where the boom is relative to the track
It might work with something more like the original rope configuration as the main does have the larger loop holes.
Leaving it furled up even with the sunbrella cover might make it mold

I need to try some of these things and determine if it can be made less of a PITA in practice versus going back to slab.

I made a crank...looks like it might be the reverse of the one pictured as it is a T shape on the end.
Thanks all.
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Old 26-01-2022, 10:22   #24
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Re: Old school roller boom

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Originally Posted by CapnBazza View Post
I have a roller/reefing boom on my small (25') motor sailor which works quite well. I have a sail feeder at the bottom of the sail track which feeds the boltrope into the the track. An endless line to roll the sail back down when reefing/furling.
Most importantly, you must have a topping lift and it is essential to keep the boom at the correct height using the toppling lift before you furl or unfurl. If you have it wrong, it will not work! Takes a little experimentation to work out what that height is but when you have it all is sweet.
A bit late to this thread but I also quite like the Roller Boom, I am sure the more modern in Booms furling maybe better.
and i read lots saying ah you have to go to the mast to reef - er no.
My mast has a plastic flexible track that the sail slides into, once the first few inches are in the track when raising the main there is no need to revisit even for a week,
The Main Halyard lifts the sail like any boat and the boom unrolls, just stop the boom with the endless rope - Important to have 2 locking cleats so the boom locks in position and cannot unroll it’s self - looks like a few made this mistake, this holds the sail at the required reefing point.
When sail is fully out and some weather approaches, wrap the endless rope around the winch and wind the boom all while standing in the cockpit, just control the realise of the Halyard. Of course just have to drop the Vang first. But easily manageable single handed, in fact I have never asked anyone to help bring the sail up or down.
I will accept that, in a mast track maybe it’s less likely to drop quickly by it’s self than other sails.
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