How hard should it be to pull our my furling main?

[sailcrazy]

We had a similar issue with our IMF, albeit a lot older than 3 years. We always eventually got the sail out....until one day it would not budge in or out. I tried everything I could think of, and finally just cranked the winch as hard as I could.....and with a bang the upper swivel came apart, the sail came down, and out! Turned out the upper swivel had several bearings in it, and all but one had frozen. We (eventually) got the mandrel disconnected, got the swivel removed, replaced the bearings-and it's worked perfectly ever since, now going on 10 years. Maybe something to check??

[JPA Cate]

One other problem that can happen if the sail is old and baggy, it takes up too much space and binds that way. Glad the OP found the problem with the car, and the problem can soon be solved.

Ann