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

[nuru05]

We just bought our Moody 425 this year and one thing that I'm confused about is how hard it is to pull out the main. It's got a size 16 two speed winch on it but it's hard enough to pull out that I can't do it on the fast speed and it's all I can do to get it out on the slow speed. We've tried different points of tack to see if this helps but what normally happens is the wind eventually catches it and pulls it out and I just crank it tight. Going in I can do it without the winch.

[sailnautilus]

Your boom is not at the correct angle, meaning that it must be less than 90 degrees to the mast. Raise the aft end. When you find the correct angle, will be easy going in and out. Mark the topping lift to keep it correct.

[Discovery 15797]

I don't understand trying to furl or unfurl a sail "on different points of tack?" Your nose should be into the wind, or just slightly off the wind (10-15 degrees port or starboard) depending on whether your furler wraps clockwise or counterclockwise.

In most cases you should be able to unfurl and furl an in-mast furling mainsail by hand. I unfurl and furl by hand always. I will occasionally use the main winch to tighten the foot (or sometimes reef) in stronger winds.

If you can't pull by hand you should lube the boom and slide, you need to make sure the tension on the main halyard is set properly, and you need to make sure you furl the sail properly. Also, check the sheeves and outhaul and furling lines to make sure they are in excellent shape. Or, you may need to rebuild your furler. Check with the manufacturer and ask, or get a professional rigger to take a look.

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by Discovery 15797

I don't understand trying to furl or unfurl a sail "on different points of tack?" Your nose should be into the wind, or just slightly off the wind (10-15 degrees port or starboard) depending on whether your furler wraps clockwise or counterclockwise.

In most cases you should be able to unfurl and furl an in-mast furling mainsail by hand. I unfurl and furl by hand always. I will occasionally use the main winch to tighten the foot (or sometimes reef) in stronger winds.

If you can't pull by hand you should lube the boom and slide, you need to make sure the tension on the main halyard is set properly, and you need to make sure you furl the sail properly. Also, check the sheeves and outhaul and furling lines to make sure they are in excellent shape. Or, you may need to rebuild your furler. Check with the manufacturer and ask, or get a professional rigger to take a look.

so when I say on various points of tack I mean straight into the wind a few degrees port or starboard to see if that has any affect on how it comes out. When I am furling it in it I can do it without much trouble and if I go up and use the winch on the mast it turns effortlessly. I went and sprayed a bunch of dirt out of the boom tack and lubed the track up. It seems like it pulls easily until I get just past the first reef then it binds up.

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by nuru05

We just bought our Moody 425 this year and one thing that I'm confused about is how hard it is to pull out the main. It's got a size 16 two speed winch on it but it's hard enough to pull out that I can't do it on the fast speed and it's all I can do to get it out on the slow speed. We've tried different points of tack to see if this helps but what normally happens is the wind eventually catches it and pulls it out and I just crank it tight. Going in I can do it without the winch.

If you need a winch in low gear to pull the outhaul something is VERY wrong. Putting that much force on will break something at some point. This should be doable by hand with the winch only need for final tensioning of the outhaul under sail.

You just need to track through the system and find what's binding. It's not rocket science.

[flightlead404]

I had lots of trouble with my Selden IMF system, started to hate it. I hate it a little less now

First, I did all the preventative maintenance on the system which it appeared had not been done in years. I suspect many boats are like this. So clean and lube if appropriate top and bottom bearings, gears in the winch and so on.

The second thing I did, which was a game changer for my IMF, was to add some tension to the internal furler. This made the sail go in easier and was night and day on it coming out.

[johnny666]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

I had lots of trouble with my Selden IMF system, started to hate it. I hate it a little less now

First, I did all the preventative maintenance on the system which it appeared had not been done in years. I suspect many boats are like this. So clean and lube if appropriate top and bottom bearings, gears in the winch and so on.

The second thing I did, which was a game changer for my IMF, was to add some tension to the internal furler. This made the sail go in easier and was night and day on it coming out.

How do you "add tension to the internal furler" ???

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by johnny666

How do you "add tension to the internal furler" ???

On the Selden RA mast you use a flat blade screwdriver to loosen a screw at the base of the furling mechanism and push the cover up out of the way. Then you hold the furler while turning the mast winch to add (or remove) turns on what is effectively a turnbuckle.

Look on youtube and/or check the manual for whatever system you have, but I can't imagine that they don't all have some method of adjusting tension.

[Tetepare]

Furler tension and halyard tension seem to be general problems, it takes some tuning to figure out exactly what it wants.

That said, a couple local boats had problems with the Selden IMF, yes having to winch them out, a problem solved with new mains. Seems that aged sails bag and twist and get stuck (note: the sails looked like they had plenty of life left, so seems that the IMF are pickier than am I.)

[ScottRhodes13]

Originally Posted by sailnautilus

Your boom is not at the correct angle, meaning that it must be less than 90 degrees to the mast. Raise the aft end. When you find the correct angle, will be easy going in and out. Mark the topping lift to keep it correct.

I second this answer. My friend's Beneteau has the same problem until you slack the sheet and/or the vang. Pulling down on the boom makes the leech of the sail too tight.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by ScottRhodes13

I second this answer. My friend's Beneteau has the same problem until you slack the sheet and/or the vang. Pulling down on the boom makes the leech of the sail too tight.

That’s three of us thinking the same thing.

But from my perspective my boat is three years old. I wonder if your problem might be else where. But start with this first.

[bccoast]

Have you tried unfurling in dead calm wind? try various tension on boom lift, vang and main sheet? also check that your main halyard is tensioned enough. I noticed mine had slipped as I was getting some folds in the sail when furling. Unfurled it and tightened halyard 2-3 inches and made a big difference. I would also check that you dont have any twists in your furling line that maybe are getting caught up in a guide, especially if you have hidden running rigging, when it is binding, go up to the mast and see if it is loose.

[SLaz]

I agree with the first response. If the boom is not angled up 5 deg or so from parallel to the deck - towards the mast - you will have the situation you describe. Try the simple solution of tightening the toping lift before you do anything more involved, ie, expensive!.

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by SLaz

I agree with the first response. If the boom is not angled up 5 deg or so from parallel to the deck - towards the mast - you will have the situation you describe. Try the simple solution of tightening the toping lift before you do anything more involved, ie, expensive!.

I did more investigating and it turns out it’s my outhaul car. The parts in it are worn enough that if there is any sideways pressure at all on it then it bind up. I went out and was able to pull the main out with 1 hand if I bypassed the car. I have the local selden dealer looking into parts and if they can’t find them we will just retrofit a harken track onto it

[caffel]

Outhaul cars are a weak spot on older Hood Stoway mast furlers as well.
A loose footed main will always place great strain on the outhaul car.