Problems unfurling the Main

[zman18]

Has anyone else had trouble in getting the main to unfurl smoothly. When I go to pull out the main (boat into the wind) the car on the boom will become stuck during the process. The sail will come out fine then stick, come out some more stick again, etc. The sail goes back in with not problems. Appreciate any thoughts.

[KevinMc]

I had the same problem. I used a dry lubricant on the track and it seemed to solve the problem. Re-apply as needed.

[wolfe10]

Sending the main outhaul car back for new bearings solved our issue.

Brett

[R.B.]

If you are in salt water, you may want to rinse out your bearings with fresh water regularly. You can try some Sailkote lube on the track and bearings to see if it helps. You may need new bearings as Brett suggests. Also check out the bearings on the furling unit. I also head a little off of the wind to help unfurl the main more smoothly and control the set by putting the main furling line around a winch drum while I pull out the sail with the outhaul on the other winch.

[ldirubbo]

I have the same problem and use a dry lubricant often. One solution given is to replace the car with a car that has roller bearings making it easier to roll back. I have kept to the cheaper method of using the lubricant. Most times when the sail stops coming out I just climb up and yank it out then haul it in at the winch. There is no problem hauling it back in.

[belladonna]

Hey Brett - Where did you send the main outhaul car to have the bearings replaced? And what was the cost? Thanx, Jim #368

[wolfe10]

Jim,

Mine is a Garhauer. I sent it back to them. Been awhile, so don't remember the cost, but was less than a new block.

http://garhauermarine.com/

Brett

[jking]

The best thing to do is call (909)985-9993 and speak with Guido at Garhauer.
You can buy new bearings and slide them into the car in yourself.
Its very inexpensive to buy new bearings (something like $10 including shipping).
Jan
#303

[steve11]

FYI I believe Garhauer has a 10 year warranty on all cars, blocks, etc. great company and very easy to deal with.

[Richard Ad]

I removed my out-haul car in order for my winter cover to lay flat on the boom. The screw holding the stopper at the end of the slide was a "bear" to remove so I used an impact diver and a lot of hammering. Once removed I slid the out-haul car off and tilted it: that's when the bearing spilled on the deck and into the water. I captured 6 or 7 of them, measured them with a caliper, and searched for replacement bearings on the web. I believe they are Torlon and they are 0.125" diameter. Internet pricing from bearing OEM's ran from $2.00 to $3.00 each with a $100.00 minimum. I finally found them at McMaster-Carr for $8.95 + $4.00 shipping for 50 pieces. Two days later they were at my front door. I've never replaced them but I can see from my out-haul car that they just sit in a trough and are held in place once installed on the rail (slide on the boom). DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW MANY BEARINGS IN EACH SIDE of the OUT-HAUL CAR?

Regarding "problems unfuling the main" I recommend the following: keep the slide lubed w/Sailcote-McLube, make sure your boom is perpendicular to the mast, face the boat into the wind. Sometimes a tug on the out-haul line behind the out-haul car helps too (watch your fingers). Always make sure you have a little tension on the out-haul line when in-hauling the mainsail and do the same when in-hauling the head sail.

Rick
#329

By: belladonna on Fri Dec 13, 2013 12:27 pm
Hey Brett - Where did you send the main outhaul car to have the bearings replaced? And what was the cost? Thanx, Jim #368

By: wolfe10 on Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:21 pm
Jim,
Mine is a Garhauer. I sent it back to them. Been awhile, so don't remember the cost, but was less than a new block.
http://garhauermarine.com/
Brett __________________
Brett Wolfe
C350 #180
"Vindaloo"

[zman18]

My mast is a Selden mast. I noticed most comments referred to Garhauer equipment. Do the Selden cars also have the bearing issues mentioned in the postings?

[Amnesia]

When we had issues unfurling the main it was not related to the rigging, or any lubrication. Our mainsail had stretched over time, and no longer furled tightly within the mast due to the "pooch" created by the stretching. Took the sail into our local loft for a "tummy tuck", which reshaped the sail back to flat . No more pooch when furling, and furls and unfurls easily with just a hand tug of the furl-in or outhaul lines.

[Triumph]

Amnesia is absolutely correct. I tried everything, I asked some "experts" for their thoughts, and the conclusion was that the "belly" in main sail was causing it to furl up poorly, and thus it won't unfurl easily. It has to furl flat against itself.
Mine was a pain. Lube didn't do much. A new flat sail unfurled so fast I almost fell down when pulling it out. It was very amazing how much different there was.

Bill
TRIUMPH

[bindschadler]

I'm having difficulty unfurling our in-mast main but I'm not sure I have routed the outhaul correctly. I have a figure, but can't figure out how to attach it. The outhaul runs from the aft end of the boom, under the car pulley, over the top of the mainsail clew pulley, downward and then secures to the shackle on the front of the car. The car starts at the mast end of its track. Initially the clew of the mainsail pulls out of the mast but the car doesn't move. Once the clew reaches the position of the car. the force on the outhaul acts to pull up, not aft, on the car. This is where things stop. Rail lubrication hasn't helped and raising the boom, to get some aftward force on the car and sail, hasn't helped either. Advice??
Thanks,
Bob
Hallelujah!

[Chips Ahoy!]

I have had the same problem for several years...Hull 232 2004.
I gave up trying to figure it out so every time I wanted to bring out the main I would pop the clutches, go forward and pull her out by hand.
She comes out easily that way. She furls back fine.

Never understood why I had this problem.
A smart person (someone that knows much more than me...and sent me on my way 15 years ago) said that I had stretched the Main up top somehow and caused a warp that makes the sail jam in the mast under stress. No stress..she pulls out with ease.

So, my solution has been to pop the clutches, go forward, yank the main out, crank her the rest of the way on the winch and go sailing.
Furling her is never a problem as long as I keep tension on the main sheet.

Else? Buy a new main. Don't mean to sound sarcastic.
InMast mains have their downsides...but they are geezer friendly.
Hope this helps.

Regards,
-George
Chips Ahoy #232

[Mark Sutherland]

Hi Bob. My 2006 has the Charleston Mast. I stared at my main sail, boom and car geometry an entire afternoon trying to figure out why the main would not deploy smoothly. Here's what I learned, and I haven't had a problem since. The foil(spool) inside the mast is very flexible. If you pull on the center section of the foil, it is easily pulled/jammed into the inner wall of the sail groove, impeding the foil's freedom to turn especially with the main sail material pinched between the foil and the groove. It's just like applying a brake shoe against a brake drum. The question is, what's pulling/jamming the foil into the groove? It's the tension of the main's leach. Notice that when the car is towards the front of the boom and against the clue, the outhaul line points straight up the leach as it exits the car, causing tension straight up the leach and pulling against the center section of the foil, and pulling the foil into the groove, creating a jamming effect. You'll also likely notice that the foot of the main is not as tight as the leach. The key is to change the geometry of the outhaul car and line relative to the leach and the foot. You want the outhaul line pointing more horizontally at the foot of the sail and less vertically at the leach. Pulling against the foot places the pulling pressure against the BOTTOM of the foil. The bottom of the foil doesn't flex since it's very close to a rigid bearing holder, so the foil doesn't get pulled and jammed into the groove. So here's how to make this happen. First, at the dock, manually move the outhaul car at least 2/3 of the way back towards the aft end of the boom. You need to teather it there to keep it from moving forward when you pull on the outhaul line. I tied a rope from the car to the end of the boom. Notice how the outhaul line is now almost horizontal and pointing at the foot and the bottom end of the foil. Feed a little slack into your main sheet (and boom vang down haul if you have one). Raise the aft end of the boom with your topping lift so it's about 5-10 degrees above horizontal. This should provide for a little less tension on the leach. If your sail feeds out of the starboard side of the groove(clockwise), position the boat on a starboard tack, about 40 to 60 degrees off the wind. This allows the wind to help unfurl the sail without having to pull so hard against the foil. Release the tension on the furling line and begin cranking on the outhaul line. Watch the foot and leach as you pull on the outhaul. The tension should be on the foot, not the leach. If the leach is taught, try raising the boom some more. The leach may be taught the first time if it was taught the last time you furled it IN. When you furl the main IN, you again want the tension to be on the foot, not the leach. The leach should be slightly slack(not taught) but not excessively so. You'll need to have the boom slightly above horizontal to achieve needed slack, or sag in the leach. You can maintain the necessary tension on the foot by keeping a little tension on the outhaul as the furling line is being hauled in. This makes the job a little harder for the person hauling in the furling line, but it's worth the efforts as the foot will be nice and tightly wound around the foil when you're done. Note that all of these instructions assume that your leach is a similar relative length as mine. If it is shorter/longer, you'll need to raise the end of the boom higher/lower to ease the tension out of the leach. To sum it all up, you need the foot of the main to be taught, and the leach of the sail to be LESS than taught when furling in OR out, and it helps (a LOT) if you situate the outhaul car aftward on the boom so that it is pulling against the foot, NOT the leach. I hope this helps.

[Aussie Mate]

I had the same problem. By far the biggest issue is the angle of the boom compared to the horizontal. The back of the boom needs to be about 5-7 degrees above horizontal. I have a solid boom vang that needed to be released to allow this.

[R.B.]

Mark has it correct, the boom adjustment makes all the difference. If your furling spins well and your car moves easily, then play with the height of your boom so that sail is pulled out with tension on the foot. My boom is a few degrees above horizontal.

[JohnNorton]

I try to look for the most basic thing first. If the sail has not been hoisted tight enough when pressure from the outhaul is applied the "S" hook attachment at the foot of the sail may be catching as it turns around inside the mast. You may get a few feet unfurled before this happens. - John, hull 209

[Mark Sutherland]

Aussie, I've heard the "rigid boom vang" comment previously. The PO of my boat thought his BV was "rigid" because it didn't have blocks and lines on it (BV downhaul assembly). However the "rigid boom vang" on my boat still adjusts; If you "twist" the outer tube, it extends or contracts to the desired length, and it will still collapse back down on it's internal spring to a shorter length if needed. Not sure if you have a similar model or not.
As it relates to this discussion, you want to have your RBV extended enough to achieve the 10 or so degrees of boom lift you desire. If you don't extend the RBV enough, you'll be pulling the topping lift against the RBV internal stop, which could cause some damage. We don't need to worry about the RBV being preset too high because we can always compress it back down after deploying the main with the main sheet or the BV down haul if you have one (loosen topping first).