MacGregorSailors.com

Hi Guys

when ive been trailering my boat i have been attaching the furler to the point at the pullpit,this leaves the furler hanging like a snake all over the mac,there must be a better way

can you let me know pls?

Use a boat hook or other long straight object to keep your furler straight and tie it off on the bow.

Warning - be careful about putting stress on the forestay where it attaches to the mast - if you put a sharp turn on the forestay up at this point it can fail and bring your mast down. see thread on main board from Mark Karagianis

My preferred method has been to slide the furler up the mast so that the bottom end of the furler doesn't overhang the bow.

You simply need to remove the securing bolt at the top of the furler/forestay when the mast is down. Then I use a few loose ties to support the furler along its length. Then I just slide it up the mast making sure that nothing snags. Easier with a crew to help but I do it single handed easily enough.

Then I tighten up the ties along its length. It would be even easier if you are in the habit of removing the sail before lowering the mast but usually I leave the sail on.

This adds a couple of minutes or so to rigging time but I feel comfortable that everything is nicely secure for trailering.

When lowering the mast I fit a protective bag over the whole of the furler drum and the furler line also goes into the bag. Keeps everything together and protects the deck from the squirming effect as the mast is raised/lowered. I use the leg of a pair of old jeans sown up to form a bag - Wrangler seem best for the purpose but Levi would probably work just as well - but please don't use cheap Chinese imports - they just won't do the job as well.

Mike

Catigale wrote:Use a boat hook or other long straight object to keep your furler straight and tie it off on the bow.

Warning - be careful about putting stress on the forestay where it attaches to the mast - if you put a sharp turn on the forestay up at this point it can fail and bring your mast down. see thread on main board from Mark Karagianis

funny that you ahould mention that,i was thinking of buying some steel wire and making a second forestay as an additional support.

the idea of the mast coming down on my wife or kids

I use a simple 1x3x6' board. I screwed a 4" piece to it in a 'T' shape that slides between the mast step and the pulpit when the mast is down. Add 1 or 2 bungee's, around the mast, furler and board, then around the furler and board where it sticks out and you are ready to go. Simple and cheap. Many have made fancier ones out of cut PVC pipe.

I wouldn't want to mess with nuts and bolts all the time, particularly at such a important connection as the forestay to mast. I also have put a lot of effort into eliminating every connecting and dis-connecting task possible during setup/teardown.

My mast raising gear stays in place right where it finishes up after lowering so it's ready to go for raising. When the mast is up it is folded and bungeed to the front of the mast. All lines stay connected and run when the mast is down and get bungeed up to the mast. Simple things like releases for the lifelines eliminate the need to get the spreaders under the lifelines, etc. Every step you can eliminate is time on the water.

Here is our furler support






I also made a super simple mid mast support out of a 2" ABS scrap to stop all the bouncing of the mast. No nuts or bolts, a slot in it just drops over the existing bolt on the mast raising gear which is left in place for trailering, and a bungee that would have been around the mast and furler goes through it as well.

Like Duane, I also used a board and bungies up front.

thanks for the replys guys,between this thread and another,i just leapt out of my chair and ran down the back yard to counter bend and then straighten my furler,the only support that i had near by was an old set of water ski,s so one of them is acting as my wooden board

at the rate that im going,its going to take me all winter to do the modifaications that i want to do to my boat

extra batteries,entertainment system,sprayhood,improve storage,VHF,removable traveler,second axle,genoa,extra foam for mattreses,cockpit seats,sea toilet,privacy curtains,auto pilot and forestay safety line

anything ive forgotten?

the good thing is that my wife and daughter loved last weekends trip,this power sailing lark sure is feeling like an addiction

I've never done the disconnect/reconnect at the jibhead, but it does have this one strong endorsement. If you reattach every time before mast raising, you can't forget to take another look at the top of forestay and those jibhead bolts & fittings.

For trailering my furler is resting on top of the mast. Everything looks like it is ok except where the spreaders are attached to the mast there is a ~1” hump in the straight line.
This hump is now also in my furler. Has anyone a solution for supporting the furler in this area so I don’t have this hump?

I used to lay the furler over the spreaders, but the luff began to take on the shape of the hump after a few hot afternoons. Now I unpin and remove the spreaders each and every time, and bungee them with the mast and furler. Not only does this prevent bend in the furler luff, but removes the possibility of the spreaders sitting on the lifelines and getting bent under the load. You'll want to replace the bolt with a pin to make it easier to remove/attach the spreaders. There is a previous thread that discussed this issue but I can't seem to find it now. Anyway it's a lot less work than you might think. By removing the spreaders and using a piece of PVC pipe to support the lower part of the fuller, the luff stays quite straight.
Richard

Duane, A lot of good useful info in your last post. Thanks.

I also made a super simple mid mast support out of a 2" ABS scrap to stop all the bouncing of the mast. No nuts or bolts, a slot in it just drops over the existing bolt on the mast raising gear which is left in place for trailering, and a bungee that would have been around the mast and furler goes through it as well.

Especially this part (above). I have been getting my knickers in a twist recently about both mast and furler only being supported by the pulpit bolt and mast crutch at the rear, and me bouncing down the highway at high speed, especially when we all put in about 6000 miles per year. That's road miles, not sea miles. Pity.

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:31 pm Post subject:

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bastonjock

funny that you ahould mention that,i was thinking of buying some steel wire and making a second forestay as an additional support.

Some folks have gone to a heavier size wire. My bigger concern always was the ring ding thing holding the bottom of the forestay in place. I sleep better at night now that I've replaced it with a quality 1/4" stainless nut and bolt.

Ron

I connect-disconnect the forestay and slide it forward under the spinaker
bale and bungee it to the mast, a knit ski cap works well over the
furling drum. I also remove the jenny. This has eliminated the need
for the UV cover, which helps sail shape and weight aloft. I would have a
sock made if I left sail on. I also remove the mainsail.
In my part of the world we have what's called a mud dobber (wasp ?)
that will build a mud nest anywhere and they seem to especially like
sails, not only do you get a bad stain, you get a shower of dried mud
when the sail is unfurled. Being as I am going to all this extra trouble,
I should have listened to Bill at B4S, and used a hank on jenny, as
I'm doing the same thing, only takes longer, I think a 135 or 140
would be just right in wind up to about 18-20 knts, with a reefed main.
And a drifter or spin for light air.