Mast stepping with a roller furler

[jetdrvr393]

Hey all,

Over the winter we got a CDI furler for our S2 7.3. When I stepped the mast last spring I tied a line onto the forestay and used an A frame and winch to raise the mast. Can I do the same thing now that I have a furling drum and foil over the forestay? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Joe

[PaulfromNWOnt]

I've seen it done that way with a furler. Don't know if it's right or wrong, but it worked.

[CalebD]

The 'A' frame raising set up should be fine for raising the mast with CDI furling attached.
The only thing you should be much more careful about is if the CDI furler has a foil or foils over the fore stay (I'm pretty sure it's got to have some kind of foil as well as a drum). You don't want to bend the foils, if at all as they will not work well if bent.

[sidney777]

I have done mast raising with a crane and a roller furling on 32 ft boat. It was like moving a baby or making sure eggs don't break. Everybody yelling instructions to be careful of the roller furling. Partly because marina didn't want to mess up. just have to be careful not to bend, break or catch it on something.

[jetdrvr393]

All good advice, thanks. Anyone actually done this on a small boat like mine? It was suggested that I attach a line to the masthead and pulling on that but I think it would be just another thing to tangle on something and the forestay with furler attached would still be there to worry about.

[Barquito]

I have raised a mast on a 22' boat both with and without the furler. I would suggest at least not having the sail on the foil when raising. Aside from the additional overall weight, the additional sag in the forestay will cause the angle that you are pulling on the mast to become more acute. Otherwise, just tie the A-frame to something strong(ish), leaving the shackle free to attach to the stem fitting.

[Liquorice]

We install CDI furlers all the time on Mac 26's - dealer!
When we raise the mast, one of us lifts the mast by hand, the other pulls the drum on the end of the forestay. There's no ridged foil to bend and the mast is light enough for 2 to raise easily.
sam :-)

[Izzy1414]

Jet,

I have a CDI roller furler on my 26 footer and step the mast quite easily with the head sail furled on the forstay. My furler does not use my jib halyard so I use that to winch the mast up in combination with my vang or mainsheet tackle and a gin pole. As I winch the mast up, I use the furling control line to keep some tension on the bottom of the forestay to keep the whole thing under control and relatively straight as it goes up. I don't use an A frame, but rather guy lines (from points about head high on the mast to points near the toe rails) but it's a similar concept.

Here's a crude drawing I made in an earlier post:


This drawing doesn't show the furler in place but it's there (attached to the mast) when I raise the mast.

[jetdrvr393]

Thanks again. I talked to the sailmaker that did my furler, they said that I can raise the mast with the furler on the forestay. I will use an A frame and attach the furler to the A frame without the sail furled. I will let you all know how it goes and hopefully get some pics up here in about a week and a half.

Thanks again

Joe