Winterizing furling jib

[fendertweed]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Besides removing the genoa and storing it someplace it will not get covered in mildew over the winter it is a good idea to lube the bearings of your furler unit(s).
Sails are expensive.

that's what I do ... we have a Furlex 100 and there is a lube specified at least once a year, i do it 2x ... sails come off for the winter, usually come home w/ me but at times are left on the boat in the cabin.

[scottbr]

Originally Posted by pkats

Thank you for your responses. I never had a roller furling before. This was the first season. And in-mast furling main should be fine for the winter, right? Thanks

pkats, I have in-mast furler and furling jib, doesn't take long at all to take both down, bag and store in the v-berth for the winter. The main is not protected from the wet and freezing and will not dry in the mast. Do it right and take them down.

[GreatWhite]

You might want to put in dry air crystals...they sell them for RVs and boats...like the Dri-Z-Air brand or the DampRid brand to keep you boat dry in the winter

[Zagloba]

I have swapped out jibs on my Hood roller furler on my Catalina 27 TR, but I have never removed the sail for the winter before. So I am happy to get it down and stowed, and my casual thought was to attach the halyard shackle to the drum shackle, but they do not get close enough to connect.

What to do? With out thinking much I just raised the halyard back up the forestay and locked it down. Yea, then on the way home it hit me, how will I get that halyard down in the spring. I have not tried it yet, but I doubt that releasing the halyard line will permit it to slide down. Am I screwed? Will it slide down or is there some old trick to grab it and bring it down?

Everything went well in winterizing, but I have a hanging halyard about 34 feet above the deck. Any help appreciated.

[T37Chef]

Somebody is climbing the mast...sorry to say

[Bene505]

Originally Posted by Zagloba

I have swapped out jibs on my Hood roller furler on my Catalina 27 TR, but I have never removed the sail for the winter before. So I am happy to get it down and stowed, and my casual thought was to attach the halyard shackle to the drum shackle, but they do not get close enough to connect.

What to do? With out thinking much I just raised the halyard back up the forestay and locked it down. Yea, then on the way home it hit me, how will I get that halyard down in the spring. I have not tried it yet, but I doubt that releasing the halyard line will permit it to slide down. Am I screwed? Will it slide down or is there some old trick to grab it and bring it down?

Everything went well in winterizing, but I have a hanging halyard about 34 feet above the deck. Any help appreciated.

Find someone who is really good with a bow and arrow? Tie a string onto the arrow.

Attack a coat hanger to another halyard (part way up the halyard so you don't lose that one too) with a hook at the top of the coat hanger. Then try to raise the hanger and hook the other halyard.

Go up the mast.

Regards,
Brad

By the way, although tempted on an earlier post, our sails are now folded up and stored in our furnace room. They are store off the concrete floor, so no potential moisture from below can get to them It's warm and VERY dry down there.

Here's looking forward to spring!!

[Zagloba]

I got the message.

Instead of climbing though, I have some cherry picker work to do this winter anyway: replace a shroud boot, install LED bulbs on the anchor and steaming lights, replace the deck light bulb, and now pull down the halyard.

Your help is appreciated.

[CalebD]

Don't feel bad.
We lost our main halyard up the mast three weeks ago while trying to raise our main sail for the 2nd time in a long motoring trip up the Hudson on a windy day. The shackle at the end of our halyard decided to let go and needs to be replaced.
We got lucky when a friend of a boat owner we knew volunteered his 14 year old to haul up the mast the next day. We used the mast crane on our dock to haul this nice kid up most of the way and our spin halyard to get him to the top to grab the main sail shackle and bring him back down. Quite a few rounds are now owed to the father of the young lad who helped us out.
Spit happens. Even though I was not personally hauling on the halyard I am also accountable for the oversight.
What about pulling the mast for the winter and fixing that problem while on the hard?

[maureeno123]

When we went to take down our furling jib, we undid the halyard, but when the jib got about 3 ft down, it seemed to get stuck on something. We have a 39 CC Pearson, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but want to give all the info. When we looked up, it seemed a round, small baskety, softball size thing at the top of the jib, left half of itself behind, and with the bottom half of it still attached, seemingly, it could not come all the way down. We think something must have broken, and cannot tell without going up in a bosun's chair. We are in CT, and it is getting windy and cold. If someone has some thoughts on what we are doing wrong, or doing nothing wrong, but someone has to go up, please let me know. Thank you for your help. Hoping we are doing something wrong, and someone out there just tells us what, and everything will work. Maureen O'Donnell, Bridgeport, CT

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by maureeno123

When we went to take down our furling jib, we undid the halyard, but when the jib got about 3 ft down, it seemed to get stuck on something. We have a 39 CC Pearson, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but want to give all the info. When we looked up, it seemed a round, small baskety, softball size thing at the top of the jib, left half of itself behind, and with the bottom half of it still attached, seemingly, it could not come all the way down. We think something must have broken, and cannot tell without going up in a bosun's chair. We are in CT, and it is getting windy and cold. If someone has some thoughts on what we are doing wrong, or doing nothing wrong, but someone has to go up, please let me know. Thank you for your help. Hoping we are doing something wrong, and someone out there just tells us what, and everything will work. Maureen O'Donnell, Bridgeport, CT

Hi Maureen,

I hope you've solved your problem by now. If not, it sounds to me like you might have some halyard wrap up near the top of your headstay.

The jib/genoa halyard can get wrapped around the headstay/foiler extrusion up near the top. Sometimes with luck you can unwind it by spinning the furled headsail around the extrusion, or even shaking enough slack into the halyard to allow you to drop the sail, then unwind the halyard from the headstay. If you're less lucky, you may have to send someone up the mast to unwind the halyard,

That "round, small baskety, softball size thing at the top of the jib, left half of itself behind, " is actually part of the furling hardware. As you know, there is a furling drum down near the tack of the sail. Attached to the head of the sail, there is a furling "swivel". That swivel unit slides up the foiler extrusion when you hoist the sail up with the halyard. When it gets to full height, the swivel nests into a fixed top terminal, which is probably the component that you described as "left behind."

The best way to prevent halyard wrap in the future, is to install a halyard restrainer, which holds the halyard away from the swivel and headstay at a correct angle for hoisting. These get installed on the mast a few inches below where the halyard exits the upper sheave, and are well worth the investment.