Hood in mast furling

Re: Hood in mast furling - direction of furl

I had to learn this. I first heard this from my boat manager but confirmed it in my Hood Stoway manual.
1. Head into the wind and ease the mainsheet. (Improves angle of sail to luff slot for furling)
2. Ease outhaul keeping light tension. (Ensures smooth sail furling)
3. Rotate the luff rod with the toggle switch, deflecting the switch in whichever way permits the sail to furl without bearing on the leeward edge of the luff slot (i.e. On the starboard tack furl in the counterclockwise direction and on a port tack furl in the clockwise direction.) If you are headed directly into the wind it doesn't matter which direction you furl.

It goes on to describe the function of the alarm buzzer. My boat is a 1983 Hinckley SW 59 masthead sloop. My boat manager has worked for Hinckley, was Henry Hinckley's personal captain at one time, and has known the boat since new. I do not know why I check him on this stuff, just curious I guess. I hope that helps.

Re: Hood in mast furling - direction of furl

DFletcher2 said:

I had to learn this. I first heard this from my boat manager but confirmed it in my Hood Stoway manual.
1. Head into the wind and ease the mainsheet. (Improves angle of sail to luff slot for furling)
2. Ease outhaul keeping light tension. (Ensures smooth sail furling)
3. Rotate the luff rod with the toggle switch, deflecting the switch in whichever way permits the sail to furl without bearing on the leeward edge of the luff slot (i.e. On the starboard tack furl in the counterclockwise direction and on a port tack furl in the clockwise direction.) If you are headed directly into the wind it doesn't matter which direction you furl.

It goes on to describe the function of the alarm buzzer. My boat is a 1983 Hinckley SW 59 masthead sloop. My boat manager has worked for Hinckley, was Henry Hinckley's personal captain at one time, and has known the boat since new. I do not know why I check him on this stuff, just curious I guess. I hope that helps.

Click to expand...

We had a LH52 with hood furl and agree completely with the above advice. I would keep a wrap around a winch to create a little friction on the outhaul while pressing the furling button, playing one against the other. The issues occur if you don't furl it tight, it gets too big for the space in the mast and gets stuck. Then you've got trouble, especially if the wind is up.

Also agree winding into the wind so the sail is not rubbing against the aperture of the opening in the mast helps. In light wind, you can have a little load on the sail, that helps. In heavy wind, you need to point more directly into the wind. In all cases, watch it wrap, if it's not wrapping tight, stop, reverse, try again.

Deploying, same thing. Keep coordinated with the outhaul. Don't let the furler get ahead, it will bunch up.

At least on ours, the manual backup system was this little pulley that you attached to a pin on the mast. It drove the gear box that drove the furler with a lot of mechanical advantage (the gear box must of been 10:1 or something, you pulled on a line on the pulley a lot before you got a turn of the furler).

In 10 years of ownership, I never jammed it, but came close. It sure is convenient...no sail packing, and infinite reefing range. As long as you don't get it jammed.

We have the Hood stowaway system and the original owner's manual. By the way, we love it. We unfurl or furl on almost any point of sail except a dead run, without problems. The motor has an installation fault on our boat, where the water displacement wasn't beyond the outer edge of the motor, so I cut a funnel to fit as a water diverter and siliconed it into place. The old owner said it had to be rebuilt every 2 years, but we're going on 5 now w/o a hitch.
If I remember right, counter clockwise furling is the only way to go because for some reason the motor has more power in that direction, according to the manual. I would not recommend any "prebend" in your mast and be certain your sailmaker hasn't accounted for it when he built the sail. I don't see why rake would matter, but? Be sure to have the boom at an angle that will pull the sail out evenly; foot and leach. There is a learning curve to this system. Always watch what's going on carefully and if things begin to go wrong, stop immediately and go backwards. If things are not going well, baby steps; a little bit at a time. You cannot force it to do what you wish; the motor is not strong enough. Doing it this way, we have NEVER gotten the sail fouled up. It has ALWAYS come out or gone in. Eventually, I'd like to change to a hydraulic drive.
Most important; if the sail is baggy in the middle of the luff, it will definitely cause problems unfurling the sail. If so, see if you can get a sailmaker to take out the bag, or start saving for a new main. Don't throw the baby out w/ the bath water here. It's NOT the furler, it's the sail. I'm guessing that an old, baggy sail is the biggest reason some owners hate their inmast furling. We've met a few cruising couples who were going to go back to slab reefing, but got the main fixed or replaced and now love the system. enjoy.
Eric Pearson is apparently THE the expert on Hood stowaway systems; 401-423-1568.

Killarney,
Best wishes for fair winds and kindly seas. I would be interested to hear how the Hood Stoway system works with a stiff new mainsail. I have been researching this system quite a bit this week as I want to restore my Hood electric mainsail furling control panel. Hinckley put me in contact with Bob Hood who has been very helpful. Peter Linwick at Florida Rigging and Hydraulics is also very knowledgeable with a good parts stock. This is what I learned. The overload alarm is a Mallory Sonalert SC628 readily available for about $20 on the internet. Many iterations of this, versions A to H but it appears that the original SC628 is the right one. The switch is a Cole Hersee momentary on-off-momentary on, listed as "(on)-off-(on)" in the specifications. They make two versions of this, 25 and 30 amp. I will need to pull mine to see which one. Cole Hersee also has the little black rubber boot that fits over the switch for water protection in both half and full boot configuration. The switch is readily available on the internet for about $15. If you want the Hood casting with both of these switch/alarm units in a fully loaded assembly, Peter has two new ones still in stock for $380. Good old boats are about rebuilding, restoring and reusing, where possible. I'll put a nice white epoxy paint on the housing after cleaning it up while I rebuild mine. I retire the end of this month and will spend two months aboard and sailing from Bristol, RI and the NE coast of the US so I am planning my projects. Down to the Caribbean next year (Oct) and then we will see. Your Bristol 44.4 is a great cruising sailboat with quality american workmanship. Warm regards.

Thanks, Shimson. Good advice on locking the Stoway's gear. Yes, the Mary Sunshine is a big girl, displacing 69,000 lbs. the Hinckley SW59 is no lightweight. Still, returning from Nantucket to Newport last month in true 18-20 knot winds and heading into 3-4 ft. seas about 2 points off the port bow, under full sails on a close haul all afternoon was a magical time. Stiff and weatherly, heeled over at 16-18 deg. with the toe rail well out of the water, she was not working at all hard, even under full sails. Yes, I would pinch a bit when it puffed above 20 knots. An easy afternoon of 8.5 knots, with her centerboad all the way down to 12.5 ft.and a working jib (100%), pulling an inflatable dinghy astern. Close hauled is not her fastest point of sail nor is pulling a high drag dinghy, but the sea motion is what was so impressive; minimal and smooth, with the bow just cleanly slicing through the waves with only a light and comfortable amount of weather helm. The bow spray was going out about 30 yards with very little spray coming back over the center cockpit hood. The foredeck was wet but only awash a couple of times. We had four porpoises playing in our bow spray for about 30 minutes in the setting sun. Great fun for them it appeard. Great fun for us too. Magical.
We head to Maine and Canada next summer then down to the Caribbean for next winter. I am looking forward to that. Any cruising stops in Maine that you particularly liked?

Frank:
Peter Linwick at Florida Rigging and Hydraulics I have worked with and found to be very helpful, with both his knowledge and parts, for the Hood Stoway furling system. His email is [email protected] or their general service email is [email protected]. Their general service telephone is 561.863.7444. They claim to have the best Hood Stoway parts inventory in the US. The other person that I read on numerous posts that services these is Eric Pearson at 14 Backstay Rd., Jamestown, RI 02835. His telephone is 401.423.1568. I have not used Eric but he is well regarded and recommended from others as knowing these furling systems well and is respected for his servie on them. Those are the top two in the US that I am aware of. Specific problems or just a general refit?
Good luck,
Don