I recently heard a story from a friend about a forestay failure inside a roller furler (I precise that the sailboat wasn't a Macgregor and that the roller may have been incorrectly assembled). The failure was caused by a progressive wear on the forestay cable because of excessive lateral tension when unrolling the jib. The cable was slowly worn and snapped in a gust of wind at the worst moment. I have been told that the sailboat was regularly inspected and well maintained.
Now, I purchased my X a bit more than two years ago. The roller and forestay seems to be the original part (20 years old), it looks good for its age but I am wondering if I should put everything into pieces and perform a detailed inspection.
Sailors say:
Would"When you think it's about time to reef, then it is time to reef".
...be true as well? I think so."When you think it's about time to inspect, then it's time to inspect."
What is your experience about inspecting / maintaining the roller furler? (again, I think it is the stock one)
- How difficult is it to put in pieces? ...and to put back together?
- What are the most important pieces to inspect?
- Should I replace the forestay anyway, just to be on the safe side?