I've picked up on a thread where concerns were raised about securing the jib & furler to avoid damage & wonder if I'm creating a problem the way I do it?
So I'm keen to get advice from others.
Currently for towing & storage I use double sided velcro strapping to secure the furler to the bow railing near where the mast bolts on. I let the jib follow the curve of the life line down the starboard side securing it with more velco straps along the way (about every 5-6 foot, 5 straps in total). at the cockpit the jib just gently bends back to where it is attached to the mast.
It is quick & easy, avoids the furler protruding past the bow & therefore requiring additional support to stop whipping. But now I'm getting nervious because of the discussions about damage due to kinking.....Cheers, John
The jib furler can get a curl in it if it is stored curled. We bunjie the jib to thre mast and I use a light pipe ( a shower curtain rod ) inside the jib sock at the roller end with bunjies wraped around so it is as straight as possiable ( especially in heat over 75 deg ) with the jub roller sticking straight out the bow.
Disconnect the forestay at the mast hound and pull the foil/furler aft so that the drum is slightly infront of the mast base allowing you to tie/wrap the aluminum foil directly to the mast. The foil is then bungied to the mast in 4-5 places directly parallell to the mast. No kinks.
If you put you mast up and down often you certainly don't want to disconnect it at the top. All you are doing is creating unecessary work at setup and teardown. For those who trailer all the time you want to do all you can to remove any steps for setup and teardown. Find ways to secure everything in place, leave as many things connected and ready to go as possible when you lower the mast.
Just build a simple support. There are many ways, plastic pipe, wood, the mast raising pole.
I agree with Duane
Only I'm even lazier and just extend the boat hook about halfway and attach 3 bungies, the first just behind the furling drum around the foil and boat hook, another at the base of the mast around furler, boat hook and mast and a third near the end of the boat hook again around all three. No extra parts and so far has stood up for over 5,000 km of towing.
Just leave it in and dont worry about it. You are more likely to damage it trying heat and craziness to straighten it and there wont be a tangible benefit to doing so with a boat like this.
A new extrusion can be ordered from CDI for about 250 USD or so incidentally - and they can be shipped rolled as well.
I have permanently placed a stainless biner on the top bolt of the mast......(below the plastic cap)
And unclip the genny from the stainless hounds and place it on the top clip.....leaving the genny fully stretched and covered in its sleeve... have to stand on the seat to reach it tho.... adds about 2 minutes in the rigging, since I have gone back to a bolt and nut in the hounds. I tried the pin and clip........but this location gets a lot of wear.... and it snagged on the asym, so I am back to a smooth bolt and nut.
handling the various pole supports added as much time as just moving the top attachement. I ahve used various wood, plastic, aluminium (boat hook, mast raising pole, radar mast) configurations....and it is just quicker to use the same two ratchets and and put the 10 mm sockets instead of the mast sockets)
How would one get a curl out of their jib furler if one happend to have it?
Mine has a lot of "waves" in it. I've never suceeded in getting them out. I've used a hair dryer with no sucess. Some say to put it in a pipe in the sun for a while. I don't have a pipe that long so I didn't try.
Part of the problem was that I strapped the furled headsail to the mast and where the spreaders are and that bump deformed the furler extrusion. I now remove the spreaders which makes dealing with moving the mast fore and aft a lot easier. I use the mast raising pole to support the bottom end of the furler in front of the boat.
My problem is the PO before me stored the boat in the open hot desert with the entire extrusion laying on the deck but still connected to the mast while de-rigged. You can imagine the wild shape of it….
It’s not the worst thing in the world, just kinda unsightly. I’ve left it up on the mast to try to get the wave out with not much success.
Wow, that's much worse than mine. Maybe you should try putting it in a pipe in the hot sun for a while. I think the CDI manual describes the process. I took mine and laid it out on the ground with supports on the "low" spots and put weights on the "high' spots to level them out. It never got very hot in the mountains so I took a hairdryer to it too. It helped a little.
