jib unfurling difficulty

whiteede · Post by **whiteede** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:12 pm

Now sailing my 'new' 1984 aquisition i am having trouble unfurling the jib . It is getting stuck about halfway, although then turning the forestay by hand one turn is easy and continuing on by the line. Furling is not a problem.

I did not not disconnect the forestay head when we lowered the mast for travelling from the purchase site so cannot comprehend the issue very well. The apparent halyard from the forestay head (not the sail halyard itself) is tight and won't loosen when undone at the cleat even though the rope is then loose. Oddly though, even with the shrouds at max tension the forestay still feels somewhat loose and has a slight sag. is this normal?

i have also noticed that the mast is upright, almost forward and i would like to put some rake in to it. Also, i have twice not been able to turn though the wind on tacking. Help!

robvega · Post by **robvega** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:34 pm

Philip
Sounds like you may not have the forestay set up correctly.

'The apparent halyard from the forestay head (not the sail halyard itself) is tight and won't loosen when undone at the cleat even though the rope is then loose' Dosn't sound right!

The Rotostay should be the only thing holding the mast up For'ard. Have you looked at the Rotostay set up instructions in the Technical section?
http://www.swift18.org/docs/Rotostay-FS4-FS5.pdf
Page 2 shows how it should be on the boat.
The Rotostay should swivel around the forestay, which is inside the Rotostay. If the forestay is twisting, it will soon break!!!
I've looked at the photo's of your boat but can't make out the forestay detail. have you any pictures?
Hope this helps,
Rob

Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:45 pm

Hi,I can't work out what halyard you mean, Philip. See Rob's comment, sounds like you have a set up problem, check it out new rotostays are about a grand!Our rotostay is reluctant if there is not enough tension and the solution is to tighten the backstay so that there is a bit of pre-bend in the mast.PaulineSep 23, 2008 02:34:39 PM, forum-rigging@swift18.org wrote:=========================================== Philip Sounds like you may not have the forestay set up correctly. 'The apparent halyard from the forestay head (not the sail halyard itself) is tight and won't loosen when undone at the cleat even though the rope is then loose' Â Â Dosn't sound right!The Rotostay should be the only thing holding the mast up For'ard. Have you looked at the Rotostay set up instructions in the Technical section?http://www.swift18.org/docs/Rotostay-FS4-FS5.pdfPage 2 shows how it should be on the boat.The Rotostay should swivel around the forestay, which is inside the Rotostay. If the forestay is twisting, it will soon break!!! I've looked at the photo's of your boat but can't make out the forestay detail. have you any pictures? Â Hope this helps, Â Â Â Rob -------------------- m2f --------------------Sent using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com). Read this topic online here:http://www.swift18.org/Swift18/phpBB2/v ... ---------- m2f --------------------

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Terry · Post by **Terry** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:23 pm

When I first got my boat I had difficulty unfurling but not when furling back up. When I took the mast down I found the forestay twisted and almost cut through. I think I was lucky to get away without loosing my rig so I would check that the forestay is running ok before sailing again.
Terry

mikeprojectboat · Post by **mikeprojectboat** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:46 pm

Saw the comments, you might want to check the clearance INSIDE the rotor stay,and INSIDE the foil unit(ALLOY TUBE) when I made my roller unit I noticed that the bottle screw fixing unit runs very close to the alloy inside case ,!! could this be binding.? also check out the foil insides.The forestay runs through this,and the rotorstay foils have only a small internal hole if you have a thicker forestay, this could be binding, or you might have a bent or curved foil.!! REGARDS TO ALL,MIKE IN SUNNY NORFOLK..

whiteede · Post by **whiteede** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:26 pm

Thanks very much Mike. This is one aspect I have yet to investigate and might achieve this tomorrow. It has totally confused me to tighten shrouds to max and still have a slightly slack forestay tube. Only extreme backstay tension gives a reasonable tautness for unfurling. I have noticed from pictures on the website that other boats do not seem to need such a mast bend. Do you know if any lubricant should be used on the drum base pivot or Delrin head.

Regards
Philip

----- Original Message -----
From: mikeprojectboat (forum-rigging@swift18.org)
To: forum-rigging@swift18.org (forum-rigging@swift18.org)
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 9:46 PM
Subject: [Swift 18] Re: jib unfurling difficulty

Saw the comments, you might want to check the clearance INSIDE the rotor stay,and INSIDE the foil unit(ALLOY TUBE) when I made my roller unit I noticed that the bottle screw fixing unit runs very close to the alloy inside case ,!! could this be binding.? also check out the foil insides.The forestay runs through this,and the rotorstay foils have only a small internal hole if you have a thicker forestay, this could be binding, or you might have a bent or curved foil.!! REGARDS TO ALL,MIKE IN SUNNY NORFOLK..

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Terry · Post by **Terry** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:33 pm

Hi Phil
I see you've overcome your uploading problem. I've looked at your pictures and on the face of it your forestay tension doesn't look that bad to me. Other than the posibility of a shreded wire inside the furling gear and what mike says. The only other thing that I would comment on is:
(A)I don't know if others do this but I need to tie back the furling
line bracket to stop it spinning round when unfurling.

and (B) Is there too much line on the drum causing it to foul on the
retaining pin?
Probably Neither of these but!!
Regards Terry

Swift 18 Owners