Roller Furling Help ?

I went sailing today.....Wind was about 12 - 15 and puffy with the lulls down to 8. I sailed full rig. The only trouble I had was when it came to furling the spinnaker. It seemed to have a mind of its own. In the calms it furled properly, but when it was heavy it seemed the top would over twist and get open and the foot was rolling tighter than normal...resulting in considerable flapping and some choice skipper words about the builder (the skipper).

I have a Harken furler and swivel. The furler line is set up 1 to 2. I tried heading into the wind, but that did not help. I tried slow and I tried slight tension.

I would appreciate any thoughts?

Pat

A common problem with "spinnakers" as opposed to "reachers" (although most headsails suffer from similar problems when they are furled). It takes just the right set up to get the sail to furl evenly along its full length, particularly with the wind up.
One of the reasons that a spinnaker chute or "snuffer" is often prefered.

I use a Ronstan top and bottom furling system. The trick is to keep a tight luff when furling. If it is loose it will only give you problems.

Bob

Thanks. I did not try Luff tension while out yesterday..... I will next time though !!

I understand the point about the use of the other systems versus furling....aren't they are generally used on boats with a crew to help out on the sailhandling?

Pat

The Mystere 4.3s use a snuffer for their spinnaker, and those are usually sailed one-up.

This will get interesting when we all start racing together and we can compare. The sailmakers asked me if I wanted to go that route as they saw some other possibly more effective sail designs......after looking at all the films I could find and the sheer size of the thing, I decided the quickness/easiness of furling would probably give me more boat lengths at the mark.

Now all I gots to do is get the reality matching the theory...

Pat

I agree the furling system is far better for single-handed sailing. I use a Hooter, which is little less full than a spinnaker. It furls very easy.
However, when it is blowing hard, you have to head down and blanket the area of tfe sail, just like doing a standard spinnaker take down, and then let the sheet loose and furl quickly.
Never had a problem doing that.
Going into the wind will not work on windy days. You will get the bottom to work well but the top may go open.
This means when approaching the leeward mark, head down about 20 or 30 degrees, let off the sheet and furl. ANother good reason for the using the 1:2 system -- it does it fast.

Another great thing about the Hooter is that it will go to weather in light air, and does just as good of a job downwind as a fuller sail.
Rick

Rick,

Thanks for the pointers. In Saturdays race, I found blanketing like you suggested worked very well with Bob's suggestion about tightening the luff worked the best. I am using the 1:2 system and so far no problems with it.

Pat

Pat