Boom clearance / roller furling

[Eliosso]

Just put my C34 in the water this weekend for the first time , Ggggggggreat boat. When I hoisted the main , hardly used, the height of the boom clearance from cocpit sole is only about 5'5''. I am quite concern of the danger , I'm only 5'7'' and I still could get knocked out big time.
Is this a unique situation ???
One solution is to cut off a section 6' to 8'' off the foot of the sail
I am assuming the original roller furling system is continuous in either direction but I cannot furl the sail so the sun protector is exposed, it will only go the other way !!
I plan on changing it next year but for now it still need to work . It is very difficult to unfurl, though just pulling on sheet would make it unfurl, needed to use the line with great effort,the same the furl it. Is that normal for this system?? Had a Harken system on my other boat , what a difference

[Stu Jackson]

Paul

I assume the gooseneck is in the one and only position on the mast.

If so, how the heck can the aft end of the boom be so low?

I, of course, understand that this is your basic question, but I fail to understand it.

Is the leech of your mainsail so long that the aft end of the boom is hitting the heads of the crew in the cockpit?

Is the mainsail all the way up the mast?

Do you have a rigid or soft vang?

Do you have a topping lift?

Please explain some more.

As to your furling, yes, Ron is right, turn it the other way and re-reeve the furling line through the drum.

Stu

PS  If you are on Lake Champlain, how about calling Charlie Pearsall for some help?  There ARE other C34s on your lake.

[Eliosso]

1) yes the goose neck is at the right and only location
2)the main is as high as it will go ( but not reaching the top of the mast ) with the luff nice and tight
3)the vang is soft
4) The leech appears to be long as the boom end is lower than the goose neck and is in a position to hit the upper side of my head , and Im a short guy, 5'7''
6) Of course , when the wind fills the sail, the boom lifts to what appears to be a good height
5) as for the furler , it is a continuous line model. contrary to a single line , it does not unfurl with simply pulling on the sheet. I need to pull hard to unfurl. When time to furl , it will only furl in one directiopn but not in the direction ythat will expose the UV protector

[Tom Glennon]

Paul,

Sounds like you need to remove the 915SL and SOAK IT in warm, soapy water to remove whatever crud is in there preventing you from being able to furl/unfurl in either direction.

Been there, done that!

[tandm]

I have a similar problem with boom height. Well, actual it is a little worse; I am 5' 10'' and I have a rigid boom vang to control twist.  If you have a Dacron sail, there is no mystery as to why it hangs so low.  Dacron can elongate over the life of the sail.  If you ever have a chance to read some of the the accounts of the around the world racers from the days when Dacron was state of the art, you will know how much it can stretch.  I suppose someone could have had a sail cut with a long leach but it seems highly unlikely.  For those who have ever knocked their head on a boom (I speak here from experience), the reason is painfully obvious.

I have decided to replace the main. The elongated leach is probably an indicator that the entire sail is getting close to the end of its useful life. Ron's suggestion is a good one too. But, in my case, the sail is the original and was re-stitched by the PO. Talk to a couple of  good sail makers. If they can look at the sail, they will be more than willing to give you an opinion the best option.

[Kyle Ewing]

I had a similar problem on Donnybrook.  I couldn't sheet in the main how I'd like while close-hauled because the dodger was too high.  

I couldn't lower the dodger low enough so I had the sailmaker trim about 8 inches off the foot of the sail, now I can trim it as tight as I want.  Its hard to tell the impact on performance because I have a new genoa (150 vs. 135) but I'm happy with the modification.

Price wasn't that bad compared to a new sail (I hope to get a few more seasons out of the current one) even with the extra labor of removing and reinstalling Stack-Pak.

[Ken Juul]

Had both your problems.  On the roller furling, if you have a the Hood manual read it, it describes how to clean the lower bearing with WD40 and fresh water. Careful not to loose the small piece that guides the rope, I did the first time.  If you don't have a manual, let me know I can email/fax the appropriate pages next week.  My main also stretched, asked the local sailmaker to evaluate the sail.  He said he thought it would last a few more years, trimmed 7" off and repaired any damaged stitching for a couple hundred.

[Eliosso]

My sailmaker had a look a the mainsail and said it was in very good condition and was not used very much.
He claims the sail was originally made with the clew of the sail lower than the tack. This was done in order the gain sail area without being penalized in the rating, apparently that section below the horizontal line of the tack is not considered in the total sai area. I tend to beleive this as my sail is in excellent condition and has been used very little. I doubt very much that it strechted 8 inches or so as the lower sail triangle is well defined.
Will leave it as is for this year . It will not be in the way of my 5 foot dodger and the bimini will start just aft of the boom.
As for the 2 line furling syastem, does it have to be unfurled manually orshould it unfurl be itself my other single line furlers.
If anyone has the maintenance instruction , I would apreciate a copy
Paul
Eliosso C34

[Ken Juul]

The 2 line or continous line systems will unfurl themselves, however someone needs to tend the line to ensure it feeds.  The side being pulled forward does fine, the line running aft tends to bunch up on the foredeck. (can't push a rope).  As a general practice, I manually unroll the sail.  If using the roller furling to reef the sail, it is extremely important to keep the lines very tight or the drum will spin letting the sail back out.  Planning on getting the manual off the boat this weekend, will try to email.

Stu.  Would also like to add to the manual section, who should I send it too?

[Stu Jackson]

Ken

Try Mark Elkin.

Stu

[Eliosso]

Thanks for the info on cleaning the furler, followed the instructions to the letter,and guess what , it now works greeeeeat,l no more tug of wars and save a bunch of money on the upgrade
Paul.