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« on: November 09, 2017, 12:05:03 AM »
I'll add a general comment related to some key lessons I learned about in mast furling main on my new-to-me 350 (Charleston furler). One key is the tension on the foot vs the leach when furling, or unfurling the main. A related key is the the position of the boom end, vertically. The lower the boom end, the more likely the predominant tension will be on the leach vs the foot during furling/unfurling. The more tension on the leach while unfurling, the more the leach pulls against the midsection of the foil, which is very flexible, especially in the middle. When a taught leach pulls against the foil, the more likely the foil will flex aftward, jamming the foil and sail into the slot/groove in the mast usually somewhere in the middle third of the mast. Conversely, by raising the boom end slightly above horizontal, the tension transfers more towards the foot of the sail ( with less tension on the leach), which pulls more against the bottom of the foil, which flexes very little since it is only inches above a rigid bearing holder. With less aftward flexing of the mid-foil, the less likelihood of sail jamming mid-mast. Of course the main must first be furled correctly; with a taught foot and slightly slack leach during the furling process(boom position again the key). One other key is to change the neutral position of the outhaul car to a position that is further aft on the boom. The factory neutral position of my car is only a few feet aft of the mast. The resulting geometry places most of the tension on the leach instead of the foot. I moved the outhaul car about 2/3 of the way aft towards the boom end and teathered it in place there. This creates a more favorable geometry for maintaining good tension on the foot of the main during furling and unfurling. Finally, watch the main's leach vs foot tension during the entire furling/unfurling process, maintaining more foot vs leach tension. I also like to furl/unfurl on a starboard tack(counter-clockwise furling) using the wind to my advantage. I haven't had a jam since.