Genoa furling line

[suem]

We just replaced the furling line for the genoa and moved it to a new position because the old line was not lying against a roller (if that's the right term) and so was subject to wear. However, we are not sure if where we moved it to is a good idea or not because the new line runs fairly straight and only just touches the roller. Photo attached and also one of the jammers which shows which lines are which. These lines are all on the port side of the boat. 

The old genoa furling line lay on the very far left of the rollers (but inside the black structure containing the rollers). It was therefore rubbing against the static 'pole' under the screw fixing the rollers to the deck. The new line is the bright blue line, second from the left. (All the lines then cross over each other under the 'tunnel' before they reach the jammers, but that seems inevitable given that all the larger jammers are on the left - and as far as we can see the lines don't rub against each other.)

Is what we have done OK, or would it be better to reconfigure the lines in some way? Any thoughts and advice gratefully received.



i.postimg.cc/GtrbDxqz/furling-lines.jpg


i.postimg.cc/DzqDGkHk/jammers.jpg

SueM

[Chris Meyer]

Looks good what you did.

Anything to reduce friction makes furling much easier.

On our 389, I keep looking at the furling line on the foredeck and wondering how to change the furling line so it goes more directly from the furling to the block you referenced.

[Zanshin]

Crossing lines is generally a bad idea but your line diameters and jammers don't leave you a choice. What about on the other side - would the outside jammer be right for the furling line? The picture doesn't show it, but it looks like those 3 sheaves are double high, is that correct? Why not let the outer line go inside one position - it would make the furling line do one less line crossing.

[johannes]

Given your circumstances I think it looks good. What boat is this?

One of the first things I did when we bought our SO37 was to re-route the furling line along the stanchion bases to the port main winch. I just can't live with the furling line acting as a trip wire across the foredeck. But if you mostly berth Med-style and don't walk much on the foredeck that may not be a problem.

[Charlie-Bravo]

Replaced our genny furling line to the stanchion bases, a simple mod with good results, with the line going through stanchion eyes that simply clamp on, going to a pulley on the pushpit, then forward , terminating on an extra cleat that I added on the cockpit coaming, went with a cleat as there is a fair load on the line whilst sailing with the genny reefed, and a cam cleat on a pulley might struggle, this has made furling easier, and gets rid of the foredeck trip hazard, along with the anchor locker obstruction, also liberating a cleat for other lines, mostly it gets the rope off the forepeak coachroof which was adding to the drag factor and trapping grime.

Reducing friction is the name of the game in routing lines, the fewer the corners a rope has to pass through, the easy running of the sheaves and preventing lines rubbing on the deck the easier its task will be accomplished, and just makes it more joyful to sail, not dreading having to fight a stiff line with tired hands, or resorting to winches to overcome friction.
crossing lines, whilst not a great idea, can be work if they don't rub on each other, the aesthetic isn't to everyone's taste, but each to their own. 

Dont be steered by 'that's how it was' or 'we only have these clutches' , adjust , add, and modify your boat to make it work, apparently it's part of the joy of boat ownership, and a well set up boat is easier to sail.

CB

[NZL50505]

As the others say minimising friction is the name of the game. This means running as straight as possible without create ridiculous deck trip hazards. Hard to tell if rest of your setup achieves this from the pics I saw. See below for ours - obviously showing the white furling line on a pretty straight uninterrupted run from furler to winch & jammer.

Note I’m still rubbish at inserting pics nicely so click on image below to see higher res version!.

[dslittle]

Sept 6, 2021 21:47:55 GMT NZL50505 said:

As the others say minimising friction is the name of the game. This means running as straight as possible without create ridiculous deck trip hazards. Hard to tell if rest of your setup achieves this from the pics I saw. See below for ours - obviously showing the white furling line on a pretty straight uninterrupted run from furler to winch & jammer.

Note I’m still rubbish at inserting pics nicely so click on image below to see higher res version!.

That is exactly how our furling line came from the factory.
It does make sense to me BUT a well respected rigger who was on board checking my standing rigging said to (and did) move it to the other side (mirror image of photo). I’m not sure which is correct and, actually, I can’t feel any difference furling by hand.
Food for tbought and discusson…

[johannes]

Sept 7, 2021 7:57:44 GMT dslittle said:

That is exactly how our furling line came from the factory.
It does make sense to me BUT a well respected rigger who was on board checking my standing rigging said to (and did) move it to the other side (mirror image of photo). I’m not sure which is correct and, actually, I can’t feel any difference furling by hand.
Food for tbought and discusson…

Do you still have the line entering the furling drum from the port side, or switched to the starboard side? If still on the port side, I would say that it makes mechanically more sense to have it like NZL50505. If everything is mirrored exactly, then for symmetry reasons it will make no difference.

[suem]

Thanks for all your helpful comments and suggestions ... plenty of ideas to consider, and interesting to hear how other people are tackling the issue.

Our boat is a SO42 DS. And yes, the 3 sheaves are double high, so we could certainly look again at using the two levels and trying to have fewer lines crossing over each other. 

Couldn't agree more that the furling line is an unecessary hazard where it cuts across the foredeck. It's on our (ever-growing) to-do list to re-route it ... but now I'm thinking we should just move it further up the list! Thanks for those ideas about how to best re-route it. 

SueM

[NZL50505]

It’s funny because looking at my own photo it gives the impression that the furling line would be a trip hazard where it rises up to the drum over the foredeck. But it isn’t. In fact I’ve never even noticed it myself. And even more telling I have two young kids (2yrs & 6yrs old) who wander freely around the entire deck when we’re at anchor. Neither of them has ever tripped on it - or I would have heard the thump and splash!

Which is why making changes to the current setup are not anywhere on my ‘to do’ list (its already long enough)! 😊