Keeping halyards clear from headsail furler - no wrapping

[LConrad]

Does anybody have any slick tricks for keeping halyards clear of the top of the CDI furler to avoid a nasty wrap while furling or unfurling the headsail?  Page 98 of the new BoatWorks book has a picture showing a disk above the top of the foil.  I have looked for disks that would fit, but have no luck to date.

[Craig Weis]

My best guess would be that the top of the furling rig attached to the head sail is too close to the masthead pullyes.

That 'triangle' created...is a vertical line at the mast, an angle line from the mast following the forestay, and a horizontal distance from the mast going forward,  this must 'contain' enough area for the top gizmo on the furler to spin 360 deg many times without snagging the halyards at the masthead.

So the top of the headsail is too high up on the forestay, allowing the top gizmo to jam-up in the top of that triangle talked about in the above paragraph.

Lower the sail's tack. Bring the bottom of the sail closer to the deck. Pull that gizmo away from the masthead pulleys.

Carefully look~see the furler rig and attach that top furler piece as close to the grommet in the headsail as possible. Get that gizmo down into the wider horizontal area of the triangle. Just my guess. skip.

[mike gartland]

I have to agree with Skip's advice above.  I have the CDI furler on my CP-23 and have never had a halyard get foulded around the foil.  I tend not leave any loose halyards flopping around the mast as a matter of course....even if I'm only flying the genoa I keep the main halyard tensioned enough to keep it from flopping around to the point where it would be free to get wound around the furler foil.  I have never measured the distance from the head of the foil to the top of the forestay but I'm reasonably sure that it is no more than 3 or 4  inches from the masthead fitting.

[LConrad]

I thought I would add an update here. I followed the advice and then further reduced the probability of a wrap with some epoxy putty. The top of the CDI furler has a protrusion for the halyard. That is what caught any nearby halyard and made the wrap. I filled both sides with epoxy putty and formed it nice and smooth. I tested it and found much improvement. The top of the furler no longer has any lip to catch other lines in the vicinity.

[Bob23]

All:
   I also have a CDI on my 23 and have never had any problems at all. But I'll be on the lookout for some now that I know I might have. I, like Mike, try to keep things fairly snug while sailing...don't like loose lines anywhere- could be trippers or tanglers. I'm gonna say that the top of my foil is about 6 to 8 inches down the forestay...way far from the mast.
Bob23

[brackish]

Like Bob and Mike my 23 has a CDI furler and have never experienced what you describe.  Mine is also set up so that the the top swivel is at least six or more inches from the masthead attachment point giving lots of clearance from the halyard sheave entry point.

Frank

[Potcake boy]

Lconrad - I had the same problem with the CDI furler wrapping my spinnaker halyard.  I approached the problem from the same perspective but with a slightly different solution.  I used a small SS strap to cover the protrusion and provide a less prominent feature.  As you described, that helped but still had an occasional wrap.  I found that leaving some slack in the halyard avoided pressing the halyard into the path of the protrusion and no more problem.  My opinion is that CDI should redesign the sheave section to eliminate that protrusion, and make it available to purchase as a retrofit.

Ron

[LConrad]

Good stuff.  My swivel was/is still really close to the top of the mast, and I have a spinnaker halyard. Those two together spelled double trouble. I tired to keep the halyard away. The modification made it more forgiving. I will look into bringing the swivel farther down as well. With all of this good advice, "Delightful" will never have a wrap problem again.  Thanks everybody.

[Potcake boy]

Lconrad,
Before changing the length of your furler foil or the hoist of your jib, keep in mind the effect on the sheeting angle of your sail.  Especially if you are using the original fixed sheet leads.  As you lower the hoist of your jib, you will increase the tension on the foot compared to the leech, which will introduce twist and de-power your sail.  When I replaced my jib I had the leech cut a little shorter because there was too much twist with the original sail cut and I didn't wish to add the complications (and widen the sheeting angle) of a track and car for the sheet lead.
I have contemplated extending my remedy and encircling the sheave housing (not really a swivel) with a SS strap instead of just partial cover as it now is.  Although the idea of a disc placed above sounds like an ingeniously simple and effective solution.
I recall seeing in boat stores a plastic wheel made to slip over a shroud or sheet and may be just the right size to do the job.  I'll see if I can locate one of those wheels to see if it may work.  If I have success with that, I'll provide an update.

Ron

[Potcake boy]

Lconrad,

Was out and made a brief stop at the boat store.  There I located Harken 2 piece plastic rollers for shrouds.  They are about 2 5/8" in diameter and cost $23.00 for a pair. My mast is up now so I can't measure the diameter of the sheave housing but it seems pretty close.  If this were the right size, it could be put in place on top of the sheave housing and bingo.  They come in pairs so you might find someone else with the same problem and split the cost.

Ron

[Bob23]

   Ya know, you guys got me-to-thinking so I finally looked up at my masthead and, dang! that CDI top plastic piece is only about 2 inches below the masthead. So why don't my halyards snag? Well, glad you asked. Someone in the past installed 2 small plastic fairleads, one on each side of the mast about 2 1/2 feet down and the halyards are lead through. This directs the halyards away from the front of the mast and prevents any snags. Of course, all halyards are kept snug- the main for obvious reasons, the jib (my topping lift) is kept snugged up just because that's what I think is proper.
   I haven't learned how to post pictures here yet but I will sometime...and then- LOOK OUT! If anyone wants to see a photo of my arrangement, drop me an email- I'll send it to ya!
Bob23...unsnagged and unplugged.

[brackish]

I'm also seeing more clearly now.  On several occasions when rolling out my headsail, I have hung up and kept thinking that it was a overlap or something in the drum.  It could have been a halyard, I never looked up there, always just cleared it by reversing for a foot or so and then continuing to roll it out.  Additionally, I have no spinnaker halyard yet, but when I do, it will be a block on the masthead ring, and I will probably have to take some evasive action to prevent it from snagging.

Frank 2

[Bob23]

Frank2:
   I've had the same experience but in my case, the line entering the drum is not at a right angle so it tends to not wind onto the drum correctly. I didn't install this furler...came with the boat but on my list of projects is the re-routing of the furling line. This winter. Along with a million other things that need to be done.
Bob23

[Potcake boy]

The only problem I've had has been the spinnaker halyard, as it is positioned directly above and comes in contact with the sheave housing.  Unfortunately Bob the solution used on your mast wouldn't apply to a spinnaker halyard , as it must extend out horizontally in an arc.  I'm thinkin' the idea of extending my current solution to encircle the entire sheave housing, or the idea of a disk or roller on top of the furler is the best approach.  Will examine my furler up close the next time I have her here in the driveway.  My present solution works fine if I leave the spinnaker halyard a little slack.

Ron

[Craig Weis]

I hang my halyard Harken block for my spinnaker on the fwd loop of my masthead on my CP-19. The connection is free to run port or starboard to accommodate the tac. Run the spinnaker halyard straight down to my Garhauer Marine deck block, through my deck Garhauer Marine organizer to make the finial turn to the SpinLoc rope clutch on the starboard side. All this was done two more times to run the spinnaker dousing shoot control lines back to the cockpit, works fine.
skip.