Submitted on June 15, 2004 by Paul Richards

Question: Dan, I just saw your response regarding Paul Doughty's issue with the roller furling main jamming in the slot. Occasionally, mine does the same thing - Passport 456 with a Forespar mast. You talked about pre-bend, etc. Am I correct that when furling and unfurling, the mast should be straight. I don't have any pre-bend, but does that mean I should release the back stay tension when furling/unfurling?

Also, how do I know if the furling rod is too lose?

Thanks,
Paul Richards

Answer: Hi Paul, I think it will furl better with the mast straight but you are probably only getting about 3" of mast bend so it will not make a huge differance whether the backstay is on or off. It is of course important that the outhaul line is tight when unfurling and loose when furling. The owners manual for your mast should have some information about the tension on the furling mandrel.

Regards,

Dan Neri
North Sails

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