Hi
I have just bought a 26X and have removed the mast and rigging today to clean/ check for wear. All looks good except that I do not understand the furling system and am concerned about the back stay.
The furling system has slots on both sides, on one side there is a wider gap about 3 inches long that I assume is there to allow the sail slugs to be inserted. The halyard is on the opposite side running down the slot.
I have never rigged a a furling jib before but would have assumed that the halyard would be on the same side as the sail. That seems to be how the CDI manual I found online recommends it to be.
Am I missing something?
The back stay pully system line is very light weight, about 3 to 4 mm. Smaller than the kicking strap line. I know that the 26X has lightweight rigging but is that normal ?
Steve
Hi Steve
The CDI furler halyard ties to the top of the sail, then runs through a block hidden inside the top of the plastic foil and down the other side, inside the slot. The end foot or so should have the core removed so it can exit the slot to be tied off on the furler drum.
Before lowering the jib with the mast rigged, you need to tie another line to this end so you don't lose the halyard. You must also do this before raising the mast if the jib's not on the furler, to be able to hoist the jib.
Hope that makes sense!
The standard X backstay has no adjuster other than chain plates. Any block & line adjuster is a prior owners mod. 4mm does sound light though - how many pulleys in the blocks?
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Thanks Rick
That makes sense now. The picture in the cdi manual I downloaded showed the halyard on the same side of the furler which confused me. Must be a different model of fuller.
How is the foot tied off. Would it not be better to tie it off somewhere else other than on the roller so that if the fore stay clevis pin failed the halyard would support the mast if strong enough)?
The back stay tensioner has 3 pulleys. I will upgrade the line to 6 or 8mm I think.
Steve
Hi Steve
That's a limitation of the CDI system. The halyard has to rotate with the foil, so the only place to tie it off is the drum, hence the forestay has no backup. A forestay break is the biggest weakness of a Mac rig with a CDI.
A good backup is to tie the original jib halyard to the pulpit and cleat it off tight. Better still is to add a line for the purpose from the mast head. That avoids the potential for the jib halyard to foul the rotating furler.
With 3-way blocks your backstay tensioner is 6:1, so the load is spread across 6 lengths of line. 6 x 4mm is equivalent to a single piece of about 10mm - more than adequate! There's not a high load on the backstay, most of it is taken by the shrouds.
Welcome to the quirks of Mac rig tweaking!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Hello there!
Been looking through 'back comments' for an answer without success.
Can anyone help please Trying to find a uk based supplier of a upvc CDI furler Luff extrusion. or a second hand one.
That's the very long plastic thing on the jib.
Hopefully somebody can assist
C J
Hi CJ , what's your problem with the fuller? Is it lost or not working in some way?
Roly
Hi C J
I doubt you'll find a luff extrusion in the UK. In fact it's very hard to buy a complete CDI furler here, they're very much a USA thing. You could buy one online and get it shipped, but would probably cost well north of £300 with duty etc.
When I added a furler to my 19 I ended up getting a Plastimo.
See photos
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Hi
The problem is the plastic luff track has snapped about two feet up from the base.
Given the torsion load on it I cannot see an easy way of fixing it.
Hence the need to find a replacement or perhaps substitute.
Hi, have you tried plumbers solvent weld ? It doesn't stick, it welds the two surfaces together, the joint becomes more stronger than the rest of the plastic. I would get a 2.5 meter grey square rainwater downpipe cut a very small bit off and stick it somewhere far away from the join on the luff extrusion just to make sure it works. If ok then cut two flat strips about 2 foot long. Do one side at a time lay both pieces on a board apply some locktight to the join push both sides together then apply solvent weld to one of the cut strips and push down over the extrusion and slightly move the strip sideways just to make sure the solvent has covered all the area. Leave for 15 minutes then do the other side. I guarantee you will not break the joint.👍
Well, actually, I'm not sure the lower couple of feet do much. The sail normally feeds in at about that level and the foresail below that is tensioned but the line from the lowest part of the sail luff to the furling line cassette. There are no slugs. The bolt rope of the sail slots up one side while the uphaul rope is pulled down the slot on the other side. As previously stated the last part of that line is decored to allow it out of the slot and to be secured to the furler cassette.
The main thing the lowest section is doing is to apply pressure down on the furling cassette ,hence keeping it securely in position. Maybe a short section of alternative pvc might suffice.
So, you may not need a new fuller! Hope that helps.
Roly
Thank you Andrew and Roly for your thoughts.
Any other thoughts and ideas most welcome