Genoa furling line replacement -Ocean 47

[blue-max]

I have a Selden 400S furler on the bow. Lately I have been having trouble furling the sail. The furling line has been jamming in the drum. I have adjusted the angle of line to  drum  and furled the sail under tension  which has worked but I no longer have confidence about its reliability. So  I am thinking to  change the line - its probably original (23 years +) been affected by uv  and dirt so  quite stiff but go  down in size from 12mm to 8mm using cored Dyneema with a polyester sheath. Anyone done this? I assume I would need about 30m of line?

[Laysula]

On my 350 I had 8mm line and I replaced it with 10mm line but with the first 9metres decored. This kept the breaking strain of the line approximately the same and also allowed the line on the drum to lie flat and not dig in underneath the other coils. probably not applicable to you but it made it a lot easier to handle as well being a larger diameter.

[JEN-et-ROSS]

On my 350 I had 8mm line and I replaced it with 10mm line but with the first 9metres decored. This kept the breaking strain of the line approximately the same and also allowed the line on the drum to lie flat and not dig in underneath the other coils. probably not applicable to you but it made it a lot easier to handle as well being a larger diameter.

Good idea.........!!

[ancanc]

I have a Bavaria 44 / 2003 and had the same trouble, too much rope on the furler. I am using now this:



https://www.liros.com/catalog/en/taper-pro-9mm-20m-auf-6-mm-10m-30m-p3540/

from here:
https://www.fockschot-shop.de/de/fallen-schoten/liros-reffleinen-spezialausfuehrung-02010/liros-taper-pro-silber-stahlblau-9-6-mm-30-mtr

My furler line is 30m long 15m 9mm and 15m 6mm. The 6mm part goes to the furler first (not filling it up) and the 9mm part is where you can grab the line and it won't cut your fingers. It is a bit expensive but I am very happy with it.
I see they have changed the proportion to 10m of 6mm and 20m of 9mm but the effect is the same.
Maybe for an Ocean 47 you should take the 11mm/8mm version.
 I also installed furling blocks on the railing, it makes furling much easier.

[blue-max]

very interesting product - but 11mm is very expensive. Being Dyneema I think stronger than necessary. What I am wondering about is weather the self trailer in the winch would grip an 8mm line. Most of the time its impossible to  furl the sail directly by hand.

[ancanc]

A normal 40-sized ST winch can usually handle ropes from 8 to 14mm. But since I changed the furler line to this and installed the furling blocks with ball bearing I can simply roll the genoa in by hand. (With the original Bavaria blocks attached to the railings bases it was a much harder job.) If there is too much wind you still can go downwind and hide the genoa behind the main - it makes furling easier. I even bought an electric winch two year ago to be used as a genoa furler winch but at the and I did not install it. I always can roll it in by hand.

[elias]

I think that in that range of boat size if it cannot be furled by hand then something is wrong with the system .

[ancanc]

I do now know, this is my first 44-footer.. But I do know that this also depends on the genoa itself. I got the boat with a crosscut genoa, last winter I bought a used set of so called high-tech Elvström sails ( genoa triradial with foam, main with vertical battens) and since I use the triradial cut genoa the furling got much easier.

[blue-max]

The furling blocks look neat - can I have a reference. I assume to fit its necessary to take the stanchion out and slide the block on ?  I think to go with standard 10mm polyester braid which should be strong enough and see if that stops the jamming.

[symphony2]

They clamp around the stanchion. No need to dismantle. This is a kit with all the bits
marinechandlery.com/harken-furling-line-lead-kit

[ancanc]

I used these:

https://www.segelwelt.at/shop-de/2302/77/bootstechnik-bootszubeh%C3%B6r/bl%C3%B6cke/umlenkrolle-f%C3%BCr-rollfock-detail.html

and yes, you have to take out the stanchions one by one - this it is not a big deal.
I found these better because they have ball bearing and run smoother.

About the 10mm standard furling line: this can be too much for the Furler, you have to try if it fits.

[blue-max]

many thanks