[C320-list] Mainsail Hard to Raise/Lower

[Henderson, David]

This is a somewhat delayed response to Bob Seastream's post of a couple
of weeks ago.  Bob, yes, I have had issues raising and lowering my
in-mast (Charleston Spar) furling main on my four year old 320 (#1049),
and I think I have discovered a potentially serious problem.  I would
love to know if others have encountered this issue.

I noticed the problem for the first time during the 2007 season.  It was
slightly worse this past spring when I raised the main, and now just
last week when I tried to take it down in preparation for haul-out, it
is worse still and I couldn't get the sail down.  It appeared that the
head of the sail and/or the swivel first stuck at the upper spreader.  I
was able to force it through.  But then it became really stuck at the
lower spreader.  I feared that the luff tape was cut or frayed and
somehow hanging up in the groove in the foil.  I also wondered if
perhaps there was a joint in the foil that it might be catching on.

This past weekend my 25 year old daughter went aloft to take a look (my
days of going a loft are long over).  When she opened the shackle and
disconnected the sail from the swivel, the sail fell easily down through
the foil.  So it was now clear that the problem was not the luff tape or
the sail, but rather the swivel seemed to be the culprit.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that groove in the outer part of
the mast (that the sail passes through to wind onto the foil) was
slightly narrowed in the area of the spreader.  And in fact, the entire
mast cavity had narrowed and was pinching the swivel enough that it
could not slide up and down through it.  She then went up to the second
spreader and lo and behold, same problem, just slightly less severe.

The broker who sold me the boat came by today for a look, and after
attempting to raise and lower the swivel, he confirmed the problem.  He
even pointed out that the narrowing in the outer mast slot is readily
visible by line of sight as you look up the mast.  Our joint conclusion
is that the load carried by the spreaders is slowly but surely bending
the mast and narrowing the slot and cavity, and it is a progressive
problem.  Not being able to raise or lower the main is the first level
of concern, but ultimate mast failure is obviously an even a greater
concern. 

Though I am told that I am out of warranty, the broker immediately
offered to contact Charleston Spar and Catalina on my behalf.  Needless
to say, I anxiously await their response.  Meantine, I wanted to bring
this to the attention of anyone else with a similar vintage 320 that may
be experiencing similar mast issues.

Dave Henderson
Dottie B    #1049


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Message: 4
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 20:16:39 -0400
From: Robert Seastream <robert.seastream at comcast.net>
Subject: [C320-list] Mainsail hard to raise
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Message-ID: <AADF86C2-2204-418F-BFC2-BF17EEE6486F at comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

All:

Has anyone ever had issues raising their (in mast furling) mainsail  
past roughly the two thirds point, almost requiring winching to raise  
it fully?
We've had this issue since we bought the (used) boat.  I don't think  
there's any 'burrs' in the furler track; I'd expect rips in the luff  
if that were true.
I'm wondering if the roller furler might have gotten bent, although I  
can't imagine how.  By comparison, the roller furling jib goes up its'  
own track smooth as silk.
Another question is how does one access the furling mechanism for  
inspection/repair, once the mast is unstepped?  Perhaps that's a  
question for Charleston Spars.

Regards,

Bob Seastream
Intuition # 906


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