[alberg30] mechanical boom

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

From: FINNUS505 at aol.com

Hi Dick,
You are describing the roller furling gear on the boom.
In the '60's, everyone thought that roller furling for the mainsail was the 
greatest invention since sliced bread.  Wind picks up?  Just take a few rolls 
on the boom, like a window shade, and voooalahhh, reduced sail area, and no 
reef lines to tie and untie, no fuss no muss.  Only problem is, the sail 
shape STANK; as the deeper reefs, or rolls, were taken, the end of the boom 
sagged down, and a belly would develop in the middle of the sail that would 
heel you over more than if you hadn't roller reefed.  Various remedies were 
attempted, including booms that flared out, ie; they were wider aft than 
forward, so as you rolled, the wider aft sections of the boom would prevent 
the boom end from sagging, etc,or people stuffed sponges or ragss in amongst 
the rolls to try to negate the undesirable effects of  the roller reefing, 
but nothiing realy worked.  It was an idea that came and went, and now us 
Alberger 30ers with original equipment are stuck with that heavy worm gear on 
 our goosenecks. It is a good backup thing to have, I guess, if a reefing 
grommet tears out, and the roller furler would be the only way you could reef 
in an emergency.  Mind the battens, though, as they may have to come out 
before you can roll the sail past the batten pockets, or the battens could 
breakand tear the sail if the pockets are not parrallel to the boom, which 
they are probably not, and any hardware that has been mounted on the boom 
since the roller furling was abandoned, and could pierce the main as it rolls 
around the boom ie;fairleads for subsequently mounted reefing lines, etc..  
If you do roller furl, make an effort to keep the luff from wrinkling, and 
turning on itself as you roll, and keep pulling the leach aft, hard, as you 
turn the boom.  Yes, much easier with help, than to do it alone.
the best reefing system for the main is called slab reefing, which entails 
pre-rigged lines through the leach reefing grommet, and a hook, or line at 
the luff, and intermediate reef points in the midddle of the sail. With this 
system, the main is reefed in 'slabs', or discrete amounts, dtermined by 
where the grommets are placed on the main.  What is on your main now?  I will 
be glad to mail you some diagrams if you like, because being able to reef 
when the wind picks up is so important. I love to reef.
Good luck,
Lee
Stargazer #255

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