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5 Operation
5.1 Hoisting
Before hoisting the sail, make sure to tension backstay and/or runners so that the forestay is fully tensioned for
hard, close-reach sailing.
If the sail should be hoisted and firmly tensioned
before
the forestay is fully tensioned, excess strain is put on
the halyard, the halyard swivel and the sail when the forestay is tensioned. This may cause damage to the
halyard, the halyard swivel and/or the sail. It will also stop the system from rotating properly.
Also make sure that the drum is loaded with sufficient amount of rope – approximately 30 turns but this
depending on the foot length of the sail.
1.
Lay the sail out on deck. It should be carefully flaked down with the tack turned forward.
2. Turn the tack ring counter-clockwise if the furling line exits on the port side of the drum, or clockwise if it
exits on the starboard side. Doing this right is important as it ensures that the free-turn function works
properly and the sail shape is kept flat when reefed.
3. Attach the tack of the sail to the tack shackle.
4. Attach the sheet to the clew.
5. If included, tie the prefeeder to the tack shackle.
6. Attach the halyard to the upper eye of the halyard swivel.
7. Hoist the sail in the correct groove through the sail feeder. If the furling line exits on the port side of the
line drum, the sail should be hoisted in the starboard groove and vice versa. Hoisting the sail in the ”right”
groove reduces initial resistance when furling the sail.
8. Hoist the sail. The pre-feeder helps guide the sail in towards the sail feeder at a small angle. If the
prefeeder is not included, then feed the sail manually through the sail feeder.
9. Tension the halyard until a vertical crease appears in the luff of the sail, then slacken off until the crease
disappears.
10. After hoisting the sail, remove the prefeeder completely.
11. Furl the sail by pulling on the furling line. Let the windward sheet run freely but keep some tension in
the leeward sheet, for example by placing a turn around a winch. It is important to furl the sail tightly and
evenly, as a sail that is furled too loosely may partly blow out in strong winds.
12. Check the number of turns of the furling line remaining on the line drum when the sail is fully furled. There
should be at least 3–5 turns left when the sail is fully furled. To adjust the number of turns, detach the sheet
and turn the luff extrusion by hand until 3–5 turns are left on the drum. Then re-attach the sheet. When furl-
ing in strong winds, the sail will roll more tightly, requiring more turns left on the line drum. Therefor make
sure to always have sufficient turns left on the drum.
13. When the sail is hoisted, check that the halyard swivel is at least 50 mm (1 31/32”) below
the top guard and that the halyard angle satisfies the 10–15° requirement.
14. Finally, mark the halyard as shown to prevent overtensioning. this is very important!
Also mark the maximum tension position of any backstay adjuster. The forestay/backstay
tension can now be adjusted without putting too much strain on the halyard.
Fig. 5.1.a
